Webinars Centering People with Disabilities by People with Disabilities

The videos are below the description of the webinars. Visit our YouTube channel with 30 videos by neurodivergent and Disabled people and people with disabilities. 

Recent & Featured Webinars

Webinar 9: Sex and Sense Ability: Disability, Sexuality, and Available Adaptations

Webinar 18: Parenting Under Deep Oppression: Disabled Parents and the State

Webinar 20: Paving Towards Inclusion | Creando el Camino Para un Mundo Mas Inclusivo (Eng./Spanish/ASL)

Webinar 21: Defined and Shared: The Voices of Structural Ableism (ASL & English)

Webinar 22: Structural Ableism: What It Is and How We Address It (English & ASL)

Vera Institute of Justice, Center on Victimization and Safety: Words Matter: Exploring Identity and Language for Survivors with Disabilities

Webinar Archive

  • Webinar 1: Historical & Cultural Context for Disability Justice & Primary Prevention
  • Webinar 2: Legal Guardianship & Consent
  • Webinar 3: Advocacy & Survivorship (Panel)
  • Webinar 4: Best Practices for Working with People with Disabilities
  • Webinar 5: Preventing Violence Against People with Disabilities
  • Webinar 6: Sexual Violence Prevention with People who Are Deaf and Hard of Hearing
  • Webinar 7: Mental Health, Neurodivergence, and Sexual Violence Prevention Panel
  • Webinar 8: Nothing About Us Without Us: Accessible Organizing
  • Webinar 9: Sex and Sense Ability: Disability, Sexuality, and Available Adaptations
  • Webinar 10: Budgeting for Accessibility in Your Primary Prevention Programs
  • Webinar 11: The Spectrum of Prevention in Rape Crisis Centers: Risk Factors and People with Disabilities
  • Webinar 12: Sexual Wellness for People with Cognitive and Developmental Disabilities as Sexual Violence Primary Prevention
  • Webinar 13: Sexual Violence and Disability: A Social Justice Framework for Service Providers by Richard Propes (Video incomplete.)
  • Webinar 14: Stakeholder Panel Discussion Part 1: Sexual Health Education for People with Cognitive and Developmental Disabilities as Sexual Violence Primary Prevention
  • Webinar 15: Advancing Disability Justice through Sexual Violence Prevention: Including Disabled Youth as Stakeholders in our Work – Part 1, Sponsored and hosted by VALOR
  • Webinar 16: Advancing Disability Justice through Sexual Violence Prevention: Including Disabled Youth as Stakeholders in our Work – Part 2, Sponsored and hosted by VALOR
  • Webinar 17: Part 2 Stakeholder Panel: Sexual Health for People with Cognitive and Developmental Disabilities as Sexual Violence Primary Prevention
  • Webinar 18: Parenting Under Deep Oppression: Disabled Parents and the State
  • Webinar 19: Providing Accessible and Effective Services to Survivors of Sexual Assault with Disabilities
  • Webinar 20: Paving Towards Inclusion | Creando el Camino Para un Mundo Mas Inclusivo
  • Webinar 21: Defined and Shared: The Voices of Structural Ableism
  • Webinar 22: Structural Ableism: What It Is and How We Address It (English & ASL)
  • Webinar 23:
  • Webinar 24:

Webinars in Collaboration

Words Matter: Exploring Identity and Language for Survivors with Disabilities

In the disability community, where there is a history of erasure, exploitation, and misunderstanding, language choices we make when talking about people with disabilities (also referred to as disabled people) are ever-changing and important. How people understand themselves adapts and shifts as our communities, movements, and cultures change, as does our language about identity.

Recognizing and honoring people’s choices about their identity is critical to supporting survivors with disabilities. Service providers need to understand, respect, and uplift community members’ decisions about their identity, including the language that they use.

Join us for a dynamic discussion with Max Barrows and Cierra Olivia Thomas-Williams, moderated by Olga Trujillo, as we delve into their perspectives on identity and language, the various perspectives of disability communities, and the importance of empowering those most impacted to make decisions about their own identities and the language we use.

IDJ in partnership with the End Abuse of People with Disabilities at the Vera Institute of Justice, Center on Victimization and Safety

Link to the webinar: https://www.endabusepwd.org/resource/words-matter-exploring-identity-and-language-for-survivors-with-disabilities/

Words Matter: Exploring Identity and Language for Survivors with Disabilities – End Abuse of People with Disabilities

Webinar: Indiana Bureau of Quality Improvement Services Webinar with IDJ’s Haleigh Rigger – Supporting Survivors with Cognitive and Developmental Disabilities

On June 3, 2021 Haleigh Rigger had the opportunity to present strategies for supporting survivors with cognitive and developmental disabilities thanks to a partnership between Indiana Coalition to End Sexual Assault and Human Trafficking (ICESAHT), and the Bureau of Quality Improvement Services (BQIS), a division of the Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA). This training focused on how direct support professionals, case managers, and their leadership teams can best support survivors after they disclose. We also discussed strategies for building trust and rapport and navigating the tricky waters of maintaining a survivor’s privacy while also following state and agency mandates in reporting. Lastly, we invite disability service providers to review their protocols, engage self-advocates in conversations about sexual wellness and violence, and incorporate trauma-informed principles into their organizational culture. You can access the recorded training here.

As individuals with developmental disabilities are sexually assaulted at a rate 7x higher than folks without disabilities (NPR, 2018), it is crucial that we in the anti-violence movement partner with caregivers and disability service agencies in responding to and preventing violence against folks with disabilities. Even more important, those of us who are professionals in this movement must center people with disabilities in our anti-violence work and pass the mic to those who are most impacted. It takes multi-disciplinary teams, that are led by and for people with disabilities, to holistically serve survivors and prevent violence from happening in the first place. As my friends and colleagues at Indiana Disability Justice say, “Nothing about us, without us.”

Webinar 1: Historical & Cultural Context for Disability Justice & Primary Prevention

What do the earliest land laws in the country have to do with guardianship of people with disabilities? What is the connection between colonization of indigenous people and experimentation on disabled and black bodies? This webinar will introduce attendees to disability frameworks, intersectionality, institutionalization, and the Indiana Disability History Project. Speakers will offer a Q&A portion for participants to hear from people with disabilities regarding their experiences with institutionalization in Indiana. Cierra’s annotated PPT Slides

Presenters

  • Skylar Ashton Kantola (she and they), MESA Program Coordinator, Multicultural Efforts to End Sexual Assault, kantola@purdue.edu
  • Cierra Olivia Thomas-Williams (she/her), Prevention Specialist, Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence (ICADV), cwilliams@icadvinc.org.
  • Jane Harlan-Simmons (she/her), Research Associate, Indiana Institute on Disability and Community, Indiana University, jeharlan@indiana.edu
  • Kirat Sandhu (she/her, Tech Moderator), Indiana Coalition to End Sexual Assault and Human Trafficking

Closed Captions & Transcript created by Skye Ashton Kantola, MESA Program Coordinator

Co-Sponsors

Webinar 2: Legal Guardianship & Consent

Learn about supported decision-making vs. the levels of legal guardianship and how guardianship impacts consent among people with disabilities.

Resources
Cierra’s slides 
Melissa slides

Presenters

  • Cierra Olivia Thomas-Williams (she/her), Prevention Specialist, Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence (ICADV), cwilliams@icadvinc.org.
  • Melissa Keyes (she/her), Interim Executive Director, Legal Director, Indiana Disability Rights (IDR), MKeyes@IndianaDisabilityRights.org.
  • Kelsey Cowley (she/her), President, Self-Advocates of Indiana
  • Skylar Ashton Kantola (she and they), MESA Program Coordinator, Multicultural Efforts to End Sexual Assault, kantola@purdue.edu
  • Kirat Sandhu (she/her, Tech Moderator), Indiana Coalition to End Sexual Assault and Human Trafficking

Closed Captions & Transcript created by Reshma Sunil Rawlani, MESA Graduate Student Worker

Co-Sponsors

Webinar 3: Advocacy & Survivorship

This webinar features a cross disability panel of people who will address how to advocate for survivors with disabilities in the medical system, legal system, and after a crisis.

Presenters

  • Skylar Ashton Kantola (she and they, Facilitator), MESA Program Coordinator, Multicultural Efforts to End Sexual Assault, kantola@purdue.edu
  • Michon Neal (zi/hir, Panelist)
  • Salem Goosby (he and they, Panelist)
  • Moriah Williams (they/she, Panelist)
  • Braycee Dudley (she/her, Panelist)
  • Danielle Pitmon (she/her, Panelist)
  • Kirat Sandhu (she/her, Tech Moderator), Indiana Coalition to End Sexual Assault and Human Trafficking

Closed Captions & Transcript created by Reshma Sunil Rawlani, MESA Graduate Student Worker

Co-Sponsors

Webinar 4: Best Practices for Working with people with Disabilities

This webinar will address interpersonal and healthy intimate partnerships, professional policies and implementation, medical and social services, and notes on prevention.

Presenters

Skylar Ashton Kantola (she and they, Facilitator), MESA Program Coordinator, Multicultural Efforts to End Sexual Assault, kantola@purdue.edu

Jody Powers (she/her), Consultant with Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence

Kirat Sandhu (she/her, Tech Moderator), Indiana Coalition to End Sexual Assault and Human Trafficking

Closed Captions & Transcript created by Skye Ashton Kantola, MESA Program Coordinator & Reshma Sunil Rawlani, MESA Graduate Student Worker

Co-Sponsors

Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence: https://icadvinc.org/

Multicultural Efforts to End Sexual Assault: www.facebook.com/PurdueMESA

Indiana Coalition to End Sexual Assault & Human Trafficking: https://icesaht.org/

Indiana Minority Health Coalition: https://www.facebook.com/IndianaMinorityHealth/

Webinar 5: Preventing Violence Against People with Disabilities

This webinar will address what is needed for large-scale prevention of violence against communities with disabilities. In phase 1, will discuss the importance of dismantling internalized ableism – What does this look like? How do you do this? How does this contribute to prevention? In phase 2, we will address how your organizations might understand agency and consent, and what model policies and implementation strategies may look like. In phase 3, we will examine the connections between food security, healthcare, fatphobia, employment and income. Finally, we will look forward to explore the large-scale changes we can strive for in order to prevent violence against people with disabilities.

Presenters
  • Skylar Kantola (she and they), MESA Program Coordinator, Multicultural Efforts to End Sexual Assault, kantola@purdue.edu.
  • Jody Powers (she/her), Consultant with Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence
  • Haley Sumner (she/her), Disability Advocate and Indiana University Student
  • Andrea Mann (she/her), Parent of children with Disabilities
  • Cierra Olivia Thomas-Williams (she/her), Prevention Specialist, Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence (ICADV), cwilliams@icadvinc.org.
  • Kirat Sandhu (she/her, Tech Moderator), Indiana Coalition to End Sexual Assault and Human Trafficking

Closed Captions & Transcript created by Skye Ashton Kantola, MESA Program Coordinator with support from Reshma Sunil Rawlani, MESA Graduate Student Worker

Co-Sponsors

Webinar 6: Sexual Violence Prevention with People who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing

Learn about creating anti-violent policies and practices that support Deaf and Heard of Hearing survivors, prevention of sexual violence against Deaf and Heard of Hearing communities, and trauma-informed interpretation.

Webinar Outline
  • 15 minutes: Housekeeping & introductions
  • 20 minutes: Creating Protective Environments
  • 20 minutes: The Shelter System
  • 20 minutes: Training ASL Interpreters
  • 15 minutes: Closing, resource sharing bonanza
Presenter
  • Holly Elkins (she/her, Presenter), Deaf and Hard of Hearing Outreach Coordinator, Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence, helkins@icadvinc.org
  • Skye Ashton Kantola (she and they, Tech Moderator), Program Coordinator, Multicultural Efforts to End Sexual Assault
  • Cierra Olivia Thomas-Williams (she/her, Tech Moderator), Prevention Specialist, Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence

Closed Captions & Transcript created by Skye Ashton Kantola, MESA Program Coordinator

Co-Sponsors
Resources

Cierra’s annotated PPT Slides

Webinar 7: Mental Health, Neurodivergence, and Sexual Violence Prevention Panel

Learn about the lived experiences of a panel of neurodivergent and mentally ill self-advocates and listen to them discuss how society can prevent sexual violence against those in these communities. Video with CC coming soon.

Webinar Outline

  • 5-10 minutes: Housekeeping & introductions
  • 60 minutes: Moderated panel discussion on Mental Health, Neurodivergence, & Sexual Violence Prevention
  • 10 minutes: Attendee questions
  • 5-10 minutes: Closing, resource sharing bonanza

Presenters

  • Skye Ashton Kantola (she and they, Facilitator), Program Coordinator, Multicultural Efforts to End Sexual Assault, kantola@purdue.edu
  • Vita E. Cleveland (they and she, Panelist), percussionist, educator, poet, vocalist, and activist
  • Cénix C. Callejo (they/them, Panelist), environmental activist and biologist
  • Nick Dowling (he/him, Panelist), Purdue undergraduate student who is 50% sick, 30% math, and 20% memes
  • Teht Ashmani (they/them, Panelist), creative writer & scholar of cultural theory & literature
  • AJ Lewis (he/him, Panelist), survivor & self-advocate
  • Cierra Olivia Thomas-Williams (she/her, Tech Moderator), Prevention Specialist, Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence

Closed Captions & Transcript created by Skye Ashton Kantola, MESA Program Coordinator

Co-Sponsors

Webinar 8: Nothing About Us Without Us: Accessible Organizing

As a collaborative team we will discuss what we have learned about organizing sexual violence primary prevention work with people disabilities and through our lived experience as people with various disabilities.

Webinar Outline

  • 5-10 minutes: Housekeeping & introductions
  • 40 minutes: People with Disabilities to the front! (Jody)
  • 20 minutes: Outreach and Process (Skye)
  • 20 minutes: Budgeting for accessibility (Cierra)
  • 10 minutes: Attendee questions
  • 5-10 minutes: Resource recommendations

Presenters

  • Jody Powers (she/her), Governor’s Council for People with Disabilities
  • Skye Ashton Kantola (she and they), Multicultural Efforts to End Sexual Assault
  • Cierra Olivia Thomas-Williams (she/her), Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence

Closed Captions & Transcript created by Skye Ashton Kantola, MESA Program Coordinator

Co-Sponsors

Webinar 9: Sex and Sense Ability: Disability, Sexuality, and Available Adaptations

When we challenge assumptions and acknowledge that people with disabilities can and often are people with sexual desires, we grant people with disability agency over their bodies and desires. Sex and pleasure are accessible to everyone with some creativity and an open mind. In this jam packed session we will hit on a multitude of topics related to sex and sexuality from practical adaptations, conversations with caregivers, navigating partnerships, body positivity and sex surrogacy. Sexual desire is a spectrum for us all, including people with disabilities. It’s time we talk about how we talk about sex, sexuality, desire and intimacy. From social media movements like #disabledpeoplearehot and #babewithmobilityaid to discussions with doctors and other service providers, the discussion is happening all around us. Join Em Mais and Skye Kantola as they share a queer inclusive perspective on navigating this complex topic. Everyone (over 18) and ready to engage openly is welcome and encouraged to attend! CC coming soon!

 

Webinar Outline

  • 5-10 minutes: Housekeeping & introductions
  • 20 minutes: Accessibility & Aids
  • 20 minutes: Communication & Sexuality
  • 10 minutes: Technology & Resources
  • 10 minutes: Q & A

Presenters

  • Em Mais (they/them), Disability Advocate, Researcher, and Undergraduate Student at Indiana University
  • Skye Ashton Kantola (she and they), Program Coordinator, Multicultural Efforts to End Sexual Assault, kantola@purdue.edu
  • Cierra Olivia Thomas-Williams (she/her, Tech Moderator), Prevention Specialist, Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence
  • Note: Lane Banister and Em Mais originally created this curriculum and Em and Skye made some modifications to the curriculum for today’s webinar.

Closed Captions & Transcript created by Skye Ashton Kantola, MESA Program Coordinator

Co-Sponsors

Webinar 10: Budgeting for Accessibility in Your Primary Prevention Programs

Please join us for a webinar on budgeting time, resources, and funding to prioritize accessibility in prevention programming and organizing. CC Coming soon!

Webinar Outline

  • 5-10 minutes: Housekeeping & introductions (Skye)
  • 20 minutes: Grounding in SVPP & making a connection to budgeting (Cierra)
  • 20 minutes: What is in your budget? (Cierra)
  • 20 minutes: Consumer Education Fund, (Kat)
  • 10 minutes: Attendee questions (Skye)
  • 5-10 minutes: Resource recommendations (Crew)

Presenters

  • Cierra Olivia Thomas-Williams (she/her), Prevention Specialist, Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence, cwilliams@icadvinc.org.
  • Kat Chappell (she/her), Outreach and Operations Manager, Indiana Governor’s Council for People with Disabilities, kchappell@gcpd.in.gov.
  • Skye Kantola (she and they), Programs Coordinator, Multicultural Efforts to End Sexual Assault, kantola@purdue.ed

Closed Captions & Transcript created by Skye Ashton Kantola, MESA Program Coordinator

Co-Sponsors

Webinar 11: The Spectrum of Prevention in Rape Crisis Centers: Risk Factors and People with Disabilities

75% + of the population of people with disabilities will experience sexual violence in their lifetime. Despite such high victimization rates, there is a dearth of sexual violence research including people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The Indiana Abuse Prevention Disability Task Force (APDTF) completed a literature review of sexual violence risk factors for people with disabilities including developmental and intellectual disabilities and member panelists of the APDTF will highlight the findings. Haleigh Rigger, Indiana Statewide Rape Crisis Coordinator, will discuss what RCCs can do to engage in primary prevention of sexual violence within their agencies and in local communities.

Webinar Outline

  • 5 minutes: Housekeeping & introductions (Skye/Cierra)

  • 15 minutes: Grounding in SVPP & making a connection to Disability Justice (Cierra & Skye)

  • 20 minutes: Review task force efforts (Cierra, Haleigh, Jen)

  • 20 minutes: Application for Rape Crisis Centers (Haleigh)

  • 10 minutes: Attendee questions (Skye/Cierra)

  • 5-10 minutes: Resource recommendations (Crew)

Presenters

  • Cierra Olivia Thomas-Williams (she/her), Prevention Specialist, Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence, cwilliams@icadvinc.org.

  • Skye Kantola (she and they), Programs Coordinator, Multicultural Efforts to End Sexual Assault, kantola@purdue.edu

  • Haleigh Rigger (she/her), Rape Crisis Coordinator, Indiana Coalition to End Sexual Assault and Human Trafficking, haleigh@indianacesa.org

  • Jennifer Milharcic (she/her), Disability Consultant, Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence, jenmilharcic@gmail.com

Closed Captions & Transcript created by Skye Ashton Kantola, MESA Program Coordinator

Co-Sponsors

Webinar 12: Sexual Wellness for People with Cognitive and Developmental Disabilities as Sexual Violence Primary Prevention

Contextualizing sexual wellness for people with disabilities as a strategy for SVPP across the social ecological model; Risk Factors for SV for People with Disabilities related to sexual wellness; What kinds of things does a sexual wellness instructor need to consider for program adaptation? How should we address consent?

Webinar Outline
  • 5 minutes: Housekeeping & introductions (Skye/Cierra)
  • 15 minutes: Sexual Violence Primary Prevention and Disability Justice (Skye/Cierra)
  • 40-60 minutes: Panel Conversation (Panelists)
  • 10 minutes: Attendee Questions (Skye/Cierra)
  • 5-10 minutes: Resource Recommendations (Crew)
Presenters
  • Skye Kantola (she and they, Facilitator): Program Coordinator, Multicultural Efforts to End Sexual Assault, kantola@purdu.edu
  • Cierra Olivia Thomas-Williams (she/her, Presenter): Prevention Specialist, Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence, cwilliams@icadvinc.org
  • Jordan Haisley (she/her, Panelist), Disability Consultant, Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence
  • Dr. Mary Ciccarelli (she/her, Panelist), Professor of Clinical Medicine and Clinical Pediatrics at Indiana University School of Medicine
  • Pam Malin (she/her, Panelist), Disability Victim Advocate (she/her, Panelist), Disability Rights Wisconsin
  • Cindy Bentley, Executive Director (she/her, Panelist), People First Wisconsin
  • Timotheus Gordon (he/him, Panelist), Research Assistant, University of Illinois – Chicago

Closed Captions & Transcript created by Skye Ashton Kantola, MESA Program Coordinator

Co-Sponsors

Stakeholder Panel: Sexual Health for People with Cognitive and Developmental Disabilities as Sexual Violence Primary Prevention (Two-Part Series)

Part 1

Topic covered: Research on sexual health across the lifespan for people with cognitive and developmental disabilities and the impact of sexual health and wellness on community stakeholders.

Description: Sexual health and healthy relationships for people with cognitive and developmental disabilities are critical to end sexual violence and achieve health equity. Join this cross-sector stakeholder discussion to hear from researchers at the Center for Health Equity at Indiana Institute on Disability and Community, people with disabilities, disability justice advocates, a disability serving agency, care givers, and a sexual assault advocate who will discuss the current cultural moment and what it will take to advance sexual health equity for people with cognitive and developmental disabilities. Panelists will present current research meant to advance sexual health education and sexual self-advocacy among people with cognitive and developmental disabilities in Indiana. The cross-sector panel will discuss the implications, identify resources, and make recommendations for change.  Part two will feature people with disabilities who will continue the discussion and consider next steps.

Learning objectives:

  • Identify current research that includes individuals with cognitive and developmental disabilities and focuses on sexual health education for people with cognitive and developmental disabilities.
  • Locate sexual violence prevention resources for people with cognitive and developmental disabilities.

Part 1 Webinar Outline:

  • Haleigh will open with housekeeping & intros
  • Cierra and Jennifer on the chat/technology
  • The Village of Merici questions – Sister Jackie, Will, and Melissa
  • People with Disabilities questions – Jody, Sarah, and Luna
  • Advocacy questions – Nicole
  • 10 minutes audience Q&A

Indiana Disability Justice Hosts: 

  • Cierra Olivia Thomas-Williams, Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Indiana Disability Justice (Zoom wrangler)
  • Jennifer Milharcic, Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Indiana Disability Justice (Zoom wrangler)
  • Haleigh Rigger, Indiana Disability Justice, Indiana Coalition to End Sexual Assault and Human Trafficking (Moderator)

Guest Panelists:  Panelist Biographies

  • Luna EversongKlass, Mother, Survivor of Rape and Domestic Violence, Advocate
  • Jody M. Powers, Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Indiana Disability Justice Hub Coordinator
  • Nicole Kass-Colvin, Safe Passage 
  • Sister Jackie McCracken, The Village of Merici
  • Will Worley, The Village of Merici
  • Sarah Boyd, Resident, The Village of Merici
  • Liz Erb, The Village of Merici 
  • Lydia Hamilton, Indiana Institute on Disability and Community, Center for Health Equity
  • Melissa Dubie, Indiana Institute on Disability and Community, Indiana Resource Center for Autism
  • Don Dumayas, Indiana Institute on Disability and Community, Center for Health Equity

Co-Sponsors
Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence: https://icadvinc.org/
Indiana Coalition to end Sexual Assault and Human Trafficking: https://icesaht.org/

Part 2

Sexual health and wellness for people with cognitive and developmental disabilities is critical to end sexual violence and achieve health equity. Join this community stakeholder discussion to hear from survivors with  disabilities/disabled survivors, disability justice advocates, and a sexual assault advocate who will discuss the current cultural moment and what it will take to advance sexual health equity for people with cognitive and developmental disabilities. Panelists will share their experiences as advocates, discuss the implications of sexual health for disabled people, identify resources, and make recommendations for change.  

Learning objectives: Describe the impact of risks for sexual violence on people with developmental and cognitive disabilities; Identify protections against  sexual violence  for people with developmental and cognitive disabilities; Apply the experiences of disabled survivors of violence to current and future community prevention work; Locate sexual violence prevention resources for people with cognitive and developmental disabilities.

Hosts: 

  • Cierra Olivia Thomas-Williams (Zoom wrangler)
  • Jennifer Milharcic (Zoom wrangler)
  • Haleigh Rigger (Moderator)

Guest Panelists: 

  • Luna EversongKlass, Mother, Survivor, Advocate
  • Jody M. Powers, Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence
  • Nicole Kass-Colvin, Safe Passage 
  • Sister Jackie McCracken, The Village of Merici, 
  • Sarah Boyd, Resident, The Village of Merici

Webinar 15 & 16: Advancing Disability Justice through Sexual Violence Prevention: Including Disabled Youth as Stakeholders in our Work (a two-part series)

Part One/Two

copy below written by VALOR
Webinar series hosted and sponsored by VALOR (formerly CALCASA) to benefit California RPE grant subrecipients

Presenter(s): Skye Kantola (she/they) Indiana Disability Justice & Cierra Olivia Thomas-Williams (she/hers) Indiana Disability Justice, Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence

Host(s): Sarah Orton (she/hers) & Jessie Towne-Cardenas (she/hers) – VALOR

Webinar Curriculum (google slide deck)

Description:

Young people with physical and developmental disabilities are one of the highest risk populations for experiencing sexual violence although they are most often overlooked in conversations about sexual health and violence prevention. Youth-led prevention programs that strive for inclusivity should view young people with disabilities as stakeholders in sexual violence prevention work and create youth leadership programs that are not only accessible to but center, a diversity of youth voices.

This two-part mini-series will address frameworks for understanding disability justice, particularly through the lens of decolonization and indigenous wisdom. Participants will be offered tools to explore how the intersections of ableism, racism, ageism may manifest in intergenerational relationships, including strategies for structural and interpersonal assessment. This series will also discuss concrete and actionable techniques for relationship building, facets of programming that ensure accessibility, and outreach that uplifts the leadership of youth with disabilities. Lastly, this training will offer tools and insights into building safety through transformative education and key strategies for guiding youth-driven evaluation.

Learning Objectives

  • Describe strategies for incorporating a disability justice lens into sexual violence prevention programs.
  • Identify steps to develop relationship-centered outreach, collaboration, engagement and evaluation with disabled youth to prevent sexual violence.
  • Describe strategies for inclusive prevention curriculum design and facilitation. Connect disability justice, racial justice, and intergenerational work as interrelated practices.

Part 1

Part 2

Parenting Under Deep Oppression: Disabled Parents and the State

 December 16, 2021, 1-2:30 p.m. – ASL interpretation is available during the parent panel. While the live webinar had ASL interpreters in view at all times, unfortunately the Zoom recording did not capture the pinned captioners when we showed slides.

Guest Panelists: 

Hosts: 

  • Jennifer Milharcic (Host and Moderator)
  • Cierra Olivia Thomas Williams (Zoom wrangling and tech. support)

Partners:

Indiana Statewide Independent Living Council (INSILC)

People with disabilities can be kept from forming families. In the United States, the state has the power to sever parent child relationships based upon the ableist ideal of rugged individualism and an extreme form of independence that people without disabilities are not held to. Join this stakeholder discussion panel to hear from three parents with disabilities who are navigating an oppressive system that denies them the right to create a family and thrive as a family. Morgan Daly, who is an attorney, will inform participants about legislative policy advocacy related to parents with disabilities in the state of Indiana; and will introduce reasonable accommodations, how to use them, and will offer reasonable accommodation resources for parents with disabilities.

Learning objectives: 

  1. Describe the current discrimination parents with disabilities face;
  2. Explain Indiana’s new legislation impacting parents with disabilities, why it doesn’t do enough, and why we need to continue to do advocacy in this area;
  3. Engage with 3 parents and prospective parents with disabilities to learn about the struggles, successes, and suggestions they have from their lived experiences.

Continue learning:

  • Parenting with Disabilities, Reasonable Accommodations Resources (link)
  • From Carrie Buck to Britney Spears: Strategies for Disrupting the Ongoing Reproductive Oppression of Disabled People (link) by Robyn M. Powell, October 18, 2021, 107 Va. L. Rev. Online 246. 
  •  Access, Autonomy, and Dignity: People with Disabilities and the Right to Parent (link), September 2021 by national partnership for women & families
  • Access, Autonomy, and Dignity: A Series on Reproductive Rights and Disability Justice (link) by national partnership for women & families, December 2021
  • Indiana Disability Justice and Violence Prevention Resource Hub (link)

Providing Accessible and Effective Services to Survivors of Sexual Assault with Disabilities

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month and in support of survivors everywhere, we are dedicating this month’s End Abuse of People with Disabilities webinar to lifting up promising practices for serving survivors with disabilities. Featuring a panel comprised of a survivor with a disability, a national expert, and a local advocate, this webinar will explore the unique barriers that people with disabilities have to navigate when seeking healing and the strategies that advocates can employ to proactively remove those barriers. The panelists will provide practical guidance from their own experience that will help you ensure that survivors with disabilities feel respected and supported within your programs.

Join panelists, Cathy Saunders, Self-Advocate with Illinois Imagines, Cierra Olivia Thomas-Williams, Prevention Specialist at Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Heidi Sue LeBoeuf, Counseling Director at Pathways For Change and facilitator Sandra Harrell, Associate Director, Center on Victimization and Safety for this discussion.

Handout: https://www.endabusepwd.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Providing-Accessible-and-Effective-Services-to-Survivors-of-Sexual-Assault-with-Disabilities.pdf 

Transcript: https://www.endabusepwd.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Providing-Accessible-and-Effective-Services-to-Survivors-of-Sexual-Assault-with-Disabilities.plain_text.txt 

Link to the webinar: https://www.endabusepwd.org/resource/providing-accessible-and-effective-services-to-survivors-of-sexual-assault-with-disabilities/

Paving Towards Inclusion | Creando el Camino Para un Mundo Mas Inclusivo

Paving Towards Inclusion | Creando el Camino Para un Mundo Mas Inclusivo

A webinar on Disability Inclusive Infrastructure in English and in Spanish

English version

Slides

Description: These are the topics that will be addressed in the webinar:

  1. Describe how current-day infrastructure heightens the barriers to employment, housing, education for disabled people;
  2. Explore the institutional, attitudinal, social, transportation, and physical barriers that makes it harder for disabled/neurodivergent folks to fully participate in their environments and communities, further perpetuating institutionalized ableism;
  3. Learn about the history and application of ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act), including its’ limitations in enacting policies fully rooted in disability justice.
  4. Learn how disability inclusive infrastructure can produce sustainable solutions that center equity and inclusivity can be a tool for dismantling ableism, racial, and economic injustices in communities across the U.S.
  5. Disrupt modes of isolation disabled folks face through connecting communities, resisting capitalist norms that treat disabled and neurodivergent people as disposable, and paving the way towards securing 21st century social, economic, and human rights for all people.
 En Espanol

Slides

Descripción: Estos son los temas que se abordarán en el webinar:

  1. Describir cómo la infraestructura actual aumenta las barreras para el acceso al trabajo, la vivienda y la educación para las personas discapacitadas.
  2. Explorar las barreras institucionales, de actitud, sociales, de transporte y físicas que dificultan que las personas discapacitadas/neurodivergentes participen plenamente en sus entornos y comunidades, perpetuando aún más el capacitismo institucionalizado.
  3. Conocer la historia y la aplicación de la ADA (Ley de Estadounidenses con Discapacidades), incluidas sus limitaciones en la promulgación de políticas totalmente arraigadas en la justicia de discapacidad.
  4. Aprender cómo la infraestructura inclusiva para personas con discapacidad puede producir soluciones sostenibles que se centren en la equidad y la inclusión. Esto puede ser una herramienta para desmantelar el capacitismo, las injusticias raciales y económicas en las comunidades de los EE. UU.
  5. Interrumpir los modos de aislamiento que enfrentan las personas discapacitadas conectando comunidades, resistiendo las normas capitalistas que tratan a las personas discapacitadas y neurodivergentes como desechables y allanando el camino para garantizar los derechos sociales, económicos y humanos del siglo XXI para todas las personas.
 

Information about the presenters below:

Ricardo Chahine (he/him/his) is a Ph.D. student studying transportation engineering at Purdue University. He grew up in Lebanon and completed both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering at the Lebanese American University (LAU). As a master’s student, he pursued research focusing on traffic safety and human factors. After graduating, he worked as a consultant on a project assessment for a proposed public transit system study and was responsible for designing a simulator environment to assess the influence of cellphone use on driver performance. Currently, Ricardo’s research pivots around understanding emerging, active, and sustainable travel solutions such as Uber, bike-sharing, and e-scooters. His work focuses on utilizing existing services to provide solutions to accessibility issues in urban setups. His research also involves public education to improve road construction zone safety, as well as investigating COVID-19’s impact on accessibility and mobility. In Fall of 2022, he won the Eldon J. Yoder memorial award as an outstanding graduate student in transportation engineering. Ricardo also served last year as a president for the Institute of Transportation Engineers at Purdue University. The board ended up winning the Best Student Chapter award in summer 2022 on an international scale.

Yeni Bencomo-Suárez (she/her/ella) is a cross-cultural community organizer, sex educator, and a student of abolition. Yeni grew up in the working class, immigrant neighborhoods of Louisville, Kentucky where she was exposed to a long heritage of civil rights activism in the American South. Yeni has organized for a variety of social causes including labor, climate, and racial justice for over five years as well as sustaining multiple mutual aid networks. Prior to attending college, Yeni obtained a full-ride scholarship from the State Dept., National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y) and lived in Marrakech, Morocco studying Arabic. Yeni attended the University of Louisville (UofL) while working as a labor union organizer for Service Employees International Union (SIEU). During her time at SEIU, she helped organize Aramark food service workers at both University of Louisville and University of Kentucky campuses. During college, Yeni also traveled to Brazil to research left-wing, Black and Indigenous led social movements with the UofL Latin American studies department. In December 2019, Yeni received the Activist on the Rise award from the Kentucky Alliance against Racism and Political Repression. In May 2020, she received a B.A. in Latin American/Latino Studies with a minor in Middle Eastern/Islamic Studies from UofL. Soon after graduating, Yeni raised over $20,000 for food, housing, and bail funds during the dual pandemics of police violence and COVID-19. Having worked afterwards at Purdue University for a statewide violence prevention program, Yeni is now an adolescent health educator at LifeSmart Youth, an organization based in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Jody Michele (She/her) Jody Michele is an independent consultant for the Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence, where she serves on the leadership committee of Indiana Disability Justice. She is the Communication and Website Coordinator for IDJ. Jody is also a licensed Christian minister, whose faith motivates her to promote the human dignity of all people. She views embracing our humanness as a path to violence prevention. Jody has cerebral palsy with visual and speech impairments. She also deals with PTSD, depression, and anxiety. She uses a power chair for mobility.

Información sobre los presentadores abajo:

Ricardo Chahine (Él) es un Candidato a Doctor en la ingeniería del transporte en la Universidad de Purdue. Creció en el Líbano y completó su Licenciatura y su Maestría en ingeniería civil en la Universidad Libanesa Americana (LAU). Como estudiante de maestría, realizó una investigación centrada en la seguridad vial y los factores humanos. Después de graduarse, trabajó como consultor en la evaluación de un proyecto para un estudio de sistemas de transporte público y fue responsable de diseñar un entorno de simulación para evaluar la influencia del uso de teléfonos celulares en el desempeño del conductor. Actualmente, la investigación de Ricardo gira en torno a la comprensión de soluciones de viaje emergentes, activas y sostenibles, como Uber, bicicletas compartidas y e-scooters. Su trabajo se centra en utilizar los servicios existentes para brindar soluciones a los problemas de accesibilidad en configuraciones urbanas. Su investigación también involucra la educación pública para mejorar la seguridad de las zonas de construcción de carreteras, así como investigar el impacto del COVID-19 en la accesibilidad y la movilidad. En el otoño de 2022, ganó el premio conmemorativo Eldon J. Yoder como estudiante de posgrado destacado en ingeniería del transporte. Ricardo también se desempeñó el año pasado como presidente del Instituto de Ingenieros del Transporte de la Universidad de Purdue. La junta terminó ganando el premio al Mejor Capítulo Estudiantil en el verano de 2022 a escala internacional.

Yeni Bencomo-Suarez (Ella) es una organizadora comunitaria intercultural, instructora de educación sexual y estudiante de la abolición. Yeni creció en los barrios de clase trabajadora e inmigrantes de Louisville, Kentucky, donde estuvo expuesta a una larga herencia de activismo por los derechos civiles en el sur de Estados Unidos. Yeni ha organizado para una variedad de causas sociales que incluyen los derechos de los trabajadores, el clima y la justicia racial durante más de cinco años. En este mismo período ha contribuido a mantener múltiples redes de ayuda mutua. Antes de asistir a la universidad, Yeni obtuvo una beca completa del Departamento de Estado, Iniciativa de Lenguaje de Seguridad Nacional para Jóvenes (NSLI-Y) y vivió en Marrakech, Marruecos, estudiando árabe. Yeni asistió a la Universidad de Louisville (UofL) mientras trabajaba como organizadora sindical para el Sindicato Internacional de Empleados de Servicios (SIEU). Durante su tiempo en SEIU, ayudó a organizar a los trabajadores del servicio de alimentos de Aramark en los campus de la Universidad de Louisville y la Universidad de Kentucky. Durante sus estudios de la licenciatura, Yeni también viajó a Brasil para investigar los movimientos sociales liderados por negros e indígenas de izquierda con el departamento de estudios latinoamericanos de la Universidad de Louisville. En diciembre de 2019, Yeni recibió el premio Activista en ascenso de la Alianza de Kentucky contra el Racismo y la Represión Política. En mayo de 2020, recibió un B.A. en Estudios Latinoamericanos/Latinos con una especialización en Estudios Islámicos/del Medio Oriente de la UofL. Poco después de graduarse, Yeni recaudó más de $20,000 para alimentos, vivienda y fondos de fianza durante la doble pandemia de violencia policial y COVID-19. Después de haber trabajado en la Universidad de Purdue para un programa estatal de prevención de la violencia, Yeni ahora es educadora de salud para adolescentes en LifeSmart Youth, una organización con sede en Indianápolis, Indiana.

Defined and Shared: The Voices of Systemic Ableism

Creating protective environments is a powerful prevention strategy that can impact entire communities. However, prevention efforts are still often aimed at marginalized communities resulting in prevention for a community rather than prevention with a community. Protective environments can be ineffective for people with disabilities when Disabled people are not at the center of the work. During this webinar we will learn from a panel of people with disabilities who will explore the ways systemic ableism keeps those with disabilities relegated to the margins. Systemic ableism includes the systems, regulations, and rules embedded in the fabric of society such as national laws, organizational practices, neighborhood norms, and even our own belief systems. The outcomes of systemic ableism can often punish Disabled people. Almost half of the people who die at the hands of police have some kind of disability. When a person with a disability works and earns too much money, benefits may be stripped from them. Another instance of systemic ableism is sidewalk ordinances. A city can make street corner sidewalks accessible, but require businesses to make their own drives accessible. This practice results in an unusable sidewalk for a person who uses a wheelchair. January 17, 2023 2:30-4 p.m. EST

Structural Ableism: What it is and how we address it

Prevention strategies and practices are vital for people with disabilities. Persons with disabilities are at a significantly higher rates of sexual violence. This is due in large to the fact that the disability community is a marginalized part of society. In order for society to accept the disability community, people with disabilities must be thought of as equals. Ableism, the discrimination and social prejudice against people with disabilities, is one way of perpetuating marginalization of this community.


Structural Ableism refers to physical inaccessibility that effectively denies entry and equal use by people with disabilities. Barriers may include physical structures such as public spaces, and infrastructures like public buses and routes. A common example of this is a staircase with the absence of a ramp or elevator. This situation denies access to those who use wheelchairs or other mobility aids, but what about other disabilities? How are they affected by structural ableism?


 Through this webinar you will learn about different types of structural ableism, hear personal stories from our three panelists of how structural ableism impedes people with different disabilities, and ways to accommodate for different disabilities through universal design.