Disability Rights IOWA helps people with disabilities, including mental illness, deal with discrimination. Help is provided in several ways, depending on the areas of focus set by Disability Rights IOWA’s Board of Directors. All Disability Rights IOWA services are free. But callers’ issues must relate to their disability or mental illness. Problems Disability Rights IOWA deals with may include abuse, neglect, education, employment, housing, or denial of services.
All calls to Disability Rights IOWA go through the same intake process, but people who call are helped according to the annual areas of focus set by the Board. And callers receive different levels of help depending on the problem and how it fits into the annual areas of focus. If Disability Rights IOWA is not able to provide direct help, we will refer the caller to another agency that can help. This type of assistance is called Information and Referral.
When we can offer direct help, we always try to solve problems in the simplest way. In addition to providing direct help, Disability Rights IOWA advocates are also trained to help callers work through problems. By doing this, we teach callers how to advocate for themselves. Administrative and legal help are used when other strategies have not worked and the issue fully meets the annual areas of focus set by the Board.
If you would like information about Disability Rights IOWA’s areas of focus, please call our office. We have meetings throughout the state each year to help our Board decide what our areas of focus should be for the following year. Establishing annual areas of focus helps us focus our limited resources. Although specific areas of focus may change from year to year, we are always dedicated to helping people with disabilities and mental illness.
