Important Message: Offices closed due to COVID-19.
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Our Services

Advocacy

Regardless of the issue, we advocate for all members of our community to have equal access to pursue a fulfilling, rewarding life.

Sometimes barriers to independence are caused by people not thinking of alternative ways of providing a service. Disability Rights & Resources’ staff are experienced in working with all parties involved to resolve the issue. We are trained to use effective advocacy techniques, mediation, and our knowledge of laws protecting people with disabilities.

Here’s how we advocate:

  • We work with the business community to ensure barriers are eliminated, therefore opening up opportunities to more customers.
  • We teach businesses and organizations how to interact with people with disabilities. We provide Americans With Disabilities Act technical assistance to local governments, businesses, and employers.
  • We pursue multiple avenues of action to protect the rights of all people with disabilities.
  • We hold regular community forums and training sessions on a variety of topics that are relevant to the disability community and how local municipalities can better serve them.
  • We do not have attorneys on staff and do not provide legal services or representation.

Regardless of the issue, we advocate for all members of our community to have equal access to pursue a fulfilling, rewarding life. Email our Advocacy Director, Marty Musser, to discuss your situation.

Independent Living Skills

If there is any skill you need in order to live independently, we will do everything possible to help you

Disability Rights & Resources helps our consumers learn all sorts of skills that help them become more independent. It could be developing a budget, riding the bus, using the internet, filling out a job application, or using one hand to sew on a button. If there is any skill you need in order to live independently, we will do everything possible to help you learn how to do it.

Let's All Go! Travel Training and Transportation Resources

Each individual’s needs and abilities differ, so training techniques and time devoted will vary with each person.

Disability Rights & Resources offers its consumers helpful guidance to understand and navigate the transportation system in Mecklenburg County. We are here for people with disabilities and seniors, to equip them with training to allow them to obtain a more mobile lifestyle and to be out and about in the community.

The Let’s All Go! Program, funded by a grant from the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS), provides each individual with a travel trainer who will teach them how to safely and independently use the Charlotte Area Transit System to reach their desired destination via the public bus (CATS), light rail (LYNX), or streetcar (CityLYNX Gold Line). Individuals who participate in the Let’s All Go! program will learn travel skills that are designed to meet their individual needs while following a specific route, typically to school, a job site, or a desired community location (such as a mall, a movie theater, a library, or a friend’s residence). Each individual’s needs and abilities differ, so training techniques and time devoted will vary with each person.

Consider these examples:

  • A young man with a cognitive disability received travel-training services and learned how to use fixed-route buses safely and independently. As a result, he is now able to commute daily across town to his new job at the YMCA
  • A veteran who has a spinal cord injury and uses a power chair, wanted to visit a friend across town, but did not have the skills and confidence needed to use public transportation. With the help of a travel trainer, he learned how to independently visit his friend and travel to other areas in Charlotte.

If you need individual or group travel training, have transportation questions, or need transportation resources, please email our Transportation Coordinator, Joe Gentry to find out more. We look forward to your call and the opportunity to work with you to meet your goals!

View the Transportation Toolkit (PDF)

Peer Mentoring

Through the peer relationship, people with disabilities identify the barriers that are preventing them from being as independent as they would like to be.

A Peer Mentor works to motivate other people with disabilities by being a role model and offering encouragement, guidance, listening, teaching, suggestions, and referrals to resources.

Through the peer relationship, people with disabilities identify the barriers that are preventing them from being as independent as they would like to be. Then they work with the Peer Mentor to create goals for overcoming those barriers, and to develop a plan to accomplish those goals.

Community Integration - My Home, My Choice

If you are committed to changing your life, we will do everything we can to help you reach your goals!

Our community integration services through the My Home, My Choice program helps individuals with disabilities who reside in facilities to make a successful transition to independent living. The program also assists individuals with disabilities already living in the community to remain in their current housing and age in place. The program staff can help you explore options about where you can live, how to remain in your current housing, and what programs and services are available in the community to meet your needs.

You are eligible for the program if:

  • You have an income.
  • You have never used the My Home, My Choice program before.
  • You are able to live in the community safely and independently.
  • You are committed to changing your life! If you are, we will do everything we can to help you reach your goals!

Contact us to schedule an appointment. We will discuss your situation and help you identify what you need in order to live independently in the community.

Powerful Youth With Disabilities

We can help youth set and achieve their goals of living independently, becoming self-sufficient, going to school, or getting a job.

We are committed to the success of youth with disabilities and assisting them with moving on to the next phase of their lives. We can help youth set and achieve their goals of living independently, becoming self-sufficient, going to school, or getting a job. Everyone’s needs are different. We can assist with setting goals, finding out information about schools, learning about programs and services in the community, learning to advocate for yourself, or finding out about other resources you may need to be more independent in the community. If you are in need of these services, and are between the ages of 14 and 24, please email our Youth Transitions Coordinator, Cherine Bentley, to schedule an appointment.

Information and Referral

If the programs and services listed on this page do not meet your needs, we invite you to Contact Us

If the programs and services listed on this page do not meet your needs, we invite you to contact us so we can provide you with information about other resources in our four county service area (Cabarrus, Gaston, Mecklenburg, and Union) that may be able to help you. If they are unable to meet your needs, you are welcome to follow up with us and we will continue to search for the resources you need.

Audio Description

Carolina Audio Describers is a local network of professional describers who provide services for theatrical productions.

Professional audio describers provide a verbal description of the visual content of movies, museum exhibits, art, theatrical productions, or other live entertainment. People who are blind or have low-vision can benefit from this description because it gives them access to the visual content they would otherwise miss.

In 2021, Disability Rights & Resources developed audio description for nine public works of art in the Uptown Charlotte area for the “Art is for Everyone” art walk. More described art walks are planned for the future. Contact Us for more information about how to participate.

Carolina Audio Describers is a local network of professional describers who provide services for theatrical productions. For more information about Carolina Audio Describers, and how audio description for live theater works, click here. If you are interested in hiring audio describers for your venue, please email Julia Sain of Carolina Audio Describers.

Emergency & Disaster Preparedness Resources

In an effort to ensure that people with disabilities have access to disability-specific disaster planning and preparedness information, Disability Rights & Resources recommends the following resources:

  • Ready.gov/disability contains a great deal of information for people with disabilities to effectively prepare for emergencies and disasters.
  • The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has released a public service announcement emphasizing the building blocks of preparedness: Be Informed, Make a Plan, Build a Kit, and Get Involved. You can view it by clicking here.
  • The Alliance of Disability Advocates has created a template to guide people with disabilities in North Carolina to create their own emergency readiness plan. You can download it by clicking here.
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Due to the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak, Disability Rights & Resources has closed our offices to the public until we can safely re-open. Our staff is still available during our normal business hours (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm) by phone and email. Our phone number is (704) 537-0550.

As we know, many people with disabilities and chronic illness are more vulnerable to COVID-19. We are asking people to do everything they can to reduce their risk of contracting COVID-19 and spreading it to others. The National Council of Independent Living (NCIL) has continually updating resources and information relevant to people with disabilities and the broader community, and you can view that at https://ncil.org/covid-19/. Here are some links for the most up-to-date information for each county in our service area, as well as statewide and national:

Mecklenburg County | Gaston County | Union County | Cabarrus County | Statewide Information | National Information

The health and safety of our consumers and our staff is too precious to risk, and we encourage everyone to take care of themselves and take care of each other in this difficult time. As always, call us if you are in need of our services: (704) 537-0550. We will continue to do our best to help you in whatever way we safely can.

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