Grassroots Grant awardees for 2008

• Carol and Lisa Gilson, from Minocqua, will be working on getting accessible streets in Minocqua.  Currently the city does not have curb cuts on a majority of their streets.  They also do not have a traffic light that is accessible for individuals who are blind.  Lisa and Carol will work with the local Chamber of Commerce and municipal government to make these improvements.
• Qyla Person will be working on getting parents of children with disabilities involved with the different advisory committees in her local school district of Racine.  She also will be working on get-out-the-vote campaign in the fall election.
• Doreen Eicher and Karen Yankala will be working on teaching individuals with disabilities in Waukesha County about self determination.  They will attempt to get more individuals involved with directing their own lives through SDS or Self-Directed Supports.  They will also work on registering voters for the fall election and getting people out to vote.
• Bob Clark and Brenda Harmon will be working in the inner city of Milwaukee.  Their efforts will focus on recruiting parents of kids with disabilities.  Once recruited, they will be trained on services and community organizing.  Each one of the parents at the end of the training will be required to do a community action plan working with their local neighborhood or schools to make sure their kids are included in all aspects of life.
• Steve Verriden of Madison will be working on training people about self determination. He will get them connected with their local ADRC’s to make sure that they are emphasizing Self-directed supports and services.
• Janet House of Madison will be working with the Wexford Ridge neighborhood making sure that others with disabilities are connected to the services that they need.  She also wants to organize a group to advocate for more recreation services and that they emphasize inclusion.  Janet will also be working on a get-out-the-vote campaign in the fall.
• Barb Dorn from McFarland will work with individuals with Prader-Willi Syndrome helping them to speak for themselves.  She has developed a training curriculum and will be teaching people the importance of speaking up about their health care and also how to speak to elected officials.  She will also work on a get-out-the-vote project this fall.
• Joel Mankowski of Madison will work towards passing an interpreter licensing bill through the state assembly.  His plan is to train individuals in community organizing and then develop a long-term plan to get the legislation passed within the next two years.
• Terri Larson Baxter will be working on getting increased community funding for children’s services in Eau Claire County.  She also will be working on educating individuals in school transition about self-determination and self-directed supports (SDS) as Family Care is rolled out in western Wisconsin.
• Tim Michael will work with high school kids in the Madison School district affected by bullying to build coalitions between kids in special education and other alienated groups to prevent bullying.  The groups will develop anti-bullying material and do presentations at the local high schools and middle schools. 
• Pam Ironside of Wisconsin Rapids will work on getting parents of children with disabilities more involved with the local ADRC when Family Care comes to her area.  She also wants to train individuals on how to be on committees and get people to volunteer to be on various committees and boards. 
• Tim Carey from Appleton will develop a webpage called Disability Voice Space.  This will be a web site where people with disabilities will be able to communicate about issues important to them similar to MySpace and do advocacy on those issues.
• Eric Swan will work on election activities in Winnebago County.  He will focus on getting individuals who live in group homes and attend sheltered workshops registered to vote and then out-to-vote during the fall elections.
• Kristin Lanari will work on preparing siblings for what will happen when their parents are no longer able to take care of their sibling.  Kristin will also educate younger siblings on what it is like to have a brother or sister with a disability and encourage them to be involved with their siblings’ life.
• Biko Baker will work to educate young kids in central city of Milwaukee about disability issues.  He will also organize around getting access to Mental Health treatment for young kids with disabilities affected by gun violence. 
• David Freudenthal of Madison will organize the grassroots on mental health matters.  He plans to develop a team of trained peer specialists who will help local people around the state to advocate for an increase in the availability of services provided to the mental health community.  David will work with one of the DAWN community organizers to develop a strategy for this project.
• Marie Massert will be continuing to work on accessibility issues in Door County and at Southern Door High School.  She will focus on organizing a group of young adults around getting an accessible entrance into the High School.  She will then expand this effort into Sturgeon Bay where the group will work on getting local businesses to be more accessible to people in wheelchairs.

Contact for more information about grants:

John Shaw
Wisconsin Council on Developmental Disabilities
(608) 266-7707
(608) 266-6660 (TDD/TTY)
(608) 267-3906 (fax)
E-mail: shawj2@dhfs.state.wi.us