News
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June 26, 2024
Disability Rights Tennessee, Sanford Heisler Sharp, and the Youth Law Center File Lawsuit Against Tennessee for Illegal and Unconstitutional Neglect and Mistreatment of Vulnerable Youth
PDF Version of Press Release PDF Version of Complaint NASHVILLE, Tenn., June 26, 2024 — Attorneys from Disability Rights Tennessee, Sanford Heisler Sharp, and the Youth Law Center filed a class action complaint today challenging illegal and unconstitutional conditions in Tennessee’s juvenile justice facilities. The complaint alleges that the State of Tennessee, among other Defendants, […]
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February 15, 2024
A Call to Action: Advancing Tennessee’s Juvenile Justice System to Strengthen Families, Communities, and Oversight
About the Report: What would it look like if Tennessee’s juvenile justice system prioritized strengthening families, connecting youth to their home communities, and creating safe environments that promote healing, growth, and being held accountable for one’s actions? Instead, Tennessee’s youth continue to suffer, primarily Black youth with disabilities. Disability Rights Tennessee (DRT) and Youth Law […]
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January 23, 2024
Client Story – Joan Kite, TBI Survivor
Joan Kite, a two time Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) survivor shared her story with DRT’s Lee Sherwood and discussed her recovery journey and what it means to be an advocate.
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January 9, 2024
Tennessee Lookout | “New Nashville program provides eligible jail inmates pathway to voter registration, restoration”
View original article here. Published by Kathy Carlson, January 8, 2024 People in county jails often are eligible to vote, and a new program in Nashville aims to guide potential voters through the process. “The requirement to serve jail inmates has been around for a long time,” Davidson County Administrator of Elections Jeff Roberts said […]
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January 8, 2024
Massive sign on letter rejects cuts to non-defense discretionary funding in FY 2024 deal
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Massive sign on letter rejects cuts to non-defense discretionary funding in FY 2024 deal Contact: Lee Sherwood, Director of Community Relations – Email: LeeS@DisabilityRightsTN.org; Phone/Text: 409-771-0098 NASHVILLE, TN.— Disability Rights Tennessee (DRT) issues the following statement announcing an 1,098-organization sign-on letter urging Congress to reject any full-year continuing resolution that would result […]
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December 4, 2023
Land a job without a scare in the world – DEAL 2023 Recap
The 9th Disability Employment Awareness Luncheon (DEAL) at Nashville’s Music City Center on October 30th was another powerful moment of connection. DEAL is a time for employers and employees alike to share a meal together and listen to speakers from the disability community share best practices and personal experiences. This year’s luncheon marked a special […]
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November 20, 2023
TN’s broken system: Press Release on recent tragedy in Nashville
For a PDF of the Release, please click here. For Immediate Release The recent shooting of Belmont student, Jillian Ludwig, has uncovered a dire situation in Tennessee as its broken system and failure to provide critical services and housing for adults with disabilities who have been declared legally incompetent to stand trial but not to […]
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October 16, 2023
Out of Sight, Out of Media – A Recipe for Neglect: Statement on Tennessee Department of Children’s Services’ New Funding and Announced Projects
For a PDF of the Press Release, please click here. En Español The Tennessee Department of Children’s Services (DCS) has been allocated over $400 million to combat the chronic mismanagement of care for Tennessee’s vulnerable youth, including funds to build more hardware secure facilities. Disability Rights Tennessee (DRT) reaffirms our commitment to preventing unwarranted institutionalization […]
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September 11, 2023
Press Release on Disability Voting Rights Week
To view the original press release, click here. Disability Rights Tennessee celebrates Disability Voting Rights Week. The campaign is focused on education and action for the over 38 million eligible voters with disabilities and is hosted by the American Association of People with Disabilities’ REV UP Campaign. NASHVILLE, TN- Disability Rights Tennessee, the Protection & […]