For Immediate Release:
January 23, 2018
Contact: Lawrence Carter-Long
Email: LCarterLong@dredf.org
Phone: 510-644-2555 ext 5256
Berkeley, CA – The Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF), a leading national civil rights law and policy center directed by individuals with disabilities and parents whose children have disabilities, has been awarded $170K annually ($510K over the next three years) by the California State Bar. The grant will fund actions to increase access and inclusion in efforts to end homelessness and improve emergency preparedness for Californians with disabilities.
Recent high profile events in California and across the nation highlight a need to find solutions to a wide range of access and discrimination issues in homelessness and emergency preparedness. The need for comprehensive improvements to ensure access—including removal of physical and communication barriers, modification of rigid practices, and clear protocols for individualizing accommodation—will allow policymakers and community development entities to improve data-gathering, service coordination, and improve barrier removal for low-income people with disabilities during unplanned housing transitions.
DREDF’s litigation team will use the funds awarded by the California State Bar to ensure the application of existing access laws through impact litigation and advocacy. Where additional measures are required, DREDF will advise providers about policies, procedures, and programs they can adopt to fill gaps in physical, communication or other recognized areas of inclusion and accommodation for people with disabilities.
Linda Kilb, Director of DREDF’s Legal Services Trust Fund and Namita Gupta, DREDF Staff Attorney, will head the project. The California Foundation for Centers for Independent Living will conduct community outreach on behalf of DREDF.
“Gaps in permanent housing disproportionately disrupt the lives of disabled Californians—nearly 5 million total—given their increased representation in already vulnerable populations including foster youth, homeless persons, veterans, formerly incarcerated persons, and seniors who lose permanent housing after hospital or institutional stays,” said Ms. Gupta. “Given the unprecedented size, scale and scope of natural disasters in recent times, DREDF is grateful to the California State Bar for providing the resources needed to address critical gaps in disaster-relating housing issues such as emergency preparation, response and recovery, as well as chronic, and increasing homelessness seen in many cities and neighborhoods across the state.”
About the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF): Founded in 1979, DREDF is a national cross-disability civil rights law and policy center directed by individuals with disabilities and parents with disabled children. We advance the civil and human rights of people with disabilities through legal advocacy, training, education, and public policy and legislative development. Offices are located in Berkeley, California and Washington, DC.