5 Year Strategic Plan (FY 2024-2029)

Mission: Disability Rights Center – New Hampshire protects, advances, and strengthens the legal rights and advocacy interests of all people with disabilities.

Vision: We envision an inclusive, accessible, and just society:

• Where all are treated with dignity and respect.
• Where people with disabilities live the lives that they choose, lives that are free from abuse, neglect, and discrimination.
• Where people with disabilities have equal opportunity to participate fully in their community and enjoy their lives.

Theme: Our words and actions center disability justice in all our work. This includes intersectionality, leadership of those most impacted, and cross disability advocacy.*

Goal 1: Our work leads to individual and systemic change.

• Objective 1: We provide legal counsel and representation for disabled individuals including class action litigation.
  • Meet at least once per year to identify areas of greatest need for systemic change through litigation. Develop a plan to address these issues.
  • Develop and host 1-2 Legal clinics on disability-specific issues.
• Objective 2: We bring change through public policy advocacy.
  • Educate people with disabilities to be more knowledgeable about public policy.
  • Expand relationships with disabled people to solicit input as we develop public policy priorities and activities.
• Objective 3: We have a strong presence in facilities, institutions, programs, and schools across the state.
  • Monitor conditions in at least 5 new facilities each year for a total of at least 20 facilities each year.
  • Educate the public about the scope and importance of our investigation and monitoring work and conditions in facilities, institutions, programs, and schools serving New Hampshire residents via the DRC-NH website and other platforms.
  • Develop a database, resources, policies, procedures, and invest in staff development to support and expand DRC-NH’s monitoring and investigative work.

Goal 2: We are a strong and resilient organization.

• Objective 1: We are fully staffed with highly qualified and dedicated individuals with diverse backgrounds and abilities.
  • Expand celebrations of successes and team building for staff.
  • Expand staff development opportunities, particularly opportunities targeted at specific staff needs.
  • Increase recruitment of people with disabilities and people from underserved communities when hiring for new positions.
  • Ensure DRC-NH offers competitive salaries and benefits. Explore other creative ways to support staff.
• Objective 2: Our funding is sustainable and from a variety of sources.
  • Develop a process to assess grant opportunities for benefits and drawbacks of each and to identify longer-term projects where additional funding would be beneficial.
  • Pursue opportunities to purchase a space to decrease long-term occupancy costs.
  • Pursue fundraising partnerships.
• Objective 3: Our Board and PAIMI Advisory Council are committed to supporting our work.
  • Increase diversity of Board and PAIMI Advisory Council.
  • Conduct targeted membership outreach to meet specific identified needs.

Goal 3: We are well known across the state and nationally.

• Objective 1: We are a leader in accessible communications, outreach, and advocacy.
  • Assess the accessibility of DRC-NH’s website and social media platforms. Utilize new and creative strategies to increase the accessibility of these platforms and other communications to the public.
  • Educate organizations across the state about how to make their work more accessible.
• Objective 2: We utilize creative ways to reach and teach people collectively.
  • Lead efforts to end the use of ableist language across NH, including the “Stopping Special” campaign.
  • Build stronger connections with traditional and non-traditional media across the state.
  • Develop and utilize innovative tools to support disabled people to advocate for themselves.
• Objective 3: We engage with underserved and unserved communities.
  • Gather and utilize data to identify progress and opportunities for strategic outreach.
  • Build stronger partnerships with community groups serving underserved communities across NH, including BIPOC and LGBTIA+ communities.

Goal 4: We build and maintain effective partnerships.

• Objective 1: We invite and solicit partnerships with people with disabilities to lead projects and initiatives.
  • Develop and implement at least one co-led project.
  • Equip staff with the training and messages they need to advocate for the inclusion of people with disabilities when help is requested or when disabled people are absent from conversations.
• Objective 2: We create opportunities to listen to and learn from and support others.
  • Utilize innovative ways to solicit input on our work and priorities.
  • Ensure the voices of underserved and unserved communities are heard in the priority setting process.
  • Support other organizations, particularly grassroots organizations in their advocacy.

Download a PDF of the DRC-NH 5 Year Strategic Plan
October 1, 2023 – September 30, 2029

Excerpted from 10 Principles of Disability Justice as articulated by Patty Berne and Sins Invalid, https://www.sinsinvalid.org/blog/10-principles-of-disability-justice