Giving December

Together We Can Build a Better Future for New Jerseyans with Disabilities

Your donation to Disability Rights New Jersey will help us fight for the world we envision – a world that is fair and just, where people with disabilities are free from abuse and discrimination, to live full and meaningful lives, as they choose. 

Giving December continues our Annual Fund drive, which supports the essential expenses of operating a nonprofit agency and law firm, allowing us to hire and train expert staff and provide vital advocacy services to the disability community every day to ensure people are free from abuse and neglect and their rights are upheld.

Donations to the Annual Fund also support initiatives outside federal funding, such as the development of resources for students and youth with disabilities like the ASPYIR Transition Planning Tool – offered to users at no-cost. The Annual Fund is essential to the Youth Justice Project, which works to decriminalize disability for youth in underserved communities.

Your contribution, no matter the size, helps ensure we can continue to make a positive impact on the lives of people with disabilities.

Take a look at the video below to watch Privileged Work and learn more about how we serve New Jerseyans with disabilities.

Giving December Week One Post: The Medicaid Unwinding

For the first week of Giving December we highlight our swift response to the ‘Medicaid Unwinding’ that came at the end of the Public Health Emergency and put 2.2 million enrollees at risk of losing their Medicaid benefits. Disability Rights NJ’s attorneys and advocates responded by providing legal representation to people at risk, as well as providing in-person and webinar opportunities to Medicaid recipients on how to enforce their rights when facing a Medicaid termination. 

For people with disabilities, Medicaid goes beyond access to healthcare – Medicaid provides access to services and supports like Private Duty Nurses, Personal Care Assistance, in-home therapies, accessible transportation, medical equipment, assistive technology, behavioral health services, supportive housing and long-term care, and so much more. 

Over the course of a year and half, Disability Rights New Jersey represented over 75+ individual clients who faced renewals and terminations, most of whom were individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities including children, who without Medicaid, were at risk of out-of-home placement and hospitalization. 

Our attorneys and advocates quickly developed an expertise in complex Medicaid law, and they were able to intervene to restore Medicaid benefits to nearly every client we served during the unwinding period. 

The fight is not over – as we look ahead at changes on the horizon for 2025, we know our unique skillset and staunch advocacy will be needed more than ever as we continue the fight for justice and inclusion. As a nonprofit, we cannot do this alone. We need your support! Together we can build a better future for New Jerseyans with disabilities. 

Gratitude November Week One Post: ASPYIR

Gratitude November is our time to reflect upon the gift of this important work we do, share our proudest accomplishments of the year, and thank those that support us and fight alongside us to build a better future for New Jerseyans with disabilities. Take this moment with us to pause, reflect, and be grateful this November. 

Gratitude November Week Two Post: Essex County Juvenile Detention Center

Gratitude November continues our Annual Fund drive with a spotlight on Essex County Juvenile Detention Center and our recent success to enforce our federally #authorized #access to monitor and investigate allegations of abuse and neglect in facilities where individuals with disabilities receive services. 

Donations to the Annual Fund support initiatives such as the #YouthJusticeProject, which works to decriminalize #disability for youth in #underserved communities, by ensuring their educational and community needs are met through direct legal representation, community advocacy, and self-advocacy training.

Gratitude November Week Three Post: Guardianship Advocacy with Peter Brumlik

Gratitude November this week highlights our staunch advocacy for the right to self-determination for  people with disabilities, with a focus on our recent victory representing Peter Brumlik, a 21-year-old man with Autism Spectrum Disorder, in his fight for freedom from #guardianship and conditions imposed by the court, featured in an NJ Spotlight News broadcast. 

Disability Rights New Jersey is committed to supporting people with disabilities’ right to freedom from guardianship. We promote self-determination and decision-making to build capacity, and empower individuals to seek restoration of their capacity and independence through less-restrictive alternatives that promote independence and autonomy. may be more suitable to their needs.