Program Updates

Education Update

By C. Monica Eskridge, Interim Program Manager for Education

As of December 3, 2009:

PWDF EMPLOYMENT WORKSHOP

On May 15, 2009, PWDF sponsored an open public forum to discuss employment issues for persons with mental disabilities. We focused on employment supports for people with mental and/or developmental disabilities. Our panel of experts included:

Darlene Rutkowski, District Administrator, CA Dept. of Rehabilitation, San Francisco & Mistress of Ceremonies;

Claudia Center, Senior Staff Attorney at the Legal Aid Society/Employment Law Center in San Francisco;

Janice E. Cohen, M.D., Psychiatrist;

Anita Gilbert, Ph.D., Psychologist; and

Dan Daniels, Assistant Program Director, Buckelew Employment Services.

Our forum attracted an audience of 75 people and included providers, employers, employees, consumers, and volunteer organizations.

DISABILITY SERVICES IN MEXICO

On September 30, 2009, PWDF staff welcomed to our office Sra. Estela Villarreal Junco, the Founder and former Executive Director of Unidos Somos Iguales. We exchanged ideas and strategies for providing services to people with disabilities.

Unidos has existed for 20 years and is the realization of the founder’s dream. Because of two disabled siblings, she experienced the Mexican culture’s lack of tolerance for disabled persons. Unidos is making tremendous progress integrating disabled people and their families into Mexican society. They educate the entire family and neighbors about the nature and extent of the person’s disability. Unidos’ volunteer services target teens and young adults. They link these volunteers with families of disabled persons to create a social bond between disabled and non-disabled persons. This, according to Sra. Junco, is the foundation for their success. Currently, Unidos has locations throughout Mexico, continues to expand, and has gained international recognition.

PWDF QUAD EEO TRAINING CONFERENCE

On September 3, 2009, PWDF conducted a workshop at the 2009 Quad EEO Training Conference at the Hilton Concord Hotel, in Concord California. The QUAD Conference is the largest EEO training conference in the western United States. We showed our video, Understanding Employment Issues for People with Psychiatric and/or Developmental Disabilities, followed by an interactive discussion. In addition to PWDF’s Interim Executive Director, Steven Bruce, Esq., our panel included Aaron Cohen, Ph.D., Clinical Psychologist, U.C. Berkeley, and Patricia Finnegan, Chair, Disabled Opportunity Council.

PWDF'S PRESENTATION AT 2009 CiMH CULTURAL COMPETENCE MENTAL HEALTH SUMMIT

On November 17, 2009, PWDF conducted a workshop as part of the California Institute for Mental Health'S Cultural Competence Mental Health Summit at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Burlingame, California. We showed our video, Understanding Employment Issues for People with Psychiatric and/or Developmental Disabilities. We then led a discussion on employment issues and answered questions. Our workshop attracted 40 participants.

PWDF VIDEO HIGHLIGHTED IN CONTEMPORARY REHAB NEWSLETTER

PWDF is featured in the October 2009 issue of Contemporary Rehab, the Newsletter of the National Rehabilitation Association (Volume 65 No. 5, Page 23). The article focuses on our training video, Understanding Employment Issues for People with Psychiatric and/or Developmental Disabilities. In part, the article states:

"[PWDF'S] training video is a valuable asset for any Vocational Rehabilitation agency’s resource library. It is an excellent tool to help clients and employees by continuing to help erase the stigma attached to the invisible illnesses of our society."

The article also references the positive review of Professor J. Havranek, who teaches rehabilitation counseling at Bowling Green State University. Professor Havranek highly recommends our video, and you can read the full review on our web site at www.pwdf.org/media/havranek.html.

We greatly appreciate this recognition from Contemporary Rehab, and the article has already spurred renewed interest in purchasing our video. To see their review, please see this excerpt from their newsletter.  

Advocacy Update

By PWDF Staff

PWDF welcomes two new Staff Attorneys: Zoya Yarnykh and Howard Stern. For more information about our new Staff Attorneys, please see our Staff Page.

PWDF Profile

Who We Are

People With Disabilities Foundation is an operating 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, California, which focuses on the rights of the mentally and developmentally disabled.

Services

Advocacy: PWDF advocates for Social Security claimant's disability benefits in eight Bay Area counties. We also provide services in disability rights, on issues regarding returning to work, and in ADA consultations, including areas of employment, health care, and education, among others. There is representation before all levels of federal court and Administrative Law Judges. No one is declined due to their inability to pay, and we offer a sliding scale for attorney's fees.

Education/Public Awareness: To help eliminate the stigma against people with mental disabilities in society, PWDF's educational program organizes workshops and public seminars, provides guest speakers with backgrounds in mental health, and produces educational materials such as videos.

Continuing Education Provider: State Bar of California MCLE, California Board of Behavioral Sciences Continuing Education, and Commission of Rehabilitation Counselor Certification.