Disability Access Consulting (DAC)
Disability Access Consulting is DDP’s fee-for-service program to share our lived experience and years of professional training to help community members from different sectors develop skills and practices to create more accessibility in their offerings and operations.
Drawing from our intersectional approach and expertise in grassroots organizing, our DAC staff apply insights from their lived experiences and professional knowledge to help clients identify and address a wide range of needs.
Our services challenge participants to reimagine disability as a source of power and innovation, while providing concrete strategies for dismantling ableism in their own spaces and institutions.
“Staff have raved about the DDP training–from how much new information they learned to how well Dessa and Ani presented the information. Staff who have had previous disability training also shared that this was by the far the best (content + delivery) they had experienced. The training left a huge impact on our team and has helped us to think about the ways in which ableist language, attitudes and behaviors are overlooked in the way we move as an organization.”
Trainings
Foundational Series Includes:
Anti-Ableism 101
Institutional Change
Tailored Presentation
Consulting
We offer hourly consultations at a standard rate for organizations who need general support identifying or moving on accessibility related goals or support on existing projects.
Short-term Consulting Examples
Provided input on accessibility guidelines for events like a large conference, spaces such as nonprofit offices, and internal processes on policies that impact disabled people.
Site visit to venue or small business to help identify accessibility features and recommend improvement in physical space and operations.
Consulted on updating homes by meeting with developers, and contractors on designing beyond ADA standards to create truly accessible living spaces for aging residents.
Previous Clients
We work with organizations, cultural and academic institutions, business leaders, city officials, policymakers, and more as we believe that accessibility must be ingrained in all that we do.
Clients Public Sector
Bloomfield Township Public Library
Canton Public Library
City of Detroit (Housing & Revitalization Department, Office of Disability Affairs)
Huron Clinton Metro Parks
Michigan Department of Health & Human Services
Clients Private Sector
Bedrock
Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan
Designing Justice + Designing Spaces
Flux City Development
Lakeshore Legal Aid
The Know Your Rights Brochure outlines legal protections, accommodation processes, and complaint procedures for residents with disabilities. This is also available in large print.
Institutional Change: This workshop comes after our foundational Anti-Ableism training. Institutional Change is about thinking how might organizations and culture perpetuate ableism or push for full inclusion.
Accessible Communications: A hands-on workshop teaching practical skills for creating accessible content, covering digital accessibility, image descriptions, and plain language. The training emphasizes realistic implementation strategies while helping organizations develop sustainable accessibility practices aligned with their capacity.
Anti-Ableism Workshop: This is a two-hour Zoom workshop designed to provide critical insights into disability justice. This interactive session will explore foundational concepts including ableism as an intersecting system of oppression, disability as a cultural and political identity, models of disability, and accessibility.
Training Presentations: These presentations are great for a lunch and learn or ERG group conversation. Our speakers provide insight from their lived experiences and professional learnings to personalize and expand on the topics below. Many of the examples used are based on case studies from Detroit Disability Power’s projects and collaborations.
Tailored workshops & presentations: Specific sessions aimed at supporting your staff dive deeper into how accessibility intersects with your organization's areas of interest and operation.
Long-term Consulting Examples
Collaborated with multiple organizations to launch big projects with accessibility at the center of decision making.
Developed a 4 part learning series for training residents, property managers and developers on universal and accessible design.
Acted as the subject matter expert to assist scope, implement, and deliver a range of home improvements to aging & disabled Detroiters for entry and exit modifications & supportive bathroom equipment.
Most larger scopes of work will have flexible consultation hours included. Some examples of this work include organizational assessments and interviews with key staff members, topic specific sessions, and coaching on best practices and change management.
Clients in Academia
American Studies Association Conference
University of Detroit Mercy, School of Architecture and Community Development
University of Michigan Digital Studies Institute, DISCO Network
University of Michigan School of Information, Aging, Human Computer Interaction and and Accessibility (AHA) Lab
University of Michigan School of Public Health
University of Michigan's Science, Technology, and Public Policy
Clients in Non-profit
JARC
LOVE Building
MI Voices
Michigan Education Justice Coalition
Progress Michigan
Promote the Vote
Accessible Housing Resources
In collaboration with the City of Detroit Housing Revitalization Department, we developed housing resources aimed to educate residents with disabilities about their housing rights and to provide property managers and developers resources to understand how to best serve residents with disabilities.
The Tips for Accommodations & Modification Requests for Housing Providers assists property managers in creating consistent, fair procedures for handling modification requests.
The Plain Language Leasing Benefits Guide provides property managers with accessible communication tools including simplified forms, leases, and community guidelines.
The Housing Accessibility Checklist helps residents identify safety improvements needed in their homes and connects them with trusted contractors. This is also available in large print.
The Best Practices for Leasing Accessible Units guide helps property managers effectively market to and engage with the disability community.
The Disability-Friendly Development Guide equips developers with inclusive design principles and community engagement strategies for creating truly accessible housing.