San Mateo, CA, June 22, 2022—The WITH Foundation is pleased to announce that more than $262,000 will be awarded to four organizations as a result of our previous open cycle. These grants will fund a variety of programs that promote comprehensive and accessible healthcare for adults with developmental disabilities.
“We are pleased to support these efforts as they work to improve the capacity of the healthcare community to address the needs of adults with I/DD,” said Ryan Easterly, Executive Director of the WITH Foundation. The following projects were selected for funding:
Disability Voices United (DVU) Manhattan Beach, CA
The #FreeBritney: A Public Awareness Partnership to Promote SDM and Reform Conservatorships project identifies and trains self-advocates to present on supported decision-making (SDM) and advocacy for conservatorship reform. The project is a partnership between DVU and Free Britney L.A. Through the project, self-advocates will lead an education program on SDM and alternatives to conservatorship for professionals in healthcare, education, regional centers, and government. Building on the momentum of the #FreeBritney movement, the project will also implement a public awareness campaign to advocate for changes to the conservatorship system and recognition of SDM. Finally, DVU will build an intersectional coalition of leaders and organizations who will come together to advocate for SDM and conservatorship reform.
Positive Exposure New York, NY
Reshaping Perceptions of Adults Living with I/DD in the Medical Environment and Broader Public Arena is a collaboration with the AADMD, the Department of Psych & Human Behavior at Brown Medical School, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and the NYC Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities. Through this project, Positive Exposure will create three FRAME films (Faces Redefining the Art of Medical Education) addressing the need for comprehensive and accessible healthcare for adults with I/DD. The films will focus on Oral/Dental Healthcare, Mental Health Challenges, and Best Practices for Emergency Medical Response Teams. The project will also introduce an interactive, virtual platform utilizing their Ambassador program, PEARLS, and empower the I/DD community to become mentors to medical trainees, practitioners and EMR teams by sharing experiences, narratives and answering questions.
Institute for Exceptional Care Washington, D.C.
ABC3: Action to Build Clinical Culture and Confidence is a collaborative initiative launched by IEC that includes I/DD self-advocates, caregivers, clinical professional societies, accreditors, groups that set clinical training standards, and groups that provide technical support to practicing clinicians. ABC3’s goal is to scale national policies, programs, and resources to improve the cultural and technical readiness of general clinicians to serve people with I/DD throughout the lifespan. This project will support ABC3’s 5-year strategic roadmap, and expansion of the collaborative to include organizations that represent all the stakeholder sectors critical to achieving goals set in the roadmap.
UMass Dartmouth Foundation North Dartmouth, MA
The rapid shift to telehealth care during the COVID-19 pandemic introduced a myriad of challenges and demonstrated a lack of evidence-based guidelines for successful and appropriate telehealth care for people with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (I/DD). Using a modified Delphi consensus method, the Establishing Best Practices in Telehealth Care for People with Developmental Disabilities project will survey experts in telehealth for people with I/DD (physicians, nurses, self-advocates, family members, and supporters) to develop and disseminate a set of best practices and resources for successful, effective telehealth for people with I/DD.
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WITH Foundation promotes comprehensive and accessible healthcare for adults with developmental disabilities in the United States.
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Press Contact: Laura Shumaker
Director of Communications, WITH
communications@withfoundation.org