2022 DISABILITY DAY ON THE HILL & DISABILITY ADVOCACY DAY IMPACT REPORT June 2022 // Prepared by Hannah Kehrer // Communications Coordinator // Tennessee Disability Coalition // hannah_k@tndisability.org 2022 VIDEO MADE POSSIBLE BY THE GENEROUS SUPPORT OF: 2022 DDH Platinum Sponsors Amerigroup & Statewide Independent Living Network of Tennessee AbleVoices // Blind Early Services of Tennessee // Brain Links // Community Development Center // Disability Rights Tennessee // Down Syndrome Association of Middle Tennessee // Family Voices of Tennessee // Fifty Forward // The Jiselle Lauren Foundation // Mid-Tennessee Council of the Blind // TN STEP // The Arc Williamson // Tennessee Council on Developmental Disabilities // Tennessee Disability Pathfinder // Tennessee Health Care Campaign 2022 TeamWork TN Campaign video link: https://youtu.be/We2dz3fntGw TEAMWORK IN 2022 THIS YEAR IT WAS ALL ABOUT TEAMWORK TENNESSEE The disability community is no stranger to adapting and accommodations. So, when DDH 2022 rolled around, still in the midst of a pandemic, we did what we as a community do best…we adapted. With a spirit of teamwork, DDH 2022 was all about putting together teams of fierce Tennesseans who advocated for systems and policies that WORK and called out systems and policies that DON’T WORK. Since we were not physically gathering hundreds of individuals from across the state, we decided not to limit our advocacy and presence as a community to one day. Instead, DDH 2022 was three weeks of advocacy, awareness, and policy change. DDH this year was broken down into three parts. 1. An Advocacy Webinar to equip our community advocates to use their voice and stay informed on disability policy, organizing, and advocacy across the state. 2. Team Meetings of constituents to gather together, virtually, to meet with their legislators and advocate for the things that matter to them. 3. Disability Advocacy Day to celebrate the advocacy efforts and accomplishments that took place during the 2022 General Assembly session. This year was all about TeamWork! 2022 SPONSORS: SPONSORS MAKE OUR TEAMS WORK Another year virtual. Another year of teamwork. The world is a very different place than it was during DDH 2020. A little over a month later the country, and the world, went into lockdown. Since then, our sponsors have been right there with us. They’ve seen first-hand the impact the pandemic has on people with disabilities, and witnessed 30,000 of our fellow Tennesseans tragically succumb to COVID-19. They intimately understood the toll it took on our jobs, our education, our bodies, our families, and our futures. They understood the stakes, and knew they’d never been higher. They knew it wasn’t enough to create programs and "check a box." They know any program, policy, or system has to actually WORK for Tennesseans with disabilities. Our 2022 TeamWork sponsors shared our team spirit, our rights to self-sufficiency, our rights to care, and above all – our right to live. We are tremendously grateful for their generous support, and hope you’ll take time to learn more about them, and what makes them so great. 2022 Platinum Sponsors: Amerigroup Statewide Independent Living Network of Tennessee 2022 Silver Sponsor: Tennessee Council on Developmental Disabilities 2022 Bronze Sponsors: Camelot Care BlueCare Tennessee 2022 Supporting Sponsors Arc of Tennessee Disability Rights TN Jiselle Lauren Foundation Mental Health America of the Mid South Mid South Liver Alliance Raising Kellen Permobil Foundation Tennessee Disability Pathfinder VIRTUAL ADVOCACY TRAINING LEARNING HOW TO VIRTUALLY ADVOCATE On January 25th, we welcomed over 300 advocates, community members, panelists, allies, and leaders to a one-hour advocacy training. Throughout the training, policy experts and self-advocates walked us through how to build an effective advocacy strategy to educate policymakers and create change. The TDC's own Jeff Strand shared a breakdown of the Tennessee Disability Coalition’s top five policy priorities for the 2022 legislative session. Students from Vanderbilt's Next Steps and Best Buddies Programs showed us how to use the Tennessee General Assembly website to research policies and find our state legislators. One student presented live, while the other joined us via pre-recorded videos. Demonstrating how advocating in a virtual world can allow us to come together in ways we would not have been able to in the past. A young man from Chattanooga explained the importance of how serving on groups and councils can help elevate the voices of the disability community. An Autistic advocate in Johnson City shared how to use social media and online advocacy to tell your story and get the services you need. Above all, we were reminded that advocacy is a learning process. You don’t have to know every facet of an issue or policy to advocate for our community and needs. We are experts of our experience, and that is enough. EVENT DETAILS: DDH 2022 Advocacy Webinar Date: January 25, 2022 TIMEs: 2 pm & 6 PM CST FINAL DURATION: 60 MINUTES Advocacy Webinar link: https://youtu.be/Y0wlzfVHNso ATTENDANCE BREAKDOWN: PANELISTS: 5 TOTAL live ATTENDANCE: 351 On demand attendance: 68 VIRTUAL TEAM MEETINGS VIRTUAL ADVOCACY USING TEAM MEETINGS In the spirit of TeamWork, we created small groups of advocates or “teams” to hold virtual meetings with their legislators. After advocates registered for DDH, we grouped individuals together by legislative districts. Over the course of 3 weeks, we scheduled 38 individual team meetings with legislators and their direct constituents. Each team was managed by TDC staff but had a self-advocate from the community who served as the team leader. The teams were no larger than 15 individuals, giving everyone a chance to use their voice. Teams brought about successful advocacy and connection. They allowed advocates who may not have otherwise known each other to connect. Team meetings allowed legislators and their direct constituents to have a conversation, arguably raising the stakes for legislators. They provided a platform for advocates to speak to the issues and concerns that they have. These teams represented disability advocates from every corner of the state. Team meetings were an intimate way for our community to meet with their legislators and help enact policy change. These team meetings provided a medium for us to share what WORKS and DOESN’T WORK for our community with lawmakers, and each other. EVENT DETAILS: Team Meetings with Legislators Dates: February 21st to MARCH 11th 2022 Team Meetings Scheduled: 38 Estimated Attendance: 300 DISABILITY ADVOCACY DAY LIGHTING UP IN SOLIDARITY FOR DISABILITY ADVOCACY DAY IN TENNESSEE For the second year, the 112th General Assembly proclaimed March 11th, 2022, “Disability Advocacy Day” in Tennessee. A day dedicated to celebrating the accomplishments and advocacy of the incredibly diverse disability community. Joint House Resolution 188 honors collective advocacy by bringing about “great social and political change, such as the passage of the civil rights legislation the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Tennessee Disability Act.” A full copy of the Proclamation can be found here. Link: https://www.tndisability.org/sites/default/files/2022-03/Tennessee-2021-HJR0897-Draft.pdf More information about JHR 188 can be found on the General Assembly's website. Link: https://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/BillInfo/Default.aspx?BillNumber=HJR0897&ga=112 After sundown on Friday, March 11th, landmarks across West, Middle, and East Tennessee (and social media feeds!) lit up "coalition blue" in support, solidarity, and recognition of successful advocacy by the disability community of Tennessee. Over 20 locations across the state participated, including the Capitol Cupola, to celebrate the remarkable policy achievements of Tennesseans with disabilities. PARTICIPATING LANDMARKS, WEST TENNESSEE: Bass Pro Pyramid – Memphis Big River Crossing– Memphis City Hall – Jackson Carl Perkins Civic Center – Jackson Eiffel Tower Replica – Paris Hernando DeSoto Bridge – Memphis Liberty Bowl Stadium – Memphis University of Memphis – Memphis PARTICIPATING LANDMARKS, MIDDLE TENNESSEE: Adventure Science Center Pyramid, Nashville Bicentennial Park Amphitheater, Nashville City Hall, Nashville Customs House Museum & Cultural Center, Clarksville Korean Veterans Memorial Bridge, Nashville Nashville International Airport, Nashville Nissan Stadium, Nashville State Capitol Cupola, Nashville Tennessee Performing Arts Center, Nashville PARTICIPATING LANDMARKS, EAST TENNESSEE: Dollywood – Pigeon Forge Henley ST Bridge – Knoxville Liberty Tower – Chattanooga Tennessee Aquarium – Chattanooga DDH 2022 SOCIAL MEDIA SEPARATED BY DISTANCE BUT CONNECTED MORE THAN EVER Connecting with others virtually was not a new concept for the disability community. So while COVID may have stopped us from physically gathering together this year, it didn’t stop us from connecting with each other. Because of the way DDH was organized, we wanted to make those online connections even more meaningful. Using social media templates, we gave individuals the opportunity to share what WORKS and DOESN'T WORK for individuals and their families. We launched nine regional Facebook groups for advocates across Tennessee to connect with other advocates - just like them, and just around the corner. In doing so, we allowed advocates to build connections that will last beyond the timeframe of DDH. We collectively lit up timelines and newsfeeds “Coalition Blue” for Disability Advocacy Day. Together, celebrating the accomplishments and persistent advocacy of our community. We may have been separated physically, but we were digitally connected with the common goal of making Tennessee a better place for people with disabilities. 2022 DDH SOCIAL BREAKDOWN: Cross-Platform Reach: 41,890 Engagement: 2,530 YouTube Views: 1,032 Full breakdown available here. Link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lTBAMdmSFikhLX_IFv-Adm6LVVtDyGev/view 2022 DDH EMAIL REACH: Reach: 2,794 Audience: 993 2022 VIRAL SHARES OF DISABILITY ADVOCACY DAY: Likes: 3,159 Retweets/Shares: 220 Full breakdown available here. Link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SeAVUvKFdNuOdX8JIaq9BhpkkhPwB-eB/view REGIONAL FACEBOOK GROUPS Groups: 9 Total Members: 185 Posts: 169 For more information please visit www.tndisability.org