Community Engagement
Disability Rights Connecticut works with individuals with disabilities, their families, and community partners to understand common goals, priorities, and visions. DRCT staff provides outreach and training to establish and maintain community relationships and implement data-driven strategies to assist people with disabilities who are most in need.
DRCT can provide training, upon request, on issues related to our focus areas. If you believe you, or a group you are a member of, could benefit from training, please contact our Strategic Partnerships Manager, Michael Whilby at 860-856-4158 or Michael.Whilby@DisRightsCT.org
DRCT in the Community
DRCT’s Community Engagement/Outreach Program: 2025 Year in Review!
By Mike Whilby, Strategic Partnerships Manager
During 2025, Disability Rights Connecticut (DRCT) significantly expanded its Community Engagement & Outreach Program to strengthen its work connecting with people with disabilities, their families, caregivers, and community partners throughout Connecticut. The initiative focused on enhancing visibility, providing disability rights education, and fostering partnerships to support underserved and underrepresented populations across the state.
DRCT’s community engagement efforts aimed to build and maintain relationships with communities, share critical information about disability rights, and empower individuals with disabilities to advocate for themselves. DRCT staff provided outreach, training, and informational advocacy at public events to educate and support individuals and families.
This outreach aligned with DRCT’s broader 2025 priorities and objectives to educate on key focus areas including individual rights, opportunities to live in the community, housing, healthcare, education, employment, and abuse/neglect prevention.
Throughout 2025, the Community Engagement & Outreach Program participated in an array of community events that emphasized accessibility and inclusion. These included:
Major multicultural celebrations such as the Hartford Latino Fest and Middletown PrideFEST
Cultural events like Schemitzun: Feast of Green Corn & Dance, Riverfront Dragon Boat & Asian Festival, and the Taste of the Caribbean & Jerk Festival
Major public health and resource fairs, including Ability Walk & Roll, Hartford Behavioral Health & Resource Fair, and Walk4Hearing
Local community building events such as the Coventry Farmers Market and TCI Community Day/Wake Up Wednesday
Educational forums and transition expos supporting youth with disabilities
Engagement at events with partner organizations including CCAR (CT Community for Addiction Recovery), Make the Road CT, CERT (Community Emergency Response Team), and more
At these events, DRCT provided disability rights information, self-advocacy materials, and resources on services like client assistance programs, supported decision-making, voting rights, and educational services.
DRCT’s outreach built strong partnerships across nonprofit, educational, and civic sectors, deepening its community impact. Highlights included:
Provided outreach at 55 community events, which included fifty-three (53) in-person and two (2) virtual webinar events reaching thousands of people with disabilities, family members, caregivers, and other local community and professional partners.
Community Engagement outreach efforts showed a 17% increase from FY 2024.
Celebrated a 200th community engagement event milestone at the TCI Community Day in Hartford – marking continued growth in statewide connection and advocacy.
Engaged with several communities through culturally focused festivals and inclusive events that expanded access to disability rights resources.
Presented and collaborated with local organizations, emergency responders, and educational partners to broaden public awareness of disability issues.
The Community Engagement and Outreach Program’s activities in 2025 reflected a deepened commitment to ensuring that people with disabilities were informed about their rights, connected to resources, and supported in advocating for themselves and their families. These engagements not only increased DRCT’s visibility across the state but also reinforced our role as a trusted resource within multiple communities.
DRCT continues to prioritize outreach that is inclusive, culturally responsive, and strategically aligned with its mission to achieve full equality and justice for individuals with disabilities in Connecticut.
Finally, I would like to say that the success of our Community Engagement & Outreach Program in 2025 was a direct reflection of our staff, volunteers, and board members whose tireless efforts connected individuals, families, and communities to the power of disability rights. Thank you all for your outstanding work!
From left to right: Taste of the Caribbean Executive Director, Leslie Perry, Latino Fest CEO, Vic Luna with Strategic Partnerships Manager, Mike Whilby standing in the middle of Dunkin’ Park’s concourse section.
From left to right: DRCT’s Strategic Partnerships Manager, Mike Whilby CCAR’s Volunteer Manager of the Hartford Recovery Community Center, Geraldo Rivera, Hartford Community, Hartford Healthcare Community Case Manager, Keishla Rodriguez with Emergency Response Team (CERT) Lead, Rhonda Leonard standing behind CCAR’s resource table by the wall inside SEIU’s community room. In the background: On the left - Door with green Exit sign. To the right, a vendor sat and talked at resource table
DRCT’s, Lena Esposito and Mike Whilby holding up a white and brown sign that says Schemitzun: Feast of Green Corn and Dance in front of large stone rock. In the background: Mashantucket cultural grounds surrounded by trees.
From left to right, Keynote Speaker, Dr. Niesha Washington-Shepard, Guest Speaker, Ivy Velez, M.S., Nicholas Lalanne, NAD Region 1 Board Member, CAD 1st Vice President, Julia Silvestri, CAD Board President and DRCT Board Vice President, Luisa Gasco-Soboleski, DRCT Board Mender, Glynis Gibson, and DRCT Strategic Partnerships Manager, Mike Whilby standing behind DRCT’s resource table in the hallway at the American School for the Deaf, Visual Communications Center. In the background: A HR information board help up on a white wall and classroom hallway to the left.
2024 Community Engagement and Outreach Year in Review
by Michael Whilby, Strategic Partnerships Manager
This year presented numerous opportunities for the Community Engagement/Outreach program at Disability Rights Connecticut (DRCT) to expand its reach across the state. This was achieved by implementing a three-tiered strategic community engagement plan, devised by Executive Director Debbie Dorfman, which focused on providing self-advocacy information to people of disabilities from underserved populations.
By increasing the organization’s visibility at key multicultural community events, such as the Middletown PrideFEST, Juneteenth Festival with the Ujima African American Alliance, Hartford & Bridgeport Latino Festivals, Ability Walk & Roll, Taste of the Caribbean & Jerk Festival, Riverfront Asian Festival, Veterans Stand Down, and CCAR’s Recovery Fest – Walk for Recovery, DRCT has been able to engage with a greater number of community partners within underserved communities.
As a result of these efforts, we were able to significantly expand the number of underrepresented and/or marginalized clients served or educated about DRCT’s services and programs by way of initial discussions, attendance at events, and by providing necessary resources at community engagement events.
DRCT's commitment to connect with various populations in the state led DRCT to being the first non-profit state organization, without tribal affiliations, to be invited to the Mashantucket Pequot's Schemitzun: Feast of Green Corn and Dance event. By fostering diverse relationships, DRCT has been able to enhance its visibility, standing and client base across Connecticut.
In the 2024 fiscal year, DRCT provided outreach at 47 community events, which included forty-three (43) in-person and four (4) virtual webinars. These events reached thousands of people with disabilities, family members, caregivers, and other local community and professional partners. DRCT’s community engagement outreach efforts showed a steady 15% increase from FY 2023.
DRCT continued to expand its network of community partners within unserved and underserved communities, delivering key and integral projects. Some of these projects included but were not limited to: Capital Region Education Council (CREC) Back-to-School Block Party, Walk with Derek: Walk and Resource Fair, Rally for Reentry: Windham County Reentry Council, Bridgeport Disability Resource Fair, CT Town Clerks Association – Spring & Fall Conferences, Celebrate Belonging in your Community – The B.E.R.E.A.D.Y. Project of Torrington, Hartford Yard Goats 5th Annual Trick-or-Treat Event, Transition Fair - Voting and Supported Decision-Making outreach focus of Tolland, The Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO), Community Access & Equity Fair 2024 A Night Out on Main Street - Watertown Parks & Recreation Block Party, and Willimantic Third Thursday Street Festival.
At these in-person events, DRCT included voting rights advocacy, housing, and legal educational tables and booths which provided information and self-advocacy resources to individuals with disabilities who live in these communities.
Furthermore, the expansion of trainings, clinics, presentations, and community engagement events has enabled DRCT to provide educational and informational outreach to individuals with disabilities throughout all eight Connecticut counties.
Finally, I want to recognize and thank all of our staff for their amazing dedication, passion, and teamwork in advocating and serving the thousands of individuals with disabilities throughout Connecticut’s unserved and underserved communities. It is an honor and privilege to work with all of you!
