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DRA logo + "DRA Winter 2025 Newsletter"
Image: DRA logo + "DRA Winter 2025 Newsletter"
In This Issue
* Letter from the President & CEO (#President)
* 2024 Annual Report (#Report)
* 2024 Gala Memories (#Gala)
* DRA History (#History)
* Impact Report (#Impact)
Letter from the President & CEO
Dear DRA Supporters,
What a wild ride 2025 has been. I’ve had the privilege of meeting with clients and community members in San Francisco, Chicago, and New York in recent weeks and I can tell you this. People with disabilities are deeply concerned about the direction of the Administration. We are watching aid to vulnerable people in vulnerable countries around the world eviscerated. We are losing our government jobs. We are concerned about government funds disappearing that provide life-saving services. We are waiting for what’s next. And I’ll share with you all what I’ve shared with our clients and partners:
DRA is here to do what we have always done best. We wield the law to protect the civil rights of people with disabilities. And chaotic moments like these, when corporations and government entities might be disregarding the law, are what DRA was built for. We’re not reliant on government funding. We are reliant on funding from individuals like you and we’re incredibly grateful for your support. We can and will act as an independent watchdog. We’re ready and willing to file new cases based on new discriminatory policies and practices.
Speaking of discriminatory policies and practices, on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day this year, we filed a mass case, against more than 160 real estate agents, brokerage firms, and landlords, for rampant housing discrimination in Chicago, including the denial of affordable accessible housing to people with disabilities. You can read more about this in my Able News column ([link removed]) and in the impact report (#Impact) below. This is the work that can and must be done, and we’re here to do it as 2025 continues to unfold.
And, I want to invite you, because we all need some uplift right now, to join me in DRA’s memory lane. In this newsletter you’ll find our 2024 annual report (#Report) detailing the incredible impact we had last year. You’ll find gala photos (#Gala) highlighting our supporters celebrating DRA’s work in Chicago, New York, and San Francisco at the end of last year. And we’ve also updated DRA’s timeline (#History) —filled with 30+ years of milestones that have transformed the fabric of society so that people with disabilities can participate equally.
So buckle your seatbelts, read ahead, and join us as we continue our journey towards a world free from discrimination, where people with disabilities are valued members of their communities with equal access to opportunity.
Sincerely,
Rebecca Williford signature
Rebecca Williford
President & CEO, Disability Rights Advocates
2024 Annual Report
DRA President & CEO Rebecca Williford and DRA staff members receive an award from Harlem Independent Living Council in NYC + DRA logo + "2024 Annual Report"
Image: DRA President & CEO Rebecca Williford and DRA staff members receive an award from Harlem Independent Living Council in NYC + DRA logo + "2024 Annual Report"
Read DRA's 2024 Annual Report ([link removed])
2024 Gala Memories
DRA President & CEO Rebecca Williford posing at the 2024 Gala in NYC with awardees Lachi and Yannick Benjamin and a guest
Image: DRA President & CEO Rebecca Williford posing at the 2024 Gala in NYC with awardees Lachi and Yannick Benjamin and a guest
Photographs from New York ([link removed])
Photographs from San Francisco ([link removed])
Photographs from Chicago ([link removed])
DRA History
DRA staff, clients, and partners gathered outside an NYC courthouse after a 2024 court hearing in DRA's NYC accessible taxis case
Image: DRA staff, clients, and partners gathered outside an NYC courthouse after a 2024 court hearing in DRA's NYC accessible taxis case (photo credit: Joe Rappaport of BCID)
Check Out DRA’s 30+ Years of Impact ([link removed])
Impact Report
DRA attorney Emily Roznowksi stands outdoors with nine of DRA’s clients, co-counsel, and supporters during a press conference in Chicago
Image: DRA attorney Emily Roznowksi stands outdoors with nine of DRA’s clients, co-counsel, and supporters during a press conference in Chicago
Housing Discrimination in Chicago
Following a sweeping undercover investigation, DRA and our co-counsel filed the largest housing discrimination case in Illinois history on behalf of Housing Rights Initiative. We filed 176 complaints against 165 Chicago-area real estate agents, brokerage firms, and landlords for illegally refusing to rent to low-income families who sought to use Housing Choice Vouchers (Section 8). People with disabilities make up a disproportionate share of housing choice voucher holders. (Press release ([link removed]) and Chicago Sun Times coverage ([link removed]) )
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