Disability Rights Oregon

02/10/2026

📣 THIS WEEK! Roseburg & Eugene I/DD Listening Sessions

Who: Adults (18+) with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities
Why: We want to hear what's working for you in Oregon and what needs to change

📅 WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 11

10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
📍 Aviva Health, 150 NE Kenneth Ford Drive, Roseburg, OR 97470

📅 THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 12, Choose one session to attend:

10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
OR
1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
📍 Eugene Public Library, Singer Room

02/08/2026

🏛️ Tell Your Legislators—No Cuts to Disability Services!

Oregon lawmakers are facing a big budget shortfall. The state has fewer federal dollars coming in, and stakes are HIGH for people with disabilities. Parental Income Disregard (PID)—the policy that allows children with disabilities to access critical services—is one of the programs on the chopping block.

Before PID, hundreds of Oregon children with intellectual and developmental disabilities were institutionalized. This policy changed lives. Cutting it sends a message that our most vulnerable children are disposable.

🎥 Watch this powerful video from an Oregon mom fighting to keep services for her child: https://ow.ly/Vrwr50YawAz

👉 Then take 2 minutes to email your legislators using this form: https://ow.ly/uXo650YawAy >

Our message is simple: NO CUTS TO DISABLED CHILDREN'S SERVICES.

02/08/2026

Disability Rights Washington (DRW) seeks a Public Policy and Advocacy Coordinator. The position will coordinate all legislative lobbying, coordinate public policy within Disability Rights Washington, develop strategic alliances with other policy organizations, and advise on policy and politics. Visit our website to learn more!

https://disabilityrightswa.org/public-policy-and-advocacy-coordinator/

02/05/2026

NEXT WEEK: Roseburg & Eugene IDD Listening Sessions

Who: Adults (18+) with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities

📅 WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 11

10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
📍 Aviva Health, 150 NE Kenneth Ford Drive, Roseburg, OR 97470

📅 THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 12, Choose one session to attend:

10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
OR
1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
📍 Eugene Public Library, Singer Room

We want to hear what's working for you in Oregon and what needs to change.

02/03/2026

02/03/2026

🏠 URGENT: Help Build a More Accessible Oregon

This Thursday, February 5, our community has a powerful opportunity to make real change happen in Salem.

The Senate Committee on Housing and Development will decide whether to pass Senate Bill 1576—a bill that would ensure 1 out of every 10 new apartments is accessible for people with disabilities.

Right now, too many Oregonians with disabilities can't find homes that work for them. SB 1576 would:

✅ Make new housing developments more accessible
✅ Help more people with disabilities find livable homes
✅ Ensure state-funded projects include accessible units

Big housing developers don't want this to pass, but YOU can show them that people with disabilities matter.

How to Take Action:

📅 Testify on February 5 at 3:00 PM
📍 Oregon State Capitol, Hearing Room E (or join online)
🔗 Register here: https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2026R1/Committees/SHDEV/2026-02-05-15-00/Agenda (Click "Register to Testify" next to SB 1576)

Not sure what to say? Watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1r1rujG3IM

Please share this post with anyone who cares about housing rights. Everyone deserves a home where they can thrive. 💙

02/02/2026

🏛️ The Oregon Legislature starts TODAY! Are you ready?

The 2026 legislative session kicked off this morning—and there's a lot at stake for the disability community.

Disability Rights Oregon is working hard to pass bills that expand opportunities for people with disabilities across our state AND fighting back against legislation that could hurt our progress.

What we're watching:

✅ Accessible housing
✅ Medicaid cuts
✅ Oregon's Stabilization and Crisis Unit
✅ So much more!

WE NEED YOU! Legislators pay attention when real people act. Your story and your experience—they matter.

👉 Sign our petitions TODAY so you're ready to take action when it counts most: droregon.org/take-action

You have the power to create change. Let's use it! ❤️

01/30/2026

🏛️ URGENT ACTION ALERT—No Cuts to Disability Services!

Oregon lawmakers convene next week for a critical 35-day legislative session to address an $800 million budget shortfall caused by last summer's federal "One Big Beautiful Bill."
The stakes are HIGH for Oregonians with disabilities. Programs that help us stay healthy, live independently, access jobs, healthcare, and transportation are at risk.

✊ WE NEED YOU TO ACT NOW:

1️⃣ TESTIFY (in person or online) at the public hearing on Tuesday, February 3, 2026
⏰ 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm
📍 Oregon State Capitol, Hearing Room 40, Salem
📝 Sign up by 4:30 pm on Tuesday
👉 Click "Register to Testify" at tinyurl.com/3ntsxs7k >

2️⃣ EMAIL YOUR LEGISLATORS TODAY at: secure.everyaction.com/dI7YzcyUzEeFBUhPnpup_A2 >

Tell them:

❌ NO cuts to programs serving 900,000+ Oregonians with disabilities
❌ NO ending the Parental Income Disregard program (affecting 2,300+ people)
❌ NO cuts to services for people with Autism Level 1 diagnosis

Ultra-rich people and corporations should NOT get tax breaks while our community loses vital services. That's not fair, and it's not what Oregon stands for.

💪 Together, our voices are powerful. Legislators ARE listening. Take action today!

01/29/2026

01/29/2026

🚨 PDX Person-Centered Emergency Preparedness Event 🚨

Are you prepared for the next earthquake, wildfire, or ice storm? Join us for a free interactive presentation from Upstream Access designed specifically for people with disabilities in the Portland area!

📅 Tuesday, February 17, 2026
⏰ 4:30 PM - 6:30 PM
📍 In-Person: Standard Insurance Building Atrium, 900 SW 5th Ave, Portland
💻 Virtual: Join via Zoom

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:

✅ Evacuation planning and accessible routes
✅ Ensuring access to food, water, and medications
✅ Maintaining power for medical equipment and assistive devices
✅ Preparing for regional hazards specific to our area
Plus, an interactive Q&A where YOUR lived experience matters! Share your questions and concerns, and connect with others facing similar challenges.

🍕 Free food & drinks for in-person attendees!
⚠️ Limited space available - RSVP now at https://tinyurl.com/yzts8yy3

01/27/2026

Content Warning: This post discusses su***de. If you're struggling, please reach out to the 988 Su***de & Crisis Lifeline (call or text 988).

Ten years ago, Disability Rights Oregon made a critical recommendation to lawmakers: prohibit solitary confinement for people with serious mental illness in our state's jails and prisons.

We made this recommendation based on overwhelming evidence that isolating individuals experiencing mental health crises doesn't help them—it harms them. In some cases, it kills them.

Last week brought devastating confirmation of what we feared. Oregon agreed to pay $2.3 million to settle a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of Grayson James Allen Painter. Grayson was just 22 years old when he died by su***de in a solitary confinement cell at Oregon State Correctional Institution on June 29, 2023.

According to the lawsuit, Grayson was experiencing a mental health crisis when he was placed in disciplinary segregation—and allegedly ignored by staff in violation of department rules and constitutional protections.

Even more heartbreaking: prison personnel had argued against placing Grayson in solitary, concerned that isolation would cause him to deteriorate. Those concerns were not heeded.

Jennifer Painter, Grayson's mother, expressed hope that this settlement would cause the Oregon Department of Corrections to change their practices. But change should have happened 10 years ago, when we first called for it. It should have happened before Grayson's death.

The evidence is overwhelming: solitary confinement exacerbates mental illness. It doesn't promote rehabilitation or safety—it causes profound harm to vulnerable individuals.

How many more families must lose loved ones before Oregon acts on what we've known for a decade?

We stand with the Painter family in their grief and in their call for systemic change. The time for reform is now.

https://ow.ly/bSih50Y1YbJ

The man was in solitary confinement while experiencing an acute mental health crisis.

01/25/2026

Mattel just released its first autistic Barbie. It features noise-canceling headphones, an AAC device, a fidget spinner, and other sensory-friendly details.

The autism community's response has been mixed. Some individuals are celebrating the representation and visibility. Others are worrying it reinforces stereotypes or suggests autism has one "look."

🤔 What do YOU think? Does this help or hurt the disability rights movement? Tell us in the comments ...

https://ow.ly/nux150Y1W46

Mattel's new Barbie with autism has garnered mixed feelings from people within the autism community. Why?