DisabledCommunity.Org - Mission and Proposal
DisabledCommunity.Org is a 100% volunteer-based disability information clearinghouse. The purpose of organizing a website of disability websites is to make it easier for the disabled community to find resources quickly and easily. DisabledCommunity.Org is being developed with an international, national, state and local San Francisco Bay Area focus.
DisabledCommunity.Org is dedicated to serving the information needs of people
with disabilities and their family, friends and providers of personal
assistance.
San Francisco State University’s Institute on Disability collaborates with community organizations to support research and service projects that advance the social integration of persons with disabilities. The Institute on Disability is partnering with DisabledCommunity.Org (DCO) on this project.
The Institute on Disability, in partnership with DisabledCommunity.Org, seeks resources to continue to collect information resources and build user tools to support this underserved community. Gathering and organizing disability-related information on resources will make it easier for individuals and groups within the disability community to find the resources they need to live a higher
quality of life. While most organizations provide information about their specialized programs and services (e.g. the American Cancer Society),
DisabledCommunity.Org in collaboration with the SFSU Institute on Disability
plans to serve as a clearinghouse for all disability-related information needs.
What are the main outcomes for which you are requesting support?
Increased accessibility to disability disability-related information
Increased well-being in the disability community
Improved communication about disability-related issues and concerns in the Bay Area
Improved website access to funding resources available to the disability
community
What are the most important activities that will help you achieve these
outcomes? Include frequency/duration of program events or services provided:
1. Building partnerships with accessibility experts, such as San Francisco State’s Disability Programs and Resource Center and the Center for Accessible
Technology in Emeryville, and with consumers to ensure that the website is
accessible to all people with disabilities. Manage branding of website without limiting users with vision difficulties.
2. Providing answers to health-related questions through FAQs (frequently asked
questions), fact sheets, and access to health care services via the internet.
3. Promoting use of the website through community outreach efforts. For
example, using the Institute on Disability’s long-term and broad connections to the Bay Area and California disability communities, we will contact members and groups within the disability community by means of a quarterly newsletter to update individuals with disabilities, agencies that serve them, and funders of
such programs. The newsletter will be disseminated both through e-mail and via
US mail for those people without email addresses. In addition, using the
extensive academic network of San Francisco State’s Institute on Disability we will reach out to students not only at San Francisco State, but other Bay Area campuses to disseminate information about the website and determine that it is meetng the needs of students with the full range of disabilities.
4. Creating online membership tools to function as a virtual meeting place
where people with disabilities, their friends, and families can share
information and build communication and support networks. Develop online
database to track website contact information.
5. Convening meetings at which consumers, family members, friends, providers of personal assistance, agencies, and volunteers can meet and define needs within the disability community and seek to improve provision for those needs.
6. Creating website banner ads to fund DisabledCommunity.Org as well as continue accepting donations (via credit card donations with Paypal and by
check).
Also, file to become 501 C 3.
This request for funding is to create an online information clearinghouse on
disabilities.
Equal access, including access to Internet-based resources, is a civil right ensured by the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, the California State version of that act, and Section 508 of the federal Rehabilitation Act. As people with disabilities, their families, friends, and providers of personal assistance services, we need to promote and facilitate public access in all realms, including the Internet. Gathering and organizing disability-related information in one place will make it easier for members of the disability community to find the resources they need without having to expend enormous amounts of time and energy searching the Internet.
The DCO website currently has over 3,000 website links organized by category (similar to the categorical structure of Yahoo). The purpose of DCO is to: ensure that people with disabilities and those who support them can readily and easily access the resources they need to create more sustainable livelihoods.
The website is organized by categories such as: assistive technology,
education, employment, government, housing, and transportation. The website is being developed with a local Bay Area focus, but also provides access to state, national, and international disability websites.
The incidence of disability in the U.S. population breaks down as follows:
19.4% of the whole U.S. population or 53.9 million people
20% of African-Americans
21.9% of Native Americans
15.3% of Latinos
9.9% of Asian / Pacific Islanders - (NTIS, 2000)
13.5 Non-White
Currently not all Internet users enjoy equal access. Education, income, and
disability all limit access to the internet.“ The National Telecommunications and Information Administration has issued a report, Falling Through the Net:
Toward Digital Inclusion, … that states that individuals with disabilities are
only half as likely to have access to the Internet as those without
disabilities: 21.6% compared to 42.1%. And while just under 25% of those
without a disability have never used a personal computer, close to 60% of those
with a disability fall into that category.”
Learning about the Internet and the computer cannot happen during a 15-minute visit to the local library computer even if that computer happened to be accessible. The library computer is available for the library patron who
already knows how to use a computer and merely needs quick access to check
research a subject or check their e-mail.
Creating access for people with disabilities is a major societal issue. The first step is to organize the information currently available for people with internet skills. DisabledCommunity.Org will provide people with disabilities,
their families, friends, personal assistance providers, and social service
agency representatives access to a library of online information about
disability.
Once this information is organized and an online community is built, the task
of leveling the playing field for people with disabilities without computer and
internet skills will begin. Grade schools and high schools in the Untied
States provide access to computers and the Internet for students. Continuing
education outside the school system needs to be provided for elders and adults with disabilities to be trained because computers may not have been available when they were in school and future education, work and life enhancement depends upon the use of a computer. Creating access to the Internet for people with disabilities usually requires training, assistive technology, and mentoring.
Many people with disabilities live on fixed incomes. Buying a computer,
obtaining internet services, paying for additional electricity can only be a
dream since neither Medicare nor other agencies deems computers and internet
access necessities for people with disabilities. Internet access to an outside world holds great hope for this community. Access to disability information is only the first step toward providing equal access. In contrast, just over half (51.7 percent) of table without disabilities have access to computers. The gap
in Internet use is even more striking. Just one in ten (9.9 percent) of people
with disabilities connect to the Internet, compared to almost four out of ten (38.1 percent) people without disabilities. (Current Population Survey, 1998)
Our society has a responsibility to provide access to community programs and services for all people. This is not just a matter of compliance with civil rights laws, but the fulfillment of a distinctly American vision of a community that is diverse, inclusive, democratic, and equitable.
Key Players
Paul K. Longmore is Director of San Francisco State’s Institute on disability and Professor of History. San Francisco State’s Institute on Disability was founded in 1996 in part to develop collaborative relationships with community- based organizations.
In the past, the Institute has obtained federal and state training grants with Bay Area and California agencies that serve the disability community, as well as with agencies, organizations, and university-based programs across the United States. The Institute has also received grants and contracts from such federal agencies as the National Council and Disability, the National Institute on Disability Rehabilitation and Research, the Rehabilitation Services Administration, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. As a result, the Institute has extensive collaborative experience and an extensive network of contacts in the local, regional, state, national,
and international disability communities. DCO and San Francisco State’s Institute on Disability have joined in partnership to launch, promote, and elaborate this Internet-based project.
Lori Guidos, Executive Director, is Executive Director of DisabledCommunity
Organization (DCO). A board for DCO will soon be established. In the
meantime, a voluntary advisory committee formed in early 2004 has been
consulting on website design and administrative issues. The advisory committee includes: Elissa Berrol, Program Manager of the Community Leadership & Advocacy in Mentorship (CLAIM ), Independent Living Resource Center of San Francisco; Scott Clark, mentor in the CLAIM program; Jose Caedo, Citizen Assistance/Complaint Officer, San Francisco Mayor's Office on Disability; Cheryl Deaner, founder of All Our Families Coalition and founder of the Alternative Family Project; Herb Levine, Executive Director, Independent
Living Resource Center of San Francisco.
Other Important Factors:
Many people with disabilities do not have access to or education about computers. Access to DCO would need to be used by family, friends, and social service agencies in order to support this population. Once a resource exists, DCO can organize computer and Internet trainings for individuals to join this online community. Also, outreach to companies, government, and social service agencies with extra computers (due to replacements or upgrades) need to be contacted for
donations to provide inexpensive access to people with disabilities who cannot
afford to purchase a computer, modem, or internet access.
DisabledCommunity.Org is dedicated to serving the information needs of people
with disabilities and their family, friends and providers of personal
assistance.
San Francisco State University’s Institute on Disability collaborates with community organizations to support research and service projects that advance the social integration of persons with disabilities. The Institute on Disability is partnering with DisabledCommunity.Org (DCO) on this project.
The Institute on Disability, in partnership with DisabledCommunity.Org, seeks resources to continue to collect information resources and build user tools to support this underserved community. Gathering and organizing disability-related information on resources will make it easier for individuals and groups within the disability community to find the resources they need to live a higher
quality of life. While most organizations provide information about their specialized programs and services (e.g. the American Cancer Society),
DisabledCommunity.Org in collaboration with the SFSU Institute on Disability
plans to serve as a clearinghouse for all disability-related information needs.
What are the main outcomes for which you are requesting support?
Increased accessibility to disability disability-related information
Increased well-being in the disability community
Improved communication about disability-related issues and concerns in the Bay Area
Improved website access to funding resources available to the disability
community
What are the most important activities that will help you achieve these
outcomes? Include frequency/duration of program events or services provided:
1. Building partnerships with accessibility experts, such as San Francisco State’s Disability Programs and Resource Center and the Center for Accessible
Technology in Emeryville, and with consumers to ensure that the website is
accessible to all people with disabilities. Manage branding of website without limiting users with vision difficulties.
2. Providing answers to health-related questions through FAQs (frequently asked
questions), fact sheets, and access to health care services via the internet.
3. Promoting use of the website through community outreach efforts. For
example, using the Institute on Disability’s long-term and broad connections to the Bay Area and California disability communities, we will contact members and groups within the disability community by means of a quarterly newsletter to update individuals with disabilities, agencies that serve them, and funders of
such programs. The newsletter will be disseminated both through e-mail and via
US mail for those people without email addresses. In addition, using the
extensive academic network of San Francisco State’s Institute on Disability we will reach out to students not only at San Francisco State, but other Bay Area campuses to disseminate information about the website and determine that it is meetng the needs of students with the full range of disabilities.
4. Creating online membership tools to function as a virtual meeting place
where people with disabilities, their friends, and families can share
information and build communication and support networks. Develop online
database to track website contact information.
5. Convening meetings at which consumers, family members, friends, providers of personal assistance, agencies, and volunteers can meet and define needs within the disability community and seek to improve provision for those needs.
6. Creating website banner ads to fund DisabledCommunity.Org as well as continue accepting donations (via credit card donations with Paypal and by
check).
Also, file to become 501 C 3.
This request for funding is to create an online information clearinghouse on
disabilities.
Equal access, including access to Internet-based resources, is a civil right ensured by the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, the California State version of that act, and Section 508 of the federal Rehabilitation Act. As people with disabilities, their families, friends, and providers of personal assistance services, we need to promote and facilitate public access in all realms, including the Internet. Gathering and organizing disability-related information in one place will make it easier for members of the disability community to find the resources they need without having to expend enormous amounts of time and energy searching the Internet.
The DCO website currently has over 3,000 website links organized by category (similar to the categorical structure of Yahoo). The purpose of DCO is to: ensure that people with disabilities and those who support them can readily and easily access the resources they need to create more sustainable livelihoods.
The website is organized by categories such as: assistive technology,
education, employment, government, housing, and transportation. The website is being developed with a local Bay Area focus, but also provides access to state, national, and international disability websites.
The incidence of disability in the U.S. population breaks down as follows:
19.4% of the whole U.S. population or 53.9 million people
20% of African-Americans
21.9% of Native Americans
15.3% of Latinos
9.9% of Asian / Pacific Islanders - (NTIS, 2000)
13.5 Non-White
Currently not all Internet users enjoy equal access. Education, income, and
disability all limit access to the internet.“ The National Telecommunications and Information Administration has issued a report, Falling Through the Net:
Toward Digital Inclusion, … that states that individuals with disabilities are
only half as likely to have access to the Internet as those without
disabilities: 21.6% compared to 42.1%. And while just under 25% of those
without a disability have never used a personal computer, close to 60% of those
with a disability fall into that category.”
Learning about the Internet and the computer cannot happen during a 15-minute visit to the local library computer even if that computer happened to be accessible. The library computer is available for the library patron who
already knows how to use a computer and merely needs quick access to check
research a subject or check their e-mail.
Creating access for people with disabilities is a major societal issue. The first step is to organize the information currently available for people with internet skills. DisabledCommunity.Org will provide people with disabilities,
their families, friends, personal assistance providers, and social service
agency representatives access to a library of online information about
disability.
Once this information is organized and an online community is built, the task
of leveling the playing field for people with disabilities without computer and
internet skills will begin. Grade schools and high schools in the Untied
States provide access to computers and the Internet for students. Continuing
education outside the school system needs to be provided for elders and adults with disabilities to be trained because computers may not have been available when they were in school and future education, work and life enhancement depends upon the use of a computer. Creating access to the Internet for people with disabilities usually requires training, assistive technology, and mentoring.
Many people with disabilities live on fixed incomes. Buying a computer,
obtaining internet services, paying for additional electricity can only be a
dream since neither Medicare nor other agencies deems computers and internet
access necessities for people with disabilities. Internet access to an outside world holds great hope for this community. Access to disability information is only the first step toward providing equal access. In contrast, just over half (51.7 percent) of table without disabilities have access to computers. The gap
in Internet use is even more striking. Just one in ten (9.9 percent) of people
with disabilities connect to the Internet, compared to almost four out of ten (38.1 percent) people without disabilities. (Current Population Survey, 1998)
Our society has a responsibility to provide access to community programs and services for all people. This is not just a matter of compliance with civil rights laws, but the fulfillment of a distinctly American vision of a community that is diverse, inclusive, democratic, and equitable.
Key Players
Paul K. Longmore is Director of San Francisco State’s Institute on disability and Professor of History. San Francisco State’s Institute on Disability was founded in 1996 in part to develop collaborative relationships with community- based organizations.
In the past, the Institute has obtained federal and state training grants with Bay Area and California agencies that serve the disability community, as well as with agencies, organizations, and university-based programs across the United States. The Institute has also received grants and contracts from such federal agencies as the National Council and Disability, the National Institute on Disability Rehabilitation and Research, the Rehabilitation Services Administration, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. As a result, the Institute has extensive collaborative experience and an extensive network of contacts in the local, regional, state, national,
and international disability communities. DCO and San Francisco State’s Institute on Disability have joined in partnership to launch, promote, and elaborate this Internet-based project.
Lori Guidos, Executive Director, is Executive Director of DisabledCommunity
Organization (DCO). A board for DCO will soon be established. In the
meantime, a voluntary advisory committee formed in early 2004 has been
consulting on website design and administrative issues. The advisory committee includes: Elissa Berrol, Program Manager of the Community Leadership & Advocacy in Mentorship (CLAIM ), Independent Living Resource Center of San Francisco; Scott Clark, mentor in the CLAIM program; Jose Caedo, Citizen Assistance/Complaint Officer, San Francisco Mayor's Office on Disability; Cheryl Deaner, founder of All Our Families Coalition and founder of the Alternative Family Project; Herb Levine, Executive Director, Independent
Living Resource Center of San Francisco.
Other Important Factors:
Many people with disabilities do not have access to or education about computers. Access to DCO would need to be used by family, friends, and social service agencies in order to support this population. Once a resource exists, DCO can organize computer and Internet trainings for individuals to join this online community. Also, outreach to companies, government, and social service agencies with extra computers (due to replacements or upgrades) need to be contacted for
donations to provide inexpensive access to people with disabilities who cannot
afford to purchase a computer, modem, or internet access.