DRA's 2019 Impact Roundup

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2019 Impact Report

Hello friends and fans of DRA,

It has been BIG year at DRA! Our hard-working team has filed and won major cases in diverse geographies, on behalf of people across the disability spectrum, to bring about monumental changes that protect the civil rights of millions.

We couldn't have done it without you: our donors, clients, advisors and friends. In this, our last newsletter of the year, we offer a summary of the 2019 impact you have helped make possible:

Architectural Barriers

DRA reached a groundbreaking settlement agreement with New York City to drastically improve sidewalk accessibility, and we filed lawsuits in Philadelphia and Chicago to address their lack of pedestrian route accessibility. Our most recent lawsuit calls out the Hunters Point Library in Queens for excluding persons with mobility disabilities from equal access.

Image: A curb cut on a street corner in NYC. The surface is missing big chunks of cement, making it very hazardous.

Education

DRA's historic settlement with Stanford University protects students with mental health disabilities from unnecessary exclusion. We also filed a lawsuit challenging the policy of denying free nutrition programs to students in Chicago whose disabilities require them to attend non-public schools.

Image: An empty classroom featuring many desks and a chalkboard

Emergency Preparedness

This year DRA has achieved two important settlements in the critical area of emergency preparedness. Thanks to DRA, persons with disabilities will not be left behind if a disaster strikes while visiting Washington DC or traveling via the Sacramento Airport.

Image: Washington DC in winter, a snowy landscape with the Washington Monument in the background

Housing and Employment

On the west coast, DRA cast a spotlight on Oakland's unfair rent control laws that discriminate against persons with disabilities. In New York City we've taken a stand with veterans in the Fire Department who experience discrimination due to their history of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Image: FDNY Firetruck parked outside

Immigration

DRA filed a crucial nationwide class action lawsuit against Immigration and Customs Enforcement, challenging ICE's policies of abusive isolation, horrific medical and mental health care, and denial of accommodations to detained immigrants with disabilities.

Image: View from behind bars inside ICE detention center

Rideshare

Popular rideshare companies like Uber and Lyft have consistently failed to ensure their services are accessible to wheelchair-users, and DRA has filed lawsuits against Uber in Pittsburgh and Lyft in the Bay Area to challenge this discriminatory practice.

Image: Wheelchair-user on a street, trying to find a ride

Technology

DRA reached a comprehensive settlement with the New York State Board of Elections ensuring millions of blind voters will have access to voter registration and election information. In the Bay Area, DRA and blind hockey fans took aim at the San Jose Sharks' failure to ensure equal access to their digital fan experience.

Image: View from behind bars inside ICE detention center

Transportation

DRA has filed a series of lawsuits designed to hold the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority accountable for its failure to uphold the ADA. After a judge ruled that renovations made by the MTA at a subway station in the Bronx triggered accessibility obligations, DRA filed two additional cases challenging the MTA and the Long Island Rail Road's discriminatory practice of renovating subway stations without installing elevators.

Image: Inaccessible Entrance for Middletown Road Subway

2019 draws to a close and DRA’s work wages on. We look forward to working with you in 2020 and beyond—to change the fabric of American society so that people with disabilities can participate fully.

Happy holidays and new year,

Kate Hamilton, Stuart Seaborn, and Michelle Caiola

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Disability Rights Advocates

2001 Center Street, Fourth Floor

Berkeley, CA 94704

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