Dear Friends and Supporters,

2024 was a year of breakthroughs for Disability Rights California’s 46th year of service. Breakthroughs can take many forms, from overcoming challenges, to building new relationships, unlocking new ways of thinking, and growing in big and small ways. To breakthrough is to push forward, even when things are difficult. It’s the realization that our work can carry us through hard times to new spaces and new coalitions we may never have expected. For DRC, the breakthroughs of 2024 signal our unwavering commitment to advocating for all Californians with disabilities.  

Our staff experienced breakthroughs in helping a client achieve self-employment, supporting people in locked facilities gain access to services, speaking at an event at the White House, and finalizing a landmark settlement to reform policing in schools. These breakthroughs reflect the dedication of our staff and the fierce self-advocacy of our clients and their circles of support. 

DRC advocated along with coalition partners against the passage of Proposition 36, a ballot measure that aimed at reclassifying crimes such as minor drug possession and shoplifting as felonies. DRC’s approach focused on engaging with the community at a grassroots level, emphasizing the voices of real people who have been or will stand to be impacted by the proposition, especially people with disabilities.  

We joined the first of its kind California Disability Leadership Alliance, made up of disability and Deaf leaders from disability-led organizations. The Alliance is building cross-disability collaboration, solidarity, and political power to influence and improve policies for disabled people in California. Together, the Alliance published a 2024 State of the State report that identifies the many policy areas in which lawmakers, state agency leaders, and advocates can partner to advance disability community interests. 

Looking nationally, the election of Lateefah Simon as the first member of Congress who is congenitally blind in both eyes is a breakthrough for disability representation in government. Simon represents California’s 12th district in Alameda County and has partnered with the Disability Alliance. We look forward to future allyship with her.  

As we reflect on this year, we’re reinvigorated by the breakthroughs at DRC, which in turn, will propel us through the challenges of the next several years. DRC will not waiver from our commitment to pushing back against hatred, xenophobia, and bias of all forms, and to the pursuit of humanist policy and true justice for all. We recognize that effective advocacy for disabled people in California requires us to address any discrimination, including the unique challenges faced by people who experience the intersection of multiple systems of oppression.

Thank you for your support!

We hope you enjoy our 2024 annual report.

In service, 

Andrew J. Imparato
drc CEO

Sheri Farinha
2024 DRC Board Chair