We can’t do it without you!

Doing this vital work is our privilege, but we can’t achieve it without your support. Your donations advance equality and help to build a more diverse and inclusive community. Your support fuels our mission and drives our impactful work forward!

Changing Stereotypes and Transforming Lives

Together with Your Support

At Disability Network Southwest Michigan, our Mission is clear: We are people with disabilities advancing justice, access, and inclusion for the Disability Community. We strive to reach underserved communities, foster inclusivity and diversity, challenge stereotypes, and activate systemic change. We also help individuals with disabilities navigate challenging community systems in order to access resources and make ends meet.

We cannot do this important work without your support.

Michelle is one example of how your support has changed lives. She is a motivated and determined 24-year-old with an intellectual disability that impacts her attention span, organizing and planning of tasks, and comprehension in certain areas. Disability Network first connected with Michelle as a high school student and supported her goal of finding gainful employment by introducing self-advocacy skills. Michelle explored her personal strengths and learned how to talk to an employer about her disabilities so that she could be successful on the job. Ultimately, Michelle was able to secure employment and, in time, advance to even better job opportunities.

As Disability Network continued to support Michelle, it became clear that the person appointed to help her with her finances wasn’t following through. This left her in a very dire financial situation. Disability Network supported Michelle in connecting to resources to meet her immediate needs of food and shelter, then helped her learn money management skills such as developing a budget, managing a checking account, building savings, planning for the future, and more. Armed with these skills, plus strong support provided to her with advocating to the Social Security Administration, she successfully took over handling her finances on her own.

Young woman working in a factory, wearing safety goggles and a pink glove while giving the peace sign.
Photo of Michelle at work.

"Disability Network helped me become so much more independent."
-Michelle


Michelle’s story is just one example of the impact our work has on the community. Our programming not only helps individual humans, but informs the public through community education, supports business owners in implementing disability-friendly policies, creates long-term change through advocacy at the state and local levels, and so much more. These efforts have positively impacted the lives of countless individuals and communities – yet there’s so much more work to be done.

It is our privilege to do this vital work, but we can’t achieve it without your support.  With your donation to Disability Network Southwest Michigan, we can continue to provide services that empower individuals to live their lives to the fullest. Your support fuels our mission and drives our impactful work forward!

Other Success Stories