Advocacy for People with Disabilities

Clicking on the links below will take you to that Association's website.

• Abused Deaf Women’s Advocacy Services www.adwas.org

ADWAS has advocates on staff to assist people who are victims of domestic violence and/or sexual assault and need help. Services are free of charge and available to people who are Deaf, Deaf-Blind or Hard of Hearing and residents of King, Pierce or Snohomish County.

• Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA Homepage) www.ada.gov

U.S. Department of Justice: Americans with Disabilities Act homepage provides information and technical assistance on the Americans with Disabilities Act.

• Center for Research on Women with Disabilities www.bcm.edu/crowd/abuse_women/abuse_women.html

The Center for Research on Women with Disabilities (CROWD) is a research center that focuses on issues related to health, aging, civil rights, abuse, and independent living. CROWD's purpose is to promote, develop, and disseminate information to expand the life choices of women with disabilities so that they may fully participate in community life. More specifically, researchers develop and evaluate models for interventions to address specific problems effecting women with disabilities.

• Deaf Abused Women’s Network www.deafdawn.org

DAWN is a deaf community-based non-profit, 501 (C) (3) organization dedicated to educating about domestic violence and sexual assault (DV/SA). The organization includes advocates, domestic violence/sexual assault survivors, volunteers and leaders who share a common language, American Sign Language, and strive to end the cycle of DV/SA.

• Partnership for People with Disabilities www.vcu.edu/partnership

The Partnership for People with Disabilities, formerly known as the Virginia Institute for Developmental Disabilities (VIDD), is recognized by the federal Administration on Developmental Disabilities as a university center for excellence in developmental disabilities. Founded in 1985 under the leadership of Dr. Howard Garner with fewer than five staff at Virginia Commonwealth University, today the Partnership is proud to operate more than 20 federal and state programs, staffed by more than 100 professionals and students supporting individuals with disabilities and their families.

• Registry of Interpreters For the Deaf www.rid.org

The Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, Inc., (RID) is a national membership organization of professionals who provide sign language interpreting/transliterating services for Deaf and Hard of Hearing persons. RID advocates for the increased quality, qualifications, and quantity of interpreters.

• Safe Place: Disability Services www.austin-safeplace.org/

Safe Place offers a comprehensive and compassionate continuum of services, providing support and resources for survivors to create independent lives, free of violence, for themselves and their families.

• Virginia Assistive Technology www.vats.org

Virginia Assistive Technology has received federal funding from the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research since 1990 to develop a statewide comprehensive system of assistive technology (AT), and to assist Virginians with disabilities in accessing assistive and information technology (IT) devices and services.

• Virginia Board for People with Disabilities www.vaboard.org

Under mandate of federal and state law, VBPD works to promote and guide public policy changes and create opportunities for new approaches in our service delivery systems.

• Virginia Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired www.vdbvi.org

The mission of the Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired is to empower blind, visually impaired, and deafblind individuals to achieve their maximum level of employment, education, and personal independence.

• Virginia Department of Deaf and Hard of Hearing www.vddhh.org

The Virginia Department for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (VDDHH) works to reduce the communication barriers between persons who are deaf or hard of hearing and their families and the professionals who serve them.

• Virginia Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation, and Substance Abuse Services www.dmhmrsas.virginia.gov

Virginia’s public mental health, mental retardation and substance abuse services system is comprised of forty community services boards and state facilities.

• Virginia Department of Rehabilitative Services www.vadrs.org

The Department of Rehabilitative Services provides services to help Virginians with disabilities become more independent and self-sufficient. In keeping with our mission and values, our knowledgeable and talented employees work in partnership with people with disabilities, their families, and public and private service providers to ensure high quality, timely and efficient service delivery.

• Virginia Disability Services Agencies www.vadsa.org

A comprehensive listing and links to Disability Services in Virginia and Nationally.

• Virginia Office for Protection and Advocacy www.vopa.state.va.us

The Virginia Office for Protection and Advocacy (VOPA) helps with disability-related problems like abuse, neglect, and discrimination.  We also help people with disabilities obtain services and treatment.  All callers receive help with these problems.  Individuals with problems, targeted in our program goals, may also receive advocacy services and/or legal representation.