How To Get Involved In Advocating For People With Disabilities

People often ask me how they can get more involved in advocating on behalf of people with disabilities. Being an advocate is great and it is actually really easy to do.  

There are several organizations that people can reach out to and become active with. I have listed some of them below. I have included two organizations that fights for the rights of Deaf and Hard of Hearing individuals. 

1. American Association of People with Disabilities

3. Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund

4. National Disability Rights Network
5. TASH
6. National Association of the Deaf (NAD)
7. Hearing Loss Association of America

There are other ways to make your voice heard. You can contact your state and local elected representative and talk to them about how they can improve the lives of people with disabilities. You can also contact your elected representative in the Senate and in the House in Washington D.C. as well. You can also reach out to the President too. I suggest using this website for help in contacting elected officials at the local, state and federal level. 

But there are also other avenues that people can pursue in advocating on behalf of people with disabilities.

People can reach out to the Bipartisan Disability Caucus so that you can suggest your concerns and share ideas with them. This contains a list of elected officials in Washington D.C. who have a strong interest in helping people with disabilities. You can also contact the House Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice as well. Finally, you can also reach out to the National Council on Disability (NCD).

There are also government agencies that specialize in helping people with disabilities. Below are some websites for you to use such as disability.gov and ada.gov.

There are also legal organizations such as Disability Rights Legal Center (DRLC), Disability Rights Advocate (DRA), and the Disability Rights Law Clinic. People should also be aware that the American Bar Association has a Commission on Disability Rights. There is also the Disability Rights Bar Association (DRBA). For people who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing, there is the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Bar Association (DHHBA).