The World Institute on Disability (WID) is pleased to announce the appointment of Anita Shafer Aaron as Executive Director. Aaron replaces Kathy Martinez who left WID earlier this year to accept a position in the Obama administration as Assistant Secretary for the Department of Labor's Office on Disability Employment Policy. In joining WID, Aaron concludes nearly twenty years of service as Executive Director/CEO of the LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired, headquartered in San Francisco. The LightHouse mission includes advocacy, information, education, services and programs focused on adjustment to and living with vision loss.

WID's International Program launched in 2009 a 3-year project in the Republic of Georgia in partnership with Whirlwind Wheelchair International (WWI) and the Coalition for Independent Living in Georgia, along with their regional member organizations, the Association of Disabled Women and Mothers of Disabled Children in Zugdidi and the Association of Gori Disabled Club, to set up a sustainable wheelchair production and repair facility in Tbilisi.

As WID prepares to move to the new Ed Roberts Campus, we are dusting off our older publications and making them available to download for free in both PDF and TXT on our website. Visit our Publications section to download WID classics on personal assistance services (PAS) and more for free.

The World Institute on Disability’s vision is a world where people with disabilities live fully integrated lives economically and socially. As an internationally recognized public policy center organized by and for people with disabilities, WID’s mission in communities and nations worldwide is to eliminate barriers to full social integration and increase employment, economic security, and health care for persons with disabilities.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California signed AB 1269 into law just a few hours before the legal deadline on October 11, 2009. Staff for the bill’s author, Assemblymember Julia Brownley (Santa Monica), informed the bill’s sponsor, World Institute on Disability, WID, shortly after the bill became law. California residents who work and use Medi-Cal services reacted swiftly. “The changes made by this law will finally allow thousands of Californians with significant disabilities to go to work without jeopardizing vital health care that is not available under employer-sponsored health insurance, or Medicare coverage,” declared Alana Theriault, Director of Benefits Planning for Abilicorp, a disability-focused employment company.

Abuse of people with disabilities and elders creates a significant barrier to independent living and full integration into the community. Abuse and mistreatment is defined as any unwanted, hurtful, dangerous, neglectful, frightening, insulting, oppressive, or demeaning behavior directed at a person or persons with disabilities. It can include physical, verbal, emotional, sexual, or financial mistreatment, including theft, violation of privacy or autonomy, and crime, including hate crime. To reduce the incidence of abuse, WID created a comprehensive training curriculum in English and Spanish to educate people with disabilities, services providers, and family members about abuse awareness and prevention strategies.