Rights Here, Rights Now! is a disAbility Law Center of Virginia podcast. The disAbility Law Center of Virginia is the protection and advocacy agency for people with disabilities in Virginia. You can subscribe to our podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Tune in today to hear our first episode! We will share who dLCV is, what we do, and learn more about protection and advocacy agencies.
Tune in to today’s episode to learn all about what is a disability? We interview Robert Gray from dLCV and take a deep dive into all things disability related! If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to us at podcast@dlcv.org.
Today’s episode we sit down with our Executive Director, Colleen Miller, and she gives us a rundown of all things General Assembly. The 2020 General Assembly session begins in Richmond, Virginia on January 8, 2020. Stay tuned for further episodes about self-advocacy, the state budget, and a wrap-up episode with Colleen at the end of the session.
Legislative tracking websites mentioned:
Virginia’s Legislative Information System
Richmond Sunlight
Join us for a new episode of Rights Here, Rights Now! Today we interview advocate Rachel Loria and she shares with us all about effective communication. We really learned a lot with this episode and hope you do too!
We have a surprise bonus episode today all about the Virginia State Budget! The General Assembly is in full swing in Virginia right now and we were able to sit down with dLCV staff, Rhonda Thissen, to learn all about the state budget. It is a dense topic, but very important to learn how finances work within the state and how to best advocate for the services and funding that you need!
Welcome to another episode of Rights Here, Rights Now! This week we are talking once again to Disability Rights Advocate, Rhonda Thissen, and she is teaching us all about self-advocacy. The General Assembly is in full swing in Virginia and there are many ways to get involved and be a self-advocate. Listen in for tips and tricks, as well as do’s and don’ts all about self-advocacy!
You didn’t read that wrong, not visibility, but visitability! Listen as we do a deep dive with staff attorney, Dana, as she teaches us the value of making residences visitable! We learned a lot in this episode and we hope you do too.
With all the primaries and caucuses happening these days we wanted to do a special episode all about voting! dLCV cares very much about everyone having access to voting. Even if you’re not in Virginia–tune in, you’ll be sure to learn something new about voting and having access to vote in many different ways!
Every election we send our staff and volunteers out all across the state to survey polling sites to ensure they have curbside voting and accessible voting machines.
Tune in to hear all about what dLCV does and how you can get involved. Anyone listening can survey their own polling site and send us that survey. We would love to hear from you and learn more about if your polling site is accessible or not and we will certainly follow up on any information you provide us to ensure every polling site across the state is accessible!
This episode is a bit of a sensitive one, we are talking all about the civil commitment process in Virginia. We are discussing Temporary Detention Orders (TDO) and Emergency Custody Orderss (ECO). These processes can be confusing to understand so we sit down with Ren, an advocate here, to explain the process and how you or others can advocate throughout the process.
The Virginia Department of Behavioral Health & Developmental Services DBHDS Crisis Services list. This is a list of crisis services across the state of Virginia. They are broken down by region.
Every area in Virginia has a Community Services Board that can connect folks with services in their area.
Tune in for part one of two with Colleen Miller discussing all things General Assembly! In this episode, we highlight all the good work that was done in this year’s session. We saw major success in all areas of life, employment, education, voting rights, and many more! Check out the comprehensive list of all the bills and resolutions passed.
For all the bills we focused on check out our Legislative Highlights.
Welcome back for the second part of our conversation with Colleen Miller, where we discuss the 2020 General Assembly Session. Today we are discussing all the things that can still be improved upon and what we are looking forward to in 2021. We discuss topics such as supported decision-making, education, and even movie theaters! Check out the comprehensive list of all the bills and resolutions passed.
For all the bills we focused on check out our Legislative Highlights.
This episode is all about Social Security. We discuss how to apply, who is eligible, and what to do if you’re denied. Check out a list of guides and resources all about Social Security.
You can check your eligibility online. If you need to call the Social Security Administration to apply the number is 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778).
Please bear with us, as this is the first time we have recorded a podcast remotely. The sound quality is not perfect, but the information in this podcast is pure gold.
This episode is all about COVID-19 and all the hard work dLCV staff are doing. Please keep in mind this podcast was recorded a week before airing, so some information may already be out of date! We tried to keep it as current as possible! You can find much more information on our COVID-19 webpage.
This week we were joined by PAIMI Advisory Council Chair, Tina Stelling. Tina was so gracious to share with us all about what the PAIMI Advisory Council is, how it has impacted her life, and how YOU can become a member. In this episode we also provide some resources for self advocacy during COVID-19.
If you are facing discrimination of any kind, please feel free to reach out to us. You can also make a complaint to the Department of Justice. If you have faced employment discrimination you can file an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint at If you feel you have been discriminated against or have experienced any violence or threats please contact your local police department immediately.
Today’s guest is dLCV’s attorney, Kalena Ek. Kalena shares with us all about Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) and how Special Education is working in times of the COVID-19 virus. We know Special Education is a daunting topic but Kalena breaks down the history of FAPE, some important legal cases, and what our kids are entitled to in the public school system.
Our website is full of Special Education resources and Kalena’s team has even put together a comprehensive guidebook on Special Education that is available on Amazon!
This episode is all about our volunteer program. We interviewed Valerie Jones, our Community Outreach Specialist. She shared with us all the different counsels dLCV has, volunteer opportunities, and how you can get involved! Check out more information and how to sign up. We have opportunities in our office, but also plenty of opportunities that can be done remotely so feel free to reach out to Valerie directly to find out how to best use your time and skills to help us out. We are so grateful to all our volunteers and look forward to working with more of you!
Join us for today’s episode with our guest, dLCV staff attorney, Zack DeVore. Zack is here to teach us all about effective communication in medical settings. Zack takes us through the Americans with Disabilities Act and beyond to help us understand how to best advocate for ourselves and our friends and families in medical offices and hospitals.
We had the privilege of having Mary Grace Whitten, a dLCV intern, share an opportunity with us about how to get involved at dLCV. Head on over to our Accessibility and Accommodations page to learn more about how you can help us identify accessible, and non-accessible, places in Virginia!
In this episode, advocate Joliefawn Liddell, and two of our legal interns, Mary Grace Whitten & Camille Karabaich, share with us all about the updated voting laws in Virginia. A lot of things have changed as of July 1, 2020, and due to COVID-19, so tune in to stay up-to-date with all the new procedures and deadlines. You can find out more information about voting in Virginia on our Voting page.
Welcome back to Rights Here, Rights Now! This podcast episode is all about Urinary Tract Infections. We know, it’s not the most glamorous topic to talk about, but it is very important. UTIs have a wide variety of symptoms and people with disabilities, as well as providers, caretakers, and staff, may not know all the signs so we wanted to create this podcast to share our knowledge and help you all become better advocates.
Our hosts, Virginia and Ren, share examples, signs, symptoms, and helpful tips and tricks but please remember we are not medical professionals so if you would like to learn more about UTIs check out these resources.
Join us for this very informative episode where dLCV attorney, Kerry Chilton, shares with us all about what Special Education looks like in Virginia this fall. Things are changing daily, but there are some great resources that Kerry shares with us, like the Parent Educational Advocacy Training Center (PETAC) to stay up to date on all the latest news. We know this unprecedented time is hard for many of us, especially parents of kids with disabilities, so we hope this episode is helpful and informative.
Check out PEATC’s website with lots of COVID resources and a comprehensive Back to School guide.
Today’s episode is all about COVID-19 and how it is affecting those in institutions. We hear from Nicole Durose as well as Becka Herbig from dLCV, and they share with us all about how COVID-19 is affecting people in state hospitals and in jails. While dLCV does have access to reports and records that the general public does not, the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services has a very up-to-date and informative home page all about COVID-19.
The Department of Corrections also has a very accurate and up-to-date webpage. This page is for prisons in Virginia, as jails do not fall under the Department of Corrections, but each jail has their own webpage.
Today’s episode is a special one. We got to interview dLCV Senior Advocate, Julie Triplett, all about transition services from school to adulthood. Julie shares with us all about the process of accessing transition services, how to get connected to the Department of Aging and Rehabilitation Services and the Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired, and a whole guidebook dLCV has created. We get a lot of calls and questions about accessing these services, when to begin transition services (age 14!) and what life can look like when leaving public school.
Welcome back to another episode of Rights Here Rights Now! Today’s topic is a hard one, but we do get calls about it often. We will be talking about evictions from Medicaid funded group homes. The information on this topic changes frequently, so to best stay up to date check out our Housing Resource Center about this topic.
Welcome to this special episode, where we interview Anne McDonnell, the Executive Director of the Brain Injury Association of Virginia (BIAV). dLCV is a huge supporter of BIAV and the work they do across the state for people who have experienced brain injuries. The mission of the BIAV is to advance education, awareness, support, treatment, and research to improve the quality of life for all people affected by brain injury. They provide outreach and support, education, public awareness, legislative advocacy, and also run Camp Bruce McCoy, a recreational camp in the Chesapeake Bay area. Anne is a wealth of knowledge on brain injuries and we learned so much in this episode.
Today’s episode is all about the Social Security Administration’s Representative-Payee program. dLCV advocate, Suzanne Herbst, joins us today to share what a representative payee is and how dLCV is involved with the Representative Payee program. We get a lot of calls about Social Security; we know it’s a confusing topic, but Suzanne does a great job at breaking it all down and explaining all parts of the process.
On October 1, 2020, dLCV entered into our Fiscal Year 2021. We have Executive Director, Colleen Miller, today to share all about the new projects and initiatives dLCV is embarking on in FY21. There are a lot of exciting things on the horizon, so stay tuned to learn about what we are doing and how YOU can get involved.
Today we were so glad to have the Communication Director from ENDependence Center of Northern Virginia, Inc. (ECNV), Liz Kumar, join us! Liz shares with us all about Centers for Independent Living (CILs) of which there are 17 in Virginia. ECNV provides really amazing resources to consumers in the Northern Virginia areas of Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun County, and the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, and Falls Church. There are over 400 CILs nationwide and they all provide 5 CORE SERVICES: advocacy, information referral, Independent Living skills training, peer training, and transitioning.
Like everyone else these days, they have had to shift their services online during COVID-19 but they are still up and running. If you would like to get in touch with them you can visit them online, email info@ecnv.org or call 703-525-3268. If you are not in Northern Virginia, find out more about the CIL closest to you.
Today we got to sit down (virtually) with Chris Miller. Chris is the Director of the Brain Injury Services Coordination Unit (BISC) at the Department of Aging and Rehabilitative Services (DARS). She shares with us all the awesome work BISC does. DARS is the lead state agency on brain injury. While they do not provide direct services, they provide funding to all the agencies across the state that do provide direct services.
Visit BISC’s website to learn more. BISC can be reached toll-free at 1-800-552-5019 and they can help get you connected with the right resources.
We’ve got a special guest today–our own Masters of Social Work Intern, Jax Caswell! Jax worked really hard on putting together a presentation for the entire dLCV staff regarding the intersection of transgender/disability rights and we knew we had to get him on the podcast to share. Jax shares a lot of important terminology, research, and data, but also important advocacy tips. These advocacy tips were really beneficial for our agency to learn, and we hope they are helpful to you too!
Have you ever wondered what happens when you call dLCV? Our receptionist, Molly Carter, and our Information & Referral Specialist, Stephanie Sabatini, join us on this episode to break the whole process down for us. Our call-in hours are Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, 8:30AM – 4:00PM or you can fill out our online help form.
Our Executive Director, Colleen Miller, is back with us to share all about the 2021 General Assembly session. She shares what happened with the special session this fall, what dLCV is focused on for this upcoming session and how you can follow along. To stay up to date with all the legislative happenings check out our Legislative Highlights Webpage, where Colleen herself will provide updates as they come along.
We are anticipating a lot to happen in the next 30-day session so listen in to find out how you can get involved too!
In this episode, we interview several staff members from the Virginia Sexual & Domestic Violence Action Alliance. We do not go into anything graphic, but there are some sensitive topics in this episode. We focus on the intersectionality of disability and sexual and domestic violence and ways to advocate and get the help you may need. The Action Alliance has a hotline that is open 24/7 at 1-800-838-8238 and a text line at 804-793-9999 or you can chat online with an advocate.
The Action Alliance has many resources so please check out their website and reach out if you need further information.
Today we talk to advocate, Rachel Loria, all about Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS). Rachel shares with us how youth aged 14-21 can access these services through their schools. These services include job exploration counseling, workplace readiness training, and self-advocacy skills training among others. Rachel shares with us how these services have shifted virtually due to COVID-19. Find out more information for youth. at www.dlcv.org/coa.
In this episode, we also hear from advocate, Rhonda Thissen, who provides us with a call to action. We are conducting a survey of abuse and neglect. If you feel you’ve been abused or neglected by a paid caregiver please complete this brief survey.
Today we are joined by Institutional Rights Unit Manager, Becka Herbig. Becka shares with us all the work dLCV does on behalf of our clients who are in Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS) licensed state psychiatric hospitals. dLCV monitors all licensed state psychiatric hospitals and as they continue to close, dLCV assists clients with transitioning into least restrictive settings back in the community. If you or a loved one is in an institution and you believe you have wrongly been institutionalized, please check out our resources, where you can learn how to file complaints and more self-advocacy tips. As always, you can call dLCV at 800-552-3962.
Service animals, emotional support animals, therapy animals…the list goes on and on. These terms are often used interchangeably but have very different meanings. Staff Attorney, Dana Traynham, is back on the podcast with us today to break down the differences in these terms. She shares with us about the Americans with Disabilities Act, some new airline legislation, and some fair housing resources. You can learn more about “Assistance Animals in Public Places, on Planes and at Home” here.
The 2021 General Assembly session is finally over and Colleen Miller is back to give us all the details on what went down! She goes in-depth on the bills we were tracking and the current status of them as well as what we are already looking ahead to 2022. You can read more about these bills and dLCV’s legislative work.
Today we are speaking with Dana Traynham all about legal guardianship. In this podcast, we reference a documentary on Hulu, Framing Britney Spears by the New York Times. Celebrity Britney Spears is under a conservatorship by her father, and the documentary discusses how this came to be. While we do reference the documentary often throughout this episode, we are not providing any legal commentary on Britney’s situation.
Dana provides us with information about how the legal guardianship and conservatorship processes work in Virginia. dLCV has many resources about alternatives to guardianship and supported decision-making here.
Join us today for a special episode of Rights Here, Rights Now! We have the pleasure of interviewing Deb Lochart and Taneika Goldman from the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS) Office of Human Rights. Deb and Taneika share with us who the Office of Human Rights is, who they serve, what they do, and how you can utilize their resources.
Join us today as Senior Advocate, Rhonda Thissen, shares with us the differences between Assisted Living Facilities (ALFs) and Nursing Homes. dLCV does monitoring work at both types of facilities and Rhonda is here to shed light on the similarities and differences. You can learn more about ALFs here and Nursing Homes here.
Join us today as we speak with dLCV Attorney, John Cimino, regarding the recent changes to restraint and seclusion regulations in public schools. Surprisingly to us, Virginia is not the only state who did not previously have regulations surrounding restraint and seclusion. Private schools often do, but public schools have not until recently. John shares with us the differences between restraint and seclusion and breaks down all the new regulations and how they will be implemented and enforced moving forward.
Join us today as our guest, Regina Chaney, joins us from Housing Opportunities Made Equal (HOME). Regina is the Community Engagement Specialist at HOME and shares with us all about the work HOME is doing to ensure people with disabilities have access to accessible housing options. HOME tackles systemically divisive housing practices through fair housing enforcement, research, advocacy, and statewide policy work. They also aid first-time homebuyers and those under the threat of foreclosure. If you or a loved one is facing any housing discrimination, check out HOME’s website or call them at 804.354.0641.
Today we are discussing the new movie on Netflix, “I Care A Lot” regarding guardianship issues. If you haven’t seen the movie yet, we recommend you watch it before listening to this episode, or it may be spoiled for you. Dana Traynham, dLCV Senior Staff Attorney, joins us once again to discuss the movie, share alternatives to guardianship, and give us some Virginia-specific examples.
There is a new Traumatic Brain Injury fact sheet on our website. There is also a new national hotline put together by the Administration for Community Living and the Centers for Disease Control with some disability councils. The hotline exists to promote vaccination efforts among people with disabilities across the country, by providing vaccine information, appointment scheduling, and connecting users with accessible transportation. The hotline can be reached at 888-677-1199 for the hotline or email DIAL@n4a.org.
Today we are joined by Karen Brimm, who wears many hats. Karen is the Community Services Manager of the Virginia Department for Deaf and Hard of Hearing (VDDHH) and she is the acting Access and Functional Needs Officer for the Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM). Karen is working hard on advocating for information regarding COVID-19 and mitigating accessibility barriers. The pandemic has shown us the many areas of inaccessibility in our daily lives and businesses and Karen has worked tirelessly over the past year to advocate for a more accessible and inclusive world. You can contact the Virginia Department for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, and find out more about COVID-19!
Join us as we welcome back fan-favorite, Dana Traynham, as she shares all about Advance Directives. In previous episodes, we have spoken about Guardianship issues and supported decision-making. Dana shares alternatives to guardianship and how to obtain an advance directive in this episode. You can find many more videos and resources about this topic at on our Advance Directives Video page and Supported Decision Making page. You may also hear a little about Dana’s new pet chickens at the end, so stay tuned!
Today we interviewed former dLCV client and tremendous self-advocate, podcaster, and TBI survivor, Jay Crandell! Jay suffered a TBI on July 4, 2006 from a stray bullet while walking down the street. Since then, he has been through much rehab to regain his independence. His parents are tremendous supports and have been there every step of the way. Jay has his own podcast, which you can listen to HERE. We hope you learn from Jay as he shares his wins and struggles and his wishes for TBI system in Virginia. If you want to learn more about the TBI resources in Virginia, you can check out the Brain Injury Association of Virginia or season 2 episode 1 where we interviewed Anne McDonnell, the Executive Director of BIAV or episode 5 where we interview Chris Miller, the Director of the Brain Injury Services Coordination Unit at DARS!
Join us today for a delightful interview with Dale Batton, Deputy Director at DARS. DARS is the Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services and they provide services to improve employment, quality of life, security, and independence of older adults and Virginians with disabilities and their families. Dale shares with us how to access DARS services, who is eligible, and how dLCV and DARS work together! You can find out more about DARS by visiting their website here.
Today on the podcast, we have Pam Cato & Dr. Rick Mitchell, from the Department of Blind and Vision Impaired (DBVI), talking about the services they provide, inviting us, and providing us with a ton of information about, school, employment, and Assistive Technology (AT). You can find out more about DBVI on their website or call them at 800-622-2155 (toll-free).
Welcome back listeners! Today we are talking all about the Computerized Human Rights Information System (CHRIS) database and what we do with it. The CHRIS database is information we receive every day from the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services regarding serious injuries or incidents that occur across the state involving people with disabilities. We receive this data into a database and then have a team of reviewers and volunteers read each report and assess any need for follow up. Sometimes we use this data to inform projects for upcoming years and monitoring goals, or we open investigations based on the reports. We hope this episodes gives you a glimpse into the important work that we do and how you can get involved! We always need volunteers to help us read these important reports, so sign up now!
Today’s episode is one of the greatest! We got to interview Ms. Wheelchair Virginia, Ryann Mason. Ryann shares all about the Ms. Wheelchair Virginia Pageant, her nursing career, and some advocacy tips with us. You do NOT want to miss this episode. Ryann will also be back next week for a special BONUS episode.
Ryann Mason, Ms. Wheelchair Virginia, is BACK today to talk all about Sex and Disability. Ryann is many things, one of them being a sex educator, and she is passionate about talking about sex and disability as it is rarely talked about. Ryann goes deep with us today on this topic.
You can find Ryann on Instagram at @Chronically Ry
As we prepare for the 2022 Virginia General Assembly, we hope you all can learn about the Virginia State Budget budget in this repost episode, where we speak with dLCV staff member, Rhonda Thissen. It is a dense topic, but very important to learn how finances work within the state and how to best advocate for the services and funding that you need!
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