Disability Rights Washington

Led by and taking direction from people with disabilities, DRW’s mission is to advance the dignity, equality, and self-determination of people with disabilities. We pursue justice on matters related to human and legal rights through legal advocacy, policy research and education, and media production and social media advocacy through a nationally-recognized program, Rooted in Rights.

Founded in 1972, DRW became the designated P&A system for Washington State in 1977. As such, DRW is uniquely positioned to effectively reach people with disabilities as the only entity in the state with broad federal authority to go anywhere that people with disabilities are, including treatment facilities, institutions, nursing facilities, prisons and jails— even the most secluded areas.

DRW envisions a society in which all people have equal opportunities to participate and are treated with equality, dignity, and respect for their expressed choices. With offices in Seattle, Spokane, and Olympia, DRW is the only organization advocating solely for the rights of people with ALL disabilities in Washington State.

Disability Rights Washington (DRW) is the only state-wide organization dedicated to advocating for the rights of people with ALL disabilities in Washington State—more than 1.7 million people—including physical, sensory, intellectual, developmental, learning, and psychiatric disabilities, and chronic illness.

DRW uses a variety of advocacy tools, including legal, public policy, and media advocacy, to creatively change systems, equip disabled people to advocate, and build collective, intersectional, cross-disability power across Washington to break barriers that impede health equity and equal opportunity.  DRW services include:

• an array of free legal services to facilitate individual self-advocacy, negotiate with governments and providers to transform systems, and engage in large impact litigation for disabled people, most of whom are low-income Medicaid consumers and many of whom live in publicly funded settings;
• resources, training, and rights information to equip disabled people to advocate for individual needs and for systemic and policy changes. We work to ensure that disabled people are at the forefront of decision-making that impacts our health and quality of life. We do this by training disabled people in storytelling, community leadership, advocacy skills, and how to create change at local and state levels.
• fully accessible, cross-disability content featuring authentic stories for and by the disability community created by our Rooted in Rights program, our team of disabled media makers. Through social media videos, campaigns, and blog posts, the Rooted in Rights platform amplifies diverse perspectives from the disability community. Rooted in Rights also offers training to community members on how to create accessible media and how to use digital storytelling as a self-advocacy tool. By sharing these skills with others, Rooted in Rights contributes to an ever-growing community of disabled media makers, self-advocates, and accessible media creators.

In the spirit of the disability community’s motto, “Nothing About Us Without Us,” the lived experiences of people with disabilities among DRW’s board, advisory councils, staff, coalitions, and partnerships deeply inform our day-to-day work. Each year DRW’s board establishes priorities utilizing input directly from the community, people with disabilities and disability-led organizations.