Program Updates

Rooted in Rights & Mental Voices Africa Teach Advocacy Storytelling in Nairobi

December 3, 2019Rooted in Rights has partnered with Mental Voices Africa to promote international advocacy for those of us with mental health disabilities. This workshop trained these advocates to script, film, and edit their own self-advocacy stories on mobile phones.

Rooted in Rights Wins Three Community Awards for Authentic Advocacy

November 21, 2019This fall, Rooted in Rights received three awards in recognition for our groundbreaking storytelling on transportation and access. See what these community organizations are saying about our work!

AVID’s Trans in Prison Justice Project Provides Identity-Affirming Support

November 5, 2019This summer, DRW’s AVID Program and Trans in Prison Justice Project were proud to be selected as the host for the 2019 QLAW Sher Kung Summer Fellowship. We welcomed Tommy Statkiewicz to the team and he got to work right away on a big project – providing legal representation for 9 transgender clients to be able to access legal name changes while incarcerated.

AVID Program receives 2019 Paul H. Chapman Award

October 2, 2019Last weekend, AVID Program attorney Rachael Seevers traveled to Atlanta, Georgia to accept a 2019 Paul H. Chapman Award from the Foundation for Improvement of Justice.

DRW and Disability Advocacy Groups File Amicus Brief Opposing New Public Charge Rule

September 10, 2019“The public charge rule implies that people with disabilities, citizens and noncitizens, are unwelcome in the United States. Under the Final Rule, immigrants with disabilities will be assigned a heavily weighted negative factor, causing irreparable harm to the community of citizens and noncitizens with disabilities,” said Mark Stroh.

State and national organizations denounce efforts to exclude people with disabilities from WA communities

September 6, 2019A state legislator has requested a formal legal opinion from the Washington State Attorney General’s Office asking whether anti-discrimination laws would prevent state lawmakers from creating methods for local governments to prohibit people with mental health disabilities from living in their communities after receiving inpatient treatment.

DRW asks court for urgent relief to address DDA failures

August 30, 2019In their motion, Mr. Murinko and DRW argue that DDA’s failure to ensure he can access the services he had been getting and still needs is violating his rights under the Medicaid Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Read more at the link.

WA Supreme Court admits attorney to the state bar, after previously being denied entry without explanation

July 15, 2019In May, DRW joined The Arc of the United States, The Arc of Washington, The Arc of King County, Washington Autism Alliance & Advocacy, The Autistic Self Advocacy Network, and Disability Rights Oregon in filing an amicus brief in support of an attorney with autism who was twice denied entry by the state’s supreme court to the state bar without explanation.

Settlement Approved in Disability Rights Washington v. Sinclair

July 11, 2019In April 2018, Disability Rights Washington and co-counsel Paukert and Troppmann filed a federal lawsuit to challenge the Department of Corrections’ practice of housing inmates with mental health needs in overly restrictive custodial settings at the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla. Last week a settlement agreement was approved by the federal court in this case.

#WhyDescribe

July 8, 2019Rooted in Rights launched the #WhyDescribe campaign, releasing a series of videos promoting media accessibility. RiR will continue this work and more this summer, joining colleagues in the disability and organizing communities at Netroots Nation and NCIL’s Annual Conference on Independent Living, and implementing a new CRM and training to advance our infrastructure for digital organizing.

RiR Co-Hosts Candidate Forums, and Addresses Seattle Transportation and Accessibility Problems

June 20, 2019Rooted in Rights co-hosted Seattle City Council candidate forums in May of 2019, and also successfully centered disability in local streets and transportation reform in coalition with traditional transit and environmental organizations who have not previously included disability in their work.

DRW releases new report on Rainier School

May 21, 2019In Chaotic and Dangerous, Disability Rights Washington’s latest report on the state-run Rainier School, DRW has found that Washington continues to put people with developmental disabilities at serious risk of harm. The report also identifies systemic failures at the institution, making clear its problems are not caused by a few bad apples, but rather grow from organizational structures that require drastic transformation by Washington State.

Trueblood bill, SB 5444, signed by Governor

May 16, 2019The Trueblood bill, SB 5444, was signed by Governor Inslee on May 9, 2019! We received strong support from advocates throughout the entire legislative process. Changes created through the bill will help transform Washington's mental health system.

May Mental Health Awareness Month

May 15, 2019For Mental Health Awareness month, we released videos with our blog fellow Angela Lemus-Mogrovejo, our Kenyan exchange fellow Noela Luka, and with Megan and Johnny about mental healthcare reform in Washington State. Our Storytellers Fellow Daisy Wislar has already released a video on the importance of consent for youth with disabilities...