Michigan
Disability Rights Coalition (MDRC)
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2008 Letter | Support On-line | Support through mail | Support by Shopping and Feistyware!
2008 Annual Letter
Dear Friend:
Now, more than ever, we need your Feistiness and Noncompliance, along with your financial support!
Please
support Michigan Disability Rights Coalition.
Feistiness is a healthy response to systems that limit choice, hold low expectations,
and discriminate. Noncompliance is the lasting legacy of our disability advocacy
heroes who demanded access to education, employment, and living outside of
institutions. We are asking you to keep this momentum going. Join us
in Feistiness and Noncompliance.
As a member and supporter of the disability rights community you know the difference
between talk and action. You know that the work we do together is instrumental
in building a movement that is strong enough to continue to effect change.
You are already taking action.
You advocate
Perhaps you or a friend were among the hundreds of people with disabilities and allies who were “Feisty & Noncompliant” and wrote, emailed, met with, or telephoned your senators and representatives and the Governor in support of the MI Choice Medicaid Waiver Program. Because of you, many more seniors and people with disabilities will be able to choose to receive services in their own home instead of nursing facilities. We need your support to continue important advocacy efforts in reforming Michigan’s long-term care system.
You collaborate
You participate in grassroots groups, testify at committees, and write letters to legislators ensuring that there is “Nothing about us without us!” People with disabilities, seniors, allies, legislators, and MDRC staff are forming strategic partnerships to guarantee affordable, accessible, integrated, safe housing. This year, in collaboration with our partners at Disability Network the Developmental Disabilities Council, UCP of Michigan, Arcs, the State of Michigan, and others, we were able to get people with disabilities to the table as decisions were being made on funding allocations for affordable housing. Because of this organized collaboration, changes in policy were made around the state to increase access to housing for people with disabilities as they transition out of nursing homes. Because of organized collaboration to attend Michigan State Housing Development Authority hearings, people with disabilities will have access to additional affordable, accessible supported housing units.
You educate
MDRC partnered with dozens of organizations across the state to educate people with disabilities and allies about the benefits of assistive technology (AT). Because of these efforts, more than 11,481 people learned about technology that will help them, or the people they serve, get jobs, go to school, and live in the community.
MDRC
partnered with UCP of Michigan and AT&T to teach dozens of people with
disabilities how to tell their stories using digital storytelling. Through “Many
Faces, One Voice”, people with disabilities around the state have
been using cutting edge technology to tell their compelling stories in ways
that are accessible to everyone. People who have taken the class are telling
personal stories of disability pride, institutionalization, family perceptions,
barriers in access to transportation, and self advocacy. We’ll be looking
for ways to continue to use this tool for education and advocacy work.
You care
As 2008 draws to a close and you consider the charitable contributions you want to make, please consider how much more you can do to help by sending a tax-deductible year-end gift to Michigan Disability Rights Coalition.
Your gift is essential to continue our advocacy work.
Help us pull together the power of this Feisty and Noncompliant community so that the voices of ALL people with disabilities and seniors are heard and included.
“Nothing about us without us!”
“With liberty and access for all!”
These words symbolize our work at MDRC. When you support our efforts through financial gifts and by donating your time, you are actively living out these core beliefs as they guide our work together. A large majority of our staff and board are people with disabilities. The groups we support around the state are run by people with disabilities. When you give to MDRC, the funds are used to support people with disabilities as they educate legislators, bureaucrats, and the general public about the issues that impact all our lives. Your support assures that people with disabilities are strategically at the table and have an impact.
I think about all that has been accomplished this year:
- The continued advocacy for the MI Choice program.
- The plans to increase supportive, affordable, accessible housing for people with disabilities
- The hundreds of people who developed leadership skills.
- The thousands of people who learned about assistive technology by attending conferences, trainings, and demonstrations we sponsored.
- The hundreds of people who learned more about disability pride and power through Many Faces, One Voice digital stories online.
I also think about the increasing complexity of our world and how we must continue to face that complexity with even greater resolve.
We know there is still a great deal of work to be done.
For example, much more needs to be done to increase affordable, accessible, integrated housing for people with disabilities emerging from institutional settings. Our long-term care system is still being molded and we need to continue our work to make sure it provides the supports and services people need to live in the community. More up-and-coming leaders need access to the information and support they require to become the leaders we need them to be. Far too many people are still unaware of the independence-building and lifesaving benefits of assistive technology. The economic downturn and its effect on people with disabilities in our communities need to be addressed.
We need your help and your support! Please send the biggest check you can. Your donation provides a source of funding that can be used for lobbying and educating legislators because, as you know, our other sources of support cannot be used in that way. Your support allows us to pursue new projects and address emerging needs. This support is especially important this year as we begin to look at access to education and financial literacy for people with disabilities in our state. Your donation puts people with disabilities strategically at the table!
Please support MDRC today. Keep the momentum going. You make a difference, both for the financial support you give and the moral support it represents.
Your Feisty and Noncompliant Friend,
Norm DeLisle
Executive Director
P.S. Please send $50, $100 or more before the end of the year to reap the tax benefits.
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You can also give your support to MDRC through snail mail. Our address is:
Michigan Disability Rights Coalition
3498 East Lake Lansing Road, Suite 100
East Lansing, MI 48823
Consider
ordering a “Feisty and Noncompliant” t-shirt, travel mug, bag,
button, or hoodie. Show your Feisty & Noncompliant Spirit with pride!
All proceeds go towards our important work.
