United Hmong with Disabilities' Story: A Passionate Path to Disability Justice
During the summer of 2019, a group of diverse Hmong individuals with disabilities from Washington and Minnesota who initially met online, gathered in St. Paul, Minnesota, to talk about their lived experiences. They realized that there was so much more to talk about and that more information, education and conversations are needed in the Hmong community about disability.
They connected and formed partnerships with other Hmong disability community groups such as Hmong with Special Needs and Supporting all Abilities Welcoming all Voices (SAWV).Through their shared visions of connecting and supporting one another to address the cultural and historical lived experiences that intersect their identities, they founded United Hmong with Disabilities.
This effort brought fourth the convening of a national virtual conference in helping to create and center Hmong people with disabilities in order to design their own lived experiences to lead the conversations into creating a broader movement, building bridges across disabilities, and building tools and sustainable methods.
- Training and developing future leaders with lived disability experiences.
- Members' appreciation stipend for their time commitment.
- Host future conferences and workshops.
- Provide accessible technology for members to continue the work such as but not limited to: ASL interpreters, language interpreters, interveners, assistive devices technology, close captioning etc.
- Allow United Hmong with Disabilities to be led by and for community members with all lived disabilities experiences.
- Help startup United Hmong with Disabilities as its own non-profit 501c3 for the greater Hmong community.
