The World Institute on Disability is an internationally recognized public policy center organized by and for people with disabilities. It works to strengthen the disability movement through research, training, advocacy and public education to help people with disabilities throughout the world enjoy increased opportunities to live independently.

Founded in 1983 by leaders of the Independent Living Movement, WID's work focuses on issues and problems that directly affect people’s ability to live full and independent lives. WID’s programs address employment, economic development and financial stability issues; conduct research and policy analysis on personal assistance services, accessible health care, technology and other topics; and provide assistance to non governmental organizations (NGOs) and disabled leaders in developing countries. A majority of the Board and staff are persons with disabilities.

WID’s current projects are described in more detail below.

California Work Incentives Initiative

WID developed the California Work Incentives Initiative (CWII) in 2000 to provide information on health coverage, work and benefits to youth and adults with disabilities in California and to develop community-based public policy recommendations.

Through Disability Benefits 101 Information Services, CWII provides community outreach, training and web-based services, including one-on-one technical assistance at its website, Disability Benefits 101 (www.DB101.org). The site offers easy to understand, practical information on public and private benefits, employment services and other programs, as well as interactive benefits calculators.

In addition to its information services, CWII also develops
community-based public policy recommendations. As part of this effort, it staffs a statewide policy, education and discussion forum on health, work, benefits, and disability - The California Work Group on Work Incentives and Health Care (the CWG).

CWII has received funding from the California Health Incentives Improvement Project, The California Endowment, the Social Security Administration, and individual training and event sponsors.

For more information, visit the California Work Incentives Initiative section of the site, or contact Bryon MacDonald, Project and Policy Development Manager, at bryon@wid.org.

Access to Assets

Approximately 20% of the United States population lives with some level of disability, and people with disabilities are almost three times as likely to live in poverty than any other group. WID’s Access to Assets project opens doors for the disability community by promoting asset-building and financial literacy among people with disabilities. Asset building is an anti-poverty strategy helping low-income people move toward greater economic independence by saving and purchasing long-term assets. Building assets, as a complement to increasing income, provides the stability to escape the cycle of poverty.

Access to Assets bridges the gap between the asset building and disability communities through the following services:

• Training and Technical Assistance: Advise asset-building organizations how to include consumers with disabilities in their programs.

• Disability Community Outreach: Inform disability organizations about available programs and relevant federal policy.

• Policy Analysis: Develop and influence federal asset-building legislation conducive to the participation of people with disabilities.

• Public Education: Distribute monthly EQUITY e-newsletter. The newsletter includes articles by leaders in the field, program administrators, and participants in asset- building programs, helpful tips, answers to questions about disability issues, federal policy updates, and resources. Read current and past editions of EQUITY at: http://www.wid.org/equity

• Information and Referral: Toll-free hotline serving individuals with disabilities seeking information on how to participate in poverty reduction programs.

For more information, visit the Access to Assets section of the site, or contact Thomas Foley, Access to Assets Project Manager, at tom@wid.org or toll-free at 1-866-723-1201.

Health Access and Long Term Services

WID addresses health care disparities for people with disabilities by working to improve access to quality care. In addition to addressing physical accessibility issues, WID trains doctors and medical staff in culturally competent health care and in how to make services and equipment accessible.

Access to Medical Care: Adults with Physical Disabilities is a 20-minute video and training curriculum for physicians, dentists, nurses, and other medical staff about key issues that influence the quality of care in outpatient clinical settings. The video uses interviews with medical providers and a diverse group of people with disabilities to address cultural competence; access and communication issues in the clinic; common myths and stereotypes about disability that interfere with accurate assessment of patients; and barriers to health care delivery. The training curriculum offers case-based learning exercises and extensive in-depth reference materials about appropriate provision of care, specific skills to increase good communication and rapport, and compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The curriculum emphasizes access and communication as the fundamental components in addressing health care disparities for people with disabilities.

WID also seeks to improve the quality and availability of long-term services for people with disabilities, such as Personal Assistance Services (often referred to as home health care) that help people with activities of daily living, such as dressing, bathing and eating. Such assistance can make the critical difference between independent living in the community or institutionalization.

Unfortunately, instances of physical or emotional abuse in such settings are alarmingly high. In response, WID is creating the Curriculum on Abuse Prevention and Empowerment (CAPE), a comprehensive training curriculum to educate service providers, people with disabilities and family members about abuse awareness and prevention strategies. Funded by the National Institute on Disability Rehabilitation and Research, CAPE explores fundamental issues of abuse, best-practices training approaches, and personal narratives of successful interventions. CAPE will be distributed nationally via CD Rom, in print or the web, in both English and Spanish.

For more information, visit the Health Access and Long Term Services section of the site, or contact Marsha Saxton, Senior Researcher, at marsax@wid.org.

Proyecto Visión: National Technical Assistance Center for Latinos with Disabilities

Proyecto Vision, the first national technical assistance center for Latinos with disabilities, provides services to employers, service providers, and jobseekers to address barriers to Latinos effectively utilizing disability services and connecting to work. Since 2001, Proyecto Vision developed an infrastructure to provide positive employment outcomes for Latinos with disabilities by bridging the culture/language gap and creating culturally appropriate responses to the group’s particular needs and by providing role models and mentors.

Proyecto Vision’s program includes a website (www.proyectovision.net) featuring news, resources and opportunities for scholarships/internships/jobs; an electronic newsletter that highlights success stories about Latinos with disabilities who found employment; a listserv that allows readers to interact with others facing similar issues; an annual conference that brings together employers, service providers and jobseekers to network and exchange ideas; and regional trainings covering disability awareness and cultural competency for corporate recruiters and service providers.

In 2008 with support from AT&T and Wal-Mart, Proyecto Vision began to shift its focus to Latino and other youth with disabilities from underserved populations, ages 12 – 35, so they may successfully transition from school to higher education, attain sustainable independent living and employment outcomes. The program is using popular youth-friendly Internet sites and blogs to inspire our target population with short video clips of Success Stories and will recruit Latino and other youth with disabilities from underserved populations into our ongoing and highly successful Emerging Writers Program, part of the project’s leadership development initiative.

For more information, visit the Proyecto Visión section of the site, or contact Gabriel Many, Project Manager, at gabriel@wid.org.

International Program

WID is committed to helping disability organizations in other countries create networks, programs and services that promote the full inclusion of disabled people. WID's International Development Program provides training and technical assistance to disabled persons organizations and governments in developing countries, as well as program development and evaluation, and legislative and policy development. WID also conducts research, exchange programs and international conferences.

Building the Capacity of the Iraqi Alliance of Disability Organizations (IADO)

In 2007, WID and Mercy Corps began a new partnership to strengthen the capacity of the Iraqi Alliance of Disability Organizations (IADO), 30 NGOs representing more than 150,000 people with disabilities across the sectarian divisions currently affecting Iraq. Using training curricula modeled on WID's previous work in Russia and Central Asia to train 5 teams of disability activists from Iraqi disability NGOs from five governorates, this collaboration will enable the Mercy Corps CAPII Program and the Iraqi disability NGOs to develop an effective approach to empowering young people with disabilities while implementing public education, outreach and community advocacy activities. The first training in the series was held in northern Iraq in May 2008, and the second training is scheduled for October 2008. WID is also collaborating with Whirlwind Wheelchairs International, UCP Wheels for Humanity, the JIDU Foundation, and the LDS Humanitarian Services to provide humanitarian shipments of wheelchairs and other rehabilitation equipment to disabled persons in Iraq.

Strengthening National Disability Coalitions in Armenia and Georgia

In 2007, WID began a partnership with the Education Development Center (EDC) to provide technical assistance to implement the Disabilities and Vulnerable Groups component of the USAID-funded Social Legacy Program. WID International Program staff produced a background paper on the status of disability in Europe and Eurasia and helped EDC and USAID to select Georgia and Armenia as countries targeted for building the capacity of their disability NGOs. In July 2008, the first planning meeting of the Georgian Coalition for Independent Living was held to identify and select a common strategic disability issue for future work. The first planning meeting for Armenian disability NGOs to strengthen their national coalition will be held in October 2008. It is expected that project activities in these two countries will serve as models for USAID Missions on how to integrate programs serving persons with disabilities into their existing portfolios.

For more information, visit the International Development and Disability section of the site, or contact Bruce Curtis, International Program Manager, at bruce@wid.org.

DisabilityWorld.org

DisabilityWorld.org (www.disabilityworld.org), is a unique international online magazine (e-zine), dedicated to advancing an exchange of information and expertise about the international independent living movement of people with disabilities. Published by WID since 2000 and available only online, DisabilityWorld features a wide variety of news reports, international studies and research, new projects, interviews, and book and film reviews. The majority of articles address disability-related developments in a particular country concerning social change through advocacy, self-help and building alliances; employment and entrepreneurial initiatives; technology and accessibility; governance, legislation and policies; and attitude change through mass media and the arts.

Since 2005, DisabilityWorld has focused on initiatives and activities to improve the status of the estimated 400 million children, youth and adults with disabilities living in developing countries. DisabilityWorld has over 30,000 regular readers from 200 countries. The site was honored with an Ashoka Changemakers Award in 2002. DisabilityWorld is currently published annually until regular funds are secured.

For more information, visit the International Development and Disability section of the site, or contact Jennifer Geagan, Development and Communications Director, at jennifer@wid.org.

Technology Policy

Society is increasingly dependent on e-mail, cell phones, voicemail and the Internet for work and communication. People with disabilities are often not considered when equipment and services are designed and therefore are being left out due to inaccessible technology, further decreasing the capacity of this population to participate and contribute like their non-disabled peers.

WID’s Technology Program provides training and technical assistance to the information technology and telecommunications industry to make their products and services accessible, to consumers to find accessible technology, develops public policy recommendations, and identifies best practices. The program is currently funded by the California Emerging Technology Fund to identify, evaluate and recommend solutions to access barriers in websites, programs, facilities and communications of all of CETF’s grantees as well as to assist them to reach more people with disabilities in their programs and services.

For more information, visit the Technology Policy section of the site, or contact Kathy Martinez, Executive Director, at kathy@wid.org.

Red Cross Training Project

WID and the American Red Cross (ARC) launched an innovative national training, awareness and action program to help ARC staff and volunteers better serve people with disabilities during disasters.
Funded through a grant from the Verizon Foundation, the program will improve emergency preparedness and disaster response by ARC staff and volunteers for people with disabilities; increase collaboration between the ARC and local community-based disability organizations; and increase understanding of the needs of people with disabilities in disaster situations.

For more information, contact Kathy Martinez, Executive Director, at kathy@wid.org.

Training and Public Education

Corporations, government agencies and organizations frequently hire WID's Training and Public Education Program to conduct trainings on disability awareness and etiquette, accommodating employees with disabilities, and increasing workplace diversity. WID's Training and Public Education Program also advises on access, compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and other civil rights laws and offers additional training packages on Access to Medical Care; Working Without Losing Healthcare or Other Needed Benefits; Making Asset Building Programs Accessible to People with Disabilities; and How to make Technology Accessible to People with Disabilities.

For more information, visit the Training section of the site, or contact Kathy Martinez, Executive Director, at kathy@wid.org.

Ever Widening Circle

WID’s annual gala event, Ever Widening Circle, an evening of entertainment provided by world-class performers with disabilities, battles negative stereotypes of disabled people and serves as a model for presenting entertainment that is accessible for all audiences. Now in its 10th year, Ever Widening Circle 2008 will feature the Grammy Award-winning talents of The Blind Boys of Alabama, revered worldwide for their unique blend of the sacred and the secular.

Members of the disability community and their supporters will come together in the ballroom of the downtown Oakland Marriott on November 7, 2008 to celebrate disability culture and WID’s 25th anniversary. To commemorate this very special year, the evening will include a retrospective of 25 years of WID’s accomplishments. Past performances have included comedian Josh Blue, the  Blind Boys of Alabama, 13-year old composer and pianist Matt Savage, and internationally renowned AXIS Dance Company, comprised of dancers with and without disabilities.

The success and visibility of Ever Widening Circle is the result of the strong collaborative ties between WID and its partners and sponsors. WID invites individuals and companies to join with us in our commitment to disability rights and support this gala event.

For more information, visit the Ever Widening Circle section of the site, or contact Kathy Martinez, Executive Director, at kathy@wid.org.