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Disability Rights

Partnering with persons with disabilities to advocate for their health and rights

Our Impact

See all Disability Rights Impacts

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  • 1K+ hiring managers trained on disability awareness and reasonable accommodations
  • 37K ADA compliance consultations a year
  • 134K disabled & socially vulnerable CA residents received COVID-19 information & resources

Our Work

People with disabilities have the right to full and unrestricted participation in society. The Public Health Institute is dedicated to improving the lives of people with disabilities, with a focus on disability policy, civil rights, disability law, employment, health issues, independent living and assistive technology. PHI programs partner with persons with disabilities to advocate for their health and rights. We provide consultation and technical assistance, promote innovative assistive and instructional technologies, build the capacity of institutions to provide for full and unrestricted participation for those with disabilities, disseminate information and updates related to accessible technologies, and more.

PHI Priority

Building Health Equity

As part of a statewide campaign in 2020, the Center on Disability at the Public Health Institute engaged over 339,000 residents in three California counties to make emergency preparedness inclusive of people with disabilities, seniors and older adults, and people in poverty. With the onset of COVID-19, the Center also connected over 134,000 Californians with disabilities to essential safety information and resources. Their work provides a model for how to authentically include people with disabilities in emergency planning, and has been highlighted by state and local leaders as a best practice in how to support diverse and vulnerable populations in preparing for future disasters and emergencies.

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PHI’s Center on Disability highlights disaster preparedness needs and strategies for people with disabilities, part of the state’s Listos California campaign.

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New Study: ED Buprenorphine Linked to Sustained Opioid Use Disorder Treatment

Patients who get their first dose of buprenorphine in the Emergency Department (ED) are more likely to remain engaged in opioid use disorder treatment 30 days post-discharge, finds a new study from PHI's CA Bridge—reinforcing EDs as critical access points to highly effective, life-saving medication for addiction treatment.

read the study

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