The one-year, $12,000 awards were developed to support the creation or enhancement of a program, service or intervention that is expected to improve the health and wellness of individuals living with long-term physical disabilities in the greater Detroit and/or greater Flint metro areas. 

The organizations that have been awarded funding include: 

• Detroit Disability Power (DDP) – DDP’s mission is to leverage and build the organizing power of the disability community to ensure the full inclusion of people with disabilities in metro Detroit. DDP will use the funding for its Community Conversations on Disability & Ableism program, which strives to increase Detroiters’ knowledge and understanding of ableism as a critical component to dismantling systemic oppression. DDP members believe this systemic oppression harms people with disabilities across their lifespans and is particularly detrimental when combined with ageism and racism.
   

• The Disability Network (TDN) of Flint -- The mission of TDN, which serves Genessee County residents, is to revolutionize communities to be inclusive and accepting, where all people thrive in the quality of life they create. Monies will go towards the new TDN Connect Project, a virtual program that has the goal of providing opportunities for social support and wellness activities to people living with a disability. Though TDN serves Genessee County, its programs and services are available to anyone living in Michigan.
   

• Programs to Educate All Cyclists (PEAC) – PEAC’s mission is to empower all individuals with a disability through cycling, active transportation, and self-advocacy education. PEAC staff will use grant funding to support its Accessible Cycling in the Motor City Program, which emphasizes cycling to promote health aging for people with disabilities. The program will provide individuals with disabilities in Detroit an opportunity to learn about and use adaptive cycling equipment at demonstration days. The goal of the program is to provide experience for individuals to incorporate cycling throughout their lives.

This is the first round of community grants that the IDEAL RRTC has provided to disability-focused organizations.

“We are excited to provide funding to support these wonderful community organizations in providing their proposed programs,” said Michelle A. Meade, Ph.D., leader of the IDEAL RRTC and professor of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation at U-M.  “With these grants, we hope to build partnerships between RRTC researchers and disability- and community-focused organizations in racially and socioeconomically marginalized communities in southeast Michigan.