On Tuesday, March 17th FREED Board members, along with Executive Director Ana Acton, will be thrown in jail! KNCO Jail that is! You can bail them out and support FREED!
2020 Yuba-Sutter Agency Cross Training Program
The emerging Yuba-Sutter Aging and Disability Resource Connection (ADRC) is launching the 2020 agency cross training program.
Purpose and Goals
The Yuba-Sutter ADRC and ADRC Advisory Committee is a network of organizations that work together to make access to services easier for older adults, people with disabilities, caregivers and family care providers. To accomplish this goal it is critical that all partners understand the resources and services being provided by all partners and community organizations that serve this population.
Target Audience
Audiences for the training will include leadership and line-staff of organizations and agencies that serve people with disabilities and older adults.
2020 Training Schedule
4/21/2020 – FREED
6/23/202 – Agency on Aging Area 4
Disability Rap – October 9, 2024
Disability in the Workforce
October is National Disability Employment Month, and we’re celebrating with two guests who have cerebral palsy and found fulfilling careers (and even a second career) while overcoming barriers both before and after the Americans with Disabilities Act. We talk with David Clark and Whittier Mikkelsen about their experiences in the workforce, challenges and misconceptions they had to confront and overcome about their disabilities, and how their disabilities have helped to shape their lives and careers.
David Clark is a computer programmer and systems engineer based in the Boston area. Growing up in Connecticut in the ‘70s and ‘80s, David was quickly identified as a candidate for inclusive education at a time when this wasn’t the norm. He excelled in school and went on to The University of California, Berkeley, receiving a BA in Cognitive Science & Rhetoric. Through his career, he has built vast experience with online application development and server administration. David currently works as a Systems Designer in the Digital Research Applications team at Mass General Brigham.
Whittier Mikkelsen was an emergency room clinical psychologist. When chronic pain forced her to move away from this career and slow down, she took the opportunity to look deeply within herself and at the natural world. Through this, she reconnected with her passion for photography and artmaking. Whittier’s art has been shown at the Stirling Art Gallery in Dunedin, Florida, The Dunedin Fine Arts Center, The Art Lofts in St Petersburg, Florida, and at local cafes. You can see some of Whittier’s photographs on her website.
Click here to listen to and read the transcript of the show.
Disability Rap – September 11, 2024
The Comedians with Disabilities Act
Next month, FREED will be bringing The Comedians with Disabilities Act to downtown Grass Valley for a night of laughter, entertainment, and reflections on being disabled in our ablest society. The Comedians with Disabilities Act is a collection of comedians who have disabilities, both seen and unseen, who bring forth the humor they find in their lived experiences as disabled people.
The Comedians with Disabilities Act will be performing on October 16 at 7 p.m. at The Center for the Arts in downtown Grass Valley as a fundraiser for FREED. Click here for more information and to purchase tickets to the show!
Today on Disability Rap, we speak with Nina G, a comedian who performs with The Comedians with Disabilities Act and one of the comedians who will be in the Grass Valley show. Nina is an author who has written three books, including Once Upon an Accommodation: A Book About Learning Disabilities, and she just recently debuted at #1 on two major streaming sites with her solo comedy album, Stutterer Interrupted. Nina has been an advocate for people with disabilities for over 20 years. She has been on many talk shows, radio broadcasts and podcasts.
Click here to listen to and read the transcript of the show.
Disability Rap – August 14, 2024
Reflections 34 Years After the Americans with Disabilities Act Was Signed
Last month, we marked the 34th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. The ADA granted equal rights and equal protection to people with disabilities in the United States. Today, we wanted to celebrate the anniversary of the ADA by looking back and looking forward at all the work that still needs to be done to make a truly inclusive world for all people, regardless of ability.
We’re joined by two guests. Beck Levin is a Systems Change Advocate at the Dayle McIntosh Center, which is the independent living center in Anaheim, California. Rebecca Donabed is also with us. Rebecca is a Community Organizer with Resources for Independence Central Valley, the independent living center in Visalia, California.
Click here to listen to and read the transcript of the show.
Disability Rap – July 10, 2024
Managing Mental Illness and the Muse – a Filmmaker’s Journey
Our guest today, Philip Brubaker, notes that there’s unfortunately a real stigma around mental illness, and that needs to change. Philip is an internationally known and recognized filmmaker and videographic essayist. He also has bipolar disorder. In his most recent film, “How To Explain Your Mental Illness to Stanley Kubrick,” Philip tackles head on the often negative depictions of mental illness in Twentieth Century cinematography. In this deeply personal film, he juxtaposes his own journey with bipolar disorder with images from iconic films that show characters with mental illness as violent and suicidal. In the film, Philip challenges a manifestation of Stanley Kubrick to confront the way Kubrick portrayed mental illness and the effects those portrayals had on society.
This is not Philip’s first film on the subject of mental illness. His 2009 documentary, “Brushes With Life: Art, Artists and Mental Illness,” won multiple awards and was aired on public television. His work has been featured in the Adelio Ferrero Film Festival, the Mental Filmness Festival in Chicago, and the FILMADRID Festival in Madrid, Spain.
Click here to listen to and read the transcript of the show.
Disability Rap – June 12, 2024
Go Green for CP’s Nicole Luongo
We’re joined today by Nicole Luongo, an advocate, author, and public speaker who has Cerebral Palsy. In 2019, Nicole started The Go Green for CP campaign to raise awareness for cerebral palsy in this country and around the world. Through her leadership, the campaign succeeded in getting at least one building or landmark in almost every state lit up in green on National Cerebral Palsy Awareness Day on March 25th and on World CP Day on October 6th. In 2021, she launched a campaign to have the White House light up in Green annually on March 25th. She also created the social media campaign What CP Looks Like.
Nicole is the author of Naked Desires, a book of poetry that chronicles her quest and challenges to find true love. She is a fitness enthusiast and has encouraged others to enjoy fitness and get moving, reshaping our notion of what fitness looks like.
Click here to listen to and read the transcript of the show.
Disability Rap – May 8, 2024
Hikers Summiting Peaks with their Wheelchairs
Today, we are joined by two outdoor enthusiasts and avid hikers, Chris Layne and Daniel Wilson. Both Chris and Daniel are wheelchair users. They work with support teams and use specialized equipment to hike trails that are anything but wheelchair accessible. Chris has hiked up Mt. Elbert, the highest peak in the Colorado Rockies. It’s over 14,000 feet. Daniel has traversed rugged trails in the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Click here to listen to and read the transcript of the show.
Disability Rap – April 10, 2024
A Woman’s Unusual Journey to Leave a Hospital
Hospitals don’t generally sue patients for trespassing, but that is what happened to Alexis Ratcliff. Alexis is 18 years old and has lived in a hospital in Winston-Salem, North Carolina since she was 13. Last year, the hospital sued Alexis for trespassing to try and force her to move out. Alexis wants to leave the hospital, too, just not where the hospital wanted her to go. Alexis wants to live in her own home with support from caregivers. She wants to live close to family and friends. The hospital, Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, wanted to transfer Alexis to a nursing home in another state. Alexis, who won a full academic scholarship to a nearby college and started classes there this fall, is saying no.
On today’s episode of Disability Rap, we speak with Alexis Ratcliff. Alexis is a quadriplegic who uses a wheelchair to get around and a ventilator to help her breathe. She acquired her disability as a result of a car accident when she was 18 months old. We are also joined by Lisa Nesbitt. Lisa is a Supervising Attorney at Disability Rights North Carolina, and she’s part of the team working on Alexis’s case.
Click here to listen to and read the transcript of the show.
Disability Rap – March 13, 2024
Celebrating National Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month
In honor of National Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month this March, FREED Center for Independent Living partnered with the California Department of Rehabilitation to host a live recording of the Disability Rap radio show and podcast. The show featured a panel discussion focusing on the transition from youth to adulthood for people with cerebral palsy. Our panelists shared their stories of growing up with CP and the choices, obstacles, and opportunities they faced as they entered the workforce. The panel was moderated by Ana Acton, former Executive Director of FREED and Host of Disability Rap, now the Deputy Director of the Independent Living and Community Access Division at the California Department of Rehabilitation.
Click here to listen to and read the transcript of the show.
Live Recording of Disability Rap
Live Recording of Disability Rap in Honor of National Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month
In honor of National Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month this March, FREED Center for Independent Living partnered with the California Department of Rehabilitation to host a live recording of the Disability Rap radio show and podcast. The show featured a panel discussion focusing on the transition from youth to adulthood for people with cerebral palsy. Our panelists shared their stories of growing up with CP and the choices, obstacles, and opportunities they faced as they entered the workforce. The panel was moderated by Ana Acton, former Executive Director of FREED and Host of Disability Rap, now the Deputy Director of the Independent Living and Community Access Division at the California Department of Rehabilitation.
Watch the Recording:
Special thanks to Ana Acton and the California Department of Rehabilitation for their partnership in hosting this event with FREED!
Disability Rap – February 14, 2024
Valentine’s Day 2024 with Dan and Viola Dwyer
On this Valentine’s Day, we’re joined once again by Dan and Viola Dwyer, creators of the YouTube channel The Ginchiest, for a conversation about what makes their relationship work, how they’d like to see disability and relationships portrayed in popular culture, and what still needs to be done for greater media representation and disability marriage equality.
Click here to listen to the interview and/or read the transcript.