Our Philosophy
According to the American Community Survey around 14% of people in the United States are disabled.
That prevalence makes disabled people the second largest minority group in the country. However, the disability perspective is often not incorporated or prioritized. Accessibility is left on the back burner, we are often left out of conversations, or dismissed as inconsequential. For a truly intersectional approach, disability is an essential part of the conversation.
Established in 1996, DPC has been on the forefront of advocating for the disability community and creating programs and services that fill gaps to improved disabled lives across Massachusetts and beyond. Our Training and Consulting services are a continuation of that work.
Over years of working in this field, we have noticed that disability is often missing from DEI conversations. Furthermore, when disability is discussed, often, the discussion is centered around the bare minimum for avoiding legal liability under the Americans with Disabilities Act. We believe that disabled people deserve better. We are a community with a shared history and experiences across disability and recognizing that is an essential part of creating a welcoming inclusive environment. We provide services to help organizations include disabled perspectives in the DEI work to bridge this gap. We were able to start this work thanks to a generous grant from SkillWorks (part of the Boston Foundation) in 2021.
DPC has an extensive history of working with a multitude of organizations to bring a disability perspective and our unique knowledge to projects, papers, webinars, research, boards, and various other initiatives through technical assistance work and consumer voice representation.
Our staff have a wealth of experience and expertise in this field and are passionate about this intersectional work.
Get to know our team.
Testimonials
“I really enjoyed how interactive the presentation was, and how the facilitator was inclusive and mindful of people's needs. I really appreciated this session! I learned so much, and while the content was disturbing, it was really powerful and insightful to learn.”
“Health Management Associates has partnered with DPC on many projects and webinars to advance equity and justice. DPC’s team has strengthened HMA’s teams, bringing insights and expertise, and lived experience of disability to our projects. It is a pleasure to work with DPC.”
“Health Resources in Action (HRiA) envisions a future of healthy people thriving in equitable and just communities. The Disability Policy Consortium has been a powerful partner in advancing this vision, informing projects like the MA DPH Community Health Equity Survey (CHES) and the Digital Equity Planning process for the City of Boston. We are grateful for the insights, expertise, guidance, and partnership of the Disability Policy Consortium and look forward to continuing to advance the policy, systems and environmental changes that we envision.”
“Presenters had amazing content and were very passionate and knowledgeable.”
“I appreciated the history since I personally was taught almost nothing about disabled peoples' history in academic settings.”
“We were looking for a consultant who had expertise in several key areas, including research, focus group facilitation, and data synthesis. DPC used a team approach, bringing in staff who had the skill sets necessary to ensure that all aspects of this data project were fully explored.”
