Welcome to Health & Disability Advocates' website. Health & Disability Advocates (HDA) is a national organization, based in Chicago, Illinois, that uses multiple strategies to promote income security and improve healthcare access and services for children, people with disabilities and low-income, older adults.
HDA’s team of legal and policy experts provides a range of services including individual client services and legal representation, and customized trainings and technical assistance for a range of audiences, including consumers, service providers and state agencies. We also develop innovative projects and policies to protect and strengthen federal and state safety-net programs including Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), Medicare and Medicaid.
Think Beyond the Label - A National Ad Campaign Promoting the Hiring of People with Disabilities
Health & Disability Advocates is spearheading a collaborative of 30 states, which on February 1st, launched on a national ad campaign promoting the hiring of people with disabilities. The $4 million campaign is currently appearing on television, in print, on the Web, and on billboards throughout 2010. The goal of the humorous, edgy campaign is to change attitudes about hiring people with disabilities, raising awareness of the need for diversity in the workplace, and countering stereotypes about people with disabilities.
Created by the Chicago-based ad agency Wirestone, “Think Beyond the Label” emphasizes that all workplaces accommodate difference—from the “copy-incapable” office worker to the “pattern-deficient” dresser to the man with “volume control syndrome” (i.e., the loud-talking employee). The campaign acknowledges that workforce diversity is an asset to small, medium, and large companies. Interested businesses are encouraged to visit the campaign's digital hub, www.thinkbeyondthelabel.com, for information on hiring people with disabilities in their area.
Apply to Participate in Free Work Incentive Trainings!
Through funding provided by the Department of Human Service’s Division of Rehabilitation Services, HDA will be conducting a series of 1.5 day workshops throughout the state. These trainings will be held in Chicago, Elgin, Springfield, Mt. Vernon and Peoria. One set of trainings will be open to state agency staff and the other to community service providers, case managers and others who work directly with individuals with disabilities. The purpose of this training is to equip participants with a basic understanding of how employment impacts public benefits, including Social Security cash, Medicare and Medicaid. Participants will then be taught how to incorporate this new work incentive knowledge into their day to day counseling and support.
To view a flyer with more information, dates and times, click here:
To apply, please click on the appropriate link below:
This article on Think Beyond the Label, an ad campaign which promotes hiring workers with disabilties, appeared in the Chicago Sun Times on February 1, 2010.
This article on the Think Beyond the Label campaign, which promotes hiring workers with disabilities, appeared in the Jacksonville Daily Progress on January 30, 2010.
