We're Still Celebrating Disability Pride Month!
Happy Disability Pride Month!
As we celebrate Disability Pride Month this July, we recognize the achievements and contributions of people with disabilities and reflect on the progress made since the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed in 1990. This month is also an opportunity to highlight the invaluable contributions of our GBC members with disabilities and the resources available to support your continued success in Colorado.
Here are a few resources in Colorado:
Denver Office of Economic Development and Opportunity (OED) provides resources and support for small businesses, including grants, loans, and business development services. They can help you navigate the various programs available to entrepreneurs with disabilities.
Mile High Independent Living Center (MHILC) provides independent living skills training, advocacy, peer support, and assistance with navigating business-related challenges. They can connect you with resources to support your business goals.
Colorado Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) offers services to help individuals with disabilities achieve their employment and entrepreneurial goals. This includes career counseling, job training, and financial assistance for starting or expanding a business.
Small Business Administration (SBA) Colorado District Office provides a wealth of resources for small business owners, including loans, grants, and mentorship programs. Their programs can be particularly beneficial for entrepreneurs with disabilities looking to start or grow their businesses. They also have upcoming events that are worth checking out!
Do you know someone with a disability? Share the resources above with them! We also encourage you to engage in meaningful conversations about how you can support and stand in solidarity with the disability community.
Discover GBC Members that are Breaking Barriers and Enhancing Accessibility
Blue Star Recyclers was founded in 2009 with the dual mission of recycling electronic waste and for the purpose of creating and developing jobs for adults on the autism spectrum.
Autistic workers, and those with related neurodivergent disabilities, have around an 85% unemployment rate – and this is a population who truly wants to work.
Although they are a non-profit, they do not rely on state or federal funding. They are sustained through our recycling operations, along with grants and donations. Through these streams, we have continued to expand our operations to develop jobs for neurodivergent Colorado workers, and to enable us to process greater amounts of e-waste directly.
Learn more: http://www.bluestarrecyclers.org/
Centennial Nonprofit Consulting, LLC
Centennial Nonprofit Consulting, LLC provides business development and capacity building services to nonprofits across Colorado, including strategic planning, board development, fundraising support, and operations support. The firm is led by Angela Schreffler, who has over 20 years’ experience in the nonprofit sector in a variety of executive, board, consulting, and leadership roles.
Learn more: centennialnonprofitconsulting.com
Bayaud
Since 1969, Bayaud has been an innovator in providing employment options for many thousands of our community’s underserved residents. To reduce barriers to employment, Bayaud provides comprehensive, culturally responsive, trauma-informed interventions to improve outcomes for constituents that advance self-sufficiency, health, and social well-being.
Bayaud also continues to establish and operate social enterprises creating jobs for our constituents, providing training for future employment, and generating revenue to support programming and general operations. Our document and hard drive destruction services continue to recycle or reuse paper and metals that annually saves 25,000 trees, 10 million gallons of water and enough electricity to serve 560 homes.
Bayaud Enterprises was founded in 1969 to alleviate barriers to self-sufficiency for adults living with mental health, intellectual and physical disabilities. Soon after, Bayaud expanded services to single adults who are rebuilding from poverty, homelessness, past incarceration, or addictions. Our mission is to create Hope, Opportunity, and Choice, with work as the means through which people with disabilities and other hurdles to employment can more fully participate in the mainstream of life. Our programs and social enterprises advance the self-sufficiency, health and wellness, and life goals of the people we serve.
Learn more: https://bayaudenterprises.org/
Chrysta Bairre
Chrysta Bairre is an advocate for herself and others. As a child she grew up in poverty, surrounded by family members with mental illness and addiction, while her own invisible disabilities went unrecognized and undiagnosed. As queer autistic woman, she fought to get the help and support she needed to thrive, and became a voice for unseen and under-served people like herself.
In 2015, she launched her business as a career coach and professional speaker, helping women increase their income and impact through valuing their own inherent worth, setting boundaries and saying no in business, and advocating for themselves. She engages and inspires on stage, speaking to employees and business owners on banishing burnout, overcoming impostor syndrome, and workplace mental health.
Chrysta is also the founder of She Goes High, a 1,900+ member introvert and neurodivergent-friendly women’s leadership community in Northern Colorado. She Goes High hosts more than 30 events per year to support women leaders in taking up their space in the world and leaving their legacy!
Her first book, Beautiful Badass: How to Believe in Yourself Against the Odds, shares stories and lessons from overcoming poverty and depression in this guide for women who want to take command of their destinies and no longer fall prey to the hardships and setbacks that previously defined them. She is currently writing her next book on the topic of asking for help.
Check out her book, Beautiful Badass: How to Believe in Yourself Against the Odds!
Better Days Delivery
Founded by Michael Diaz-Rivera, Better Days Delivery is a premier cannabis delivery service based in Denver, Colorado. We specialize in providing reliable, secure, and discreet delivery of high-quality cannabis products from our trusted dispensary partners to customers across the region. Our mission is to make cannabis accessible and convenient for all, while upholding the highest standards of service and compliance. At Better Days Delivery, we are committed to enhancing customer experiences and supporting the growth of the cannabis industry through innovative delivery solutions.
Learn more: https://www.betterdaysdelivery.com/
Griefhab
My mission is to change the way the world views both grief and mental health, so people can openly speak about whatever issues they have and get the help they not only need but deserve without fear of judgment, labels, and repercussions.
--Samantha Ruth, Psychologist & Founder of Griefhab
Learn more: https://samantharuth.com/
Lighthouse
Lighthouse is a collaborative social network that makes it easy for local nonprofit leaders to develop strategic partnerships and share resources in order to enhance their impact & efficiency. Through intentional online software and impactful in person gatherings, Lighthouse exemplifies that when nonprofits work together, the community does better!
Learn more: https://www.thelocallighthouse.com/
"Disability only becomes a tragedy when society fails to provide the things we need to lead our lives—job opportunities or barrier-free buildings, for example. It is not a tragedy to me that I’m living in a wheelchair."
"We will never again be invisible. That is our legacy."
-Judith Heumann
-Good Business Colorado Team