Detroit Disability Power

♿️🪄🏙️ The Riverfront is about to change – let’s make sure it’s more accessible! A remodel, redesign, or reconstruction is an opportunity to update towards inclusion. But we know that getting any access designed above ADA minimums takes work, it takes us showing up! Join us on September 24th – THIS THURSDAY – on Zoom to inform the design process of our new Riverfront 🌊 Come with questions, concerns, feedback – decision makers and other stakeholders will be in the Zoom room and they want to hear from you. Invite and bring anyone that loves our Riverfront and wants to improve it for ALL Detroiters ♿️✊🏽



ID: Conceptual rendering of a lit riverfront boardwalk and plaza at dusk. Text: “Building an Accessible Riverfront For All. Sep 24, 3–5PM, Virtual Session.” Logos: Bedrock, GM, Detroit Disability Power.

🚨 HOLD THE LINE IN THE 313 🚨

Michiganders start voting in less than two weeks, and our city has become a target for voter suppression (again). Threats to our elections are growing – but you can’t intimidate Detroit. We’ll band together to protect our neighbors and make sure every vote is counted!

Join us for a citywide Election Defense Meeting & training to do just that:

📅 Wednesday, September 30, 2026
🕠 5:30–8:00 PM
📍 440 Burroughs St, Detroit, MI 48202 (Tech Town)

You’ll get trained in:

✅ A citywide coverage plan for all 158 Detroit polling locations

✅ Escorting poll workers & ballot deliveries after polls close

✅ Identifying vulnerable vote-count locations

✅ Recognizing & responding to out-of-bounds election challengers

✅ Voter education basics

✅ De-escalation & general protest safety

Detroiters are the only ones who can determine Detroit’s future!
Sign up now! 👇🏾
bit.ly/DefendVotes313 or visit the link in our bio 🔗



ID: A 3-panel Instagram carousel on a torn-notebook-paper and dark purple background announcing a “Detroit Election Defense Meeting.” Panel 1 is the title graphic with a Detroit street map background. Panel 2 lists what the training will cover. Panel 3 gives the date, time, location, accessibility accommodations, and hosting organizations’ logos.

🚨 HOLD THE LINE IN THE 313 🚨

Michiganders start voting in less than two weeks, and our city has become a target for voter suppression (again). Threats to our elections are growing – but you can’t intimidate Detroit. We’ll band together to protect our neighbors and make sure every vote is counted!

Join us for a citywide Election Defense Meeting & training to do just that:

📅 Wednesday, September 30, 2026
🕠 5:30–8:00 PM
📍 440 Burroughs St, Detroit, MI 48202 (Tech Town)

You’ll get trained in:

✅ A citywide coverage plan for all 158 Detroit polling locations
✅ Escorting poll workers & ballot deliveries after polls close
✅ Identifying vulnerable vote-count locations
✅ Recognizing & responding to out-of-bounds election challengers
✅ Voter education basics
✅ De-escalation & general protest safety

Detroiters are the only ones who can determine Detroit’s future!
Sign up now! 👇🏾
bit.ly/DefendVotes313 or visit the link in our bio 🔗



ID: A 3-panel Instagram carousel on a torn-notebook-paper and dark purple background announcing a “Detroit Election Defense Meeting.” Panel 1 is the title graphic with a Detroit street map background. Panel 2 lists what the training will cover. Panel 3 gives the date, time, location, accessibility accommodations, and hosting organizations’ logos.

⏳🗳️ OCTOBER 19 IS THE LAST DAY TO REGISTER TO VOTE *ONLINE*! Starting October 20th 2026 you’ll have to register to vote in-person! Visit MI.gov/vote to register to vote online TODAY!

You can register to vote in-person at the Detroit City Clerk’s office (2 Woodward Ave #200 Detroit, MI) or the Department of Elections (2978 W. Grand Blvd. Detroit, MI) Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

If you are registering within 14 days of the election or on Election Day, you must bring one type of “proof of residency” with you to register to vote in person:

    • Your Michigan driver’s license or state ID card
    • A utility bill with your name and Detroit address on it
    • A bank statement with your name and Detroit address on it
    • A paycheck with your name and Detroit address on it
    • A government check with your name and Detroit address on it
    • Any other government document with your name and Detroit address on it

Happy National Voter Registration Day, Detroit! And happy continued Disability Voting Rights Week! Reach out to us if you have any questions.



ID: A scrappy, handwritten to-do list surrounded with a collage of textures and natural elements that reads: 1) ride the SW greenway. 2) research ballot proposals. 3) volunteer at the garden. 4) buy more flowers. 5) drop food off at community fridge. 6) register to vote. 7) sign up for election defense training. 8) some serious rest time.

♿️🗳️ It’s 2026! A democracy that isn’t accessible to ALL isn’t a democracy! This week, take action to ensure these midterms run smooth and for the people. We’re knocking doors, calling phones, sharing outreach strategies, learning about Props 1 & 2, and we’re training up for the big day. Election Day is Tuesday November 3rd and one thing is for certain: an attempt will be made to suppress the votes of Detroiters. We’re not letting that happen!

Learn more about how we’re preparing by joining us at one or all of these sure-to-be awesome events ♿️📅🎉 Links in bio!

🤿 Wednesday the 16th: Ballot Proposal Deep Dive
👩🏽‍🤝‍👩🏿 Thursday the 17th: Hold the Line on Detroit Votes Training
✊🏽 Saturday the 19th: Day of Action and the Fall Member Meeting

Happy Disability Voting Rights Week!



ID: 5 image carousel post. Mainly text on slides. Recap of Disability Voting Rights Week 2026 events and actions in Detroit.

♿️🍁 FALL-ish CHECK IN: How are we? Post-primaries, post-back to school, as the days grow shorter – how are we really??? Labor Day takes us over the bridge into the end of the year with elections and holidays up ahead. Neither simple. But together, we can make this time count.

So let’s connect. Come to our Fall Member Meeting on September 19th @ 1pm and let’s share a meal while we align. There are many ways to plug into the work of disability justice and care this election season.

🗳️ Learn about what proposals are on the ballot and how they impact disabled residents

🏡 Get an update on our Get Out The Vote progress (canvassing and phone banking)

🦺 Learn how you can protect voter rights on Election Day, even after 8pm when it’s time to count ballots

🙋🏽‍♂️ Meet DDP’s new political organizer and catch up with other Members

Member Meetings are twice a year and are open to anyone, official members and prospective members (😉) alike.

Link in bio to RSVP 🔗



ID: 5 image carousel post. 1: Abstract artsy graphic of a wheelchair user icon. Text reads 2026 Fall Member Meeting. Saturday Sept 19 1:00 - 3:00 pm at The LOVE Building 4731 Grand River Ave. 2-5: Photos of crowd shots and group shots of Members and supporters attending past DDP events.

🎉 WE WON! Virtual Public Comment stays at BOPC meetings! 🎉

Last week, the Detroit Board of Police Commissioners considered eliminating virtual public comment at their weekly meetings.

But because YOU flagged it fast, we were able to reach out directly to commissioners, support a petition, and gather people for Thursday’s meeting. At that meeting, the Board voted to preserve virtual access 🙌🏽

✅ Zoom & phone comment: Protected
✅ 130,000+ disabled Detroiters: still have a seat at the table
✅ Accountability: More intact

This board functions as the oversight when police enforcement goes wrong. It’s important these Commissioners are on the PEOPLE’S side.

Huge thanks to everyone who spoke up, shared the petition, and made noise last week. This is what community power looks like 💪🏽♿️

The fight for full accessibility isn’t over, stay tuned 👀



ID: 4 image carousel. 1: We won update. 2: What happened breakdown. 3: Why this matters. 4: Bigger picture context.

“Disability justice and reproductive justice are not separate movements. They are one demand: that every one of us gets to be in control of our own body and our own life. For too long in this country, disabled people have been forcibly sterilized, denied care, and institutionalized — all acts of egregious violence against our self-determination. As a mother and a wheelchair user, I know that there’s no line between reproductive and disability justice; they are the same.”
– Dessa Cosma, founding director of DDP

Read the full piece over at Planned Parenthood of Michigan’s blog: bit.ly/Dessa_DDPxPPMI

Thank you for Planned Parenthood of Michigan for the spotlight! We’re big fans!



ID: 2 image carousel post: 1: Photo of Dessa Cosma, DDP’s director, holding her child as Mayor Mary Sheffield, sitting next to Dessa, turns over to look at the baby. Text reads “As a mother a wheelchair user, I know that there’s no line between reproductive justice and disability justice; they are the same.” 2: Same photo, now in black and white, text reads “Whether it’s by gutting Medicaid funding or the recent Department of Justice opinion aiming to eliminate disabled Americans’ right to receive home and community-based care, current efforts to take away rights and access harm all of us. But nothing will stop us from fighting. Bodily autonomy has never been an abstract concept for people with disabilities.”

♿️🍂 Can you believe our 2026 Fall Member Meeting is right around the corner? Time is moving fast! Take a moment to slow down, check-in, see the DDP crew, and enjoy a bite together. Where better to do all that AND plug into the deeply important election work happening to keep our city’s democratic process intact, than at our Member Meeting? Join us! Not yet an official Member? No worries, it’s open to all and totally free. Maybe you’ll leave an official Member 😉

📍The LOVE Building
🗓️ September 19 at 1 PM

ID: 8 image carousel of beautiful photos of disabled Detroiters and allies posing in front of a DDP step-n-repeat photobooth at our last gathering this summer.

Joshua Grant joins DDP as our new Political Organizer! Say hello, everyone 🙋🏽‍♂️

Joshua is a Detroit-based labor and community organizer with more than a decade of experience building collective power. He has organized healthcare workers, led electoral field programs, and managed initiatives supporting Black LGBTQ+ Detroiters. Joshua holds a Master of Social Work in Policy and Political Social Work from the University of Michigan and a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Eastern Michigan University. His work is rooted in disability justice, worker power, voting rights, environmental justice, and the belief that communities most affected by injustice should lead the decisions that shape their lives.

We are so lucky to have you, Josh ♡



ID: Photo of Joshua, a smiling Black person with facial hair, clear glasses, and a silver nose hoop. Josh has long, shoulder length dreads. He is wearing a red and black scarf. Text around Josh’s headshot reads “Welcome to the DDP team, Josh!”