Disability EmpowHer Network

Disability EmpowHer Network The Disability EmpowHer Network empowers girls with disabilities to live to their fullest potential

Empowered Futures had such a great day exploring SUNY Brockport!Our Empowered Futures students had the opportunity to ex...
10/13/2026

Empowered Futures had such a great day exploring SUNY Brockport!

Our Empowered Futures students had the opportunity to experience campus firsthand while learning more about what college life can look like for students with disabilities.

Throughout the day, students learned about the college admissions process, toured campus, connected with Student Accessibility Services, and learned how accommodations and disability supports work differently in college. We talked about everything from accessible housing and testing accommodations to assistive technology, self-advocacy, and the importance of connecting with Disability Services BEFORE you need support.

Students also had the chance to hear directly from a current student about their college experience, ask questions, enjoy some pizza together, and think about what they personally want and need from a future college.

College tours like this are about so much more than seeing classrooms and buildings. They give students an opportunity to explore their postsecondary options, practice asking questions, learn how to advocate for their needs, and start imagining themselves in a college environment.

A HUGE thank you to SUNY Brockport for welcoming our students, providing lunch, sharing your knowledge, answering all of our questions, and helping make the day such a meaningful experience!

And, of course, thank you to all of our students who joined us, participated, asked questions, and explored with us. We loved spending the day with you!

This is what Pre-Employment Transition Services can look like: getting out into the community, experiencing your options firsthand, and building the skills and confidence to figure out what comes next.



Image description: Collage of Empowered Futures students touring the SUNY Brockport campus, including group photos, students participating in activities, and scenes from the campus tour. The collage features Brockport’s green and gold colors and logo.

There’s still time to make your voice heard! EmpowHer Advocacy applications are open for ONE MORE WEEK!At a time when th...
10/13/2026

There’s still time to make your voice heard! EmpowHer Advocacy applications are open for ONE MORE WEEK!

At a time when the rights, access, and inclusion of disabled people are under attack, we need disabled advocates with strong voices, bold ideas, and the courage to speak up for our community. Our experiences matter. Our perspectives matter. And our voices belong in the conversations and decisions that shape our lives.

EmpowHer Advocacy is an opportunity to build your advocacy skills, find your voice, and help create a more inclusive future for the disability community.

Your voice is powerful. Your advocacy matters. And our community needs you.

🗓️Don’t wait! Apply today and join us in advocating for a world where disabled people are heard, valued, and included.

🔗 Apply now at disabilityempowhernetwork.org/empowher-advocacy

Image description: a graphic featuring photos of disabled women advocating in different settings. Text across the top reads "EmpowHer Advocacy" Smaller text towards the bottom reads "Eligibility: Disabled woman or gender diverse advocate, 18 years old or older, A citizen of or live in the United States Timeline: Application Closes: October 21 at 9am, Acceptances Sent: Early November, Registration Due: December 3, 2026, First Class: January 13, 2027, Final Class: March 31, 2027" Along the bottom it says "APPLY NOW and More information disabilityempowhernetwork.org/empowher-advocacy"

Disability EmpowHer Network is a mentoring and leadership organization that empowers girls with disabilities through a transformative learning experiences.

Our office is closed today in recognition of Indigenous People’s Day.ID: a purple graphic with text that reads “We will ...
10/12/2026

Our office is closed today in recognition of Indigenous People’s Day.

ID: a purple graphic with text that reads “We will be closed Monday Oct 12 Indigenous Persons’ Day. Rest with purpose”

10/10/2026

Join us on October 16th for some Halloween Fun to support Disability EmpowHer Network! We'll have drinks, snacks, and your chance to win Buffalo Bills tickets, an 11ft Skeleton, overnight hotel packages and so much more!

Get your tickets at https://givebutter.com/PaintWithEmpowHer

October 10 is recognized as World Mental Health Day.  World Mental Health Day was created in 1992 by the World Federatio...
10/10/2026

October 10 is recognized as World Mental Health Day. World Mental Health Day was created in 1992 by the World Federation for Mental Health and is supported globally by the World Health Organization (WHO). World Mental Health Day aims to raise global awareness, reduce social stigma, and mobilize support for mental health care.

The 2026 Theme for World Mental Health Day is “Lived experiences heard: real voices, real change” focusing on integrating people with lived experience into policy, legislation, and care. As we advocate at Disability EmpowHer Network, and the disability community more broadly, “nothing about us without us”; we champion the 2026 theme and emphasize the importance of centering the voices of those with lived experience with mental illness, especially women and feminine-aligned people with mental illness, in the conversations that impact them in policy, legislation, and care.

Image Description: A dark green ribbon is seen on a light green background with decorative purple flowers dispersed throughout the background. Next to the dark green ribbon are the words “World Mental Health Day”; the Disability EmpowHer Network logo is below the ribbon in a shade of purple matching the flowers of the background.

A little more than one third of homeless people nationwide are women and girls, plus 50% of the homeless are disabled, a...
10/10/2026

A little more than one third of homeless people nationwide are women and girls, plus 50% of the homeless are disabled, according to Bombas and 
Carelton College respectively.

Consider volunteering with the homeless. Find opportunities in your area at www.idealist.org

 

Image Description: Written in a circle around a heart with a house in it surrounded by tiny stars and flowers with a pale pink background.

One of our young leaders from EmpowHer Camp has created a survey to help inform her project on Evacuation Chairs in hote...
10/09/2026

One of our young leaders from EmpowHer Camp has created a survey to help inform her project on Evacuation Chairs in hotels. 

From Codi:

“I had the privilege to join Disability EmpowHer Network this year! It starts with a five day camping trip in the Adirondacks, parents aren’t allowed. The camping trip is just for girls & women who have disabilities. During the camping trip the young leaders get matched with a mentor.

For a year the young leaders work on a year long project about emergency preparedness for people who have disabilities. Then in July of 2027 we all reunite in Washington DC to present our projects to our Legislators.

My project is about emergency evacuation chairs for hotels to assist people with disabilities if they can’t walk or walk down a lot of stairs, or if the elevators are out of order.

Actually I have been in a similar situation, me, my mom and my grandma was staying at a hotel in Denver and we were staying on the 4th floor. Suddenly the smoke alarm went off we called down to the front desk “Hello the smoke alarm is going off in our room is this a test or is this a real thing?” The front desk said to evacuate. My mom & my grandma had to walked me down 4 flights of stairs, the hotel staff met us at the bottom of the stairs with a wheelchair. Everybody had to wait outside, fire trucks showed up. To find out that someone burned kraft mac and cheese on our floor!

I attached a survey to this post that me and my mentor made to get your opinion if you had been in this situation too.”

Link to survey: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeDbZy7vf9cvf_NSuqLSLco4Ok7knpD9XWdq0UTebO3ub2JLQ/viewform

ID: a photo of Codi and her mentor. To the left is a Black woman kneeling down next to a girl sitting in her wheelchair.

Join us for advocacy and zine making!Where: Gates Public Library First Floor Assini Meeting Room, 902 Elmgrove Rd, Roche...
10/08/2026

Join us for advocacy and zine making!

Where: Gates Public Library First Floor Assini Meeting Room, 902 Elmgrove Rd, Rochester, NY 14624

Date: Saturday, October 31, 2026

Time: 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM

Come dressed in your best costume...There are prizes to be won!

Sign up here or through the link in our bio: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc7ogDS3XFLKsTB85vZHtV87_IqcrgvgzmyGztahA48EHSYag/viewform?usp=send_form

Visual Description:
A vibrant, collage-style event flyer featuring a Black woman using a wheelchair, surrounded by torn-paper textures, colorful geometric shapes, and hand-drawn graphics. Bold typography announces “Zine Queens: Cut, Paste, and Advocate,” presented by EMPOWHER ROC. Event details include Gates Public Library, Rochester, NY, Saturday, October 31, 2026, 1–3 PM. A Disability Empower Network logo appears at the bottom.

Have you gotten your tickets for Paint with EmpowHer yet?! 🎨👻https://givebutter.com/PaintWithEmpowHerWe’re getting SO ex...
10/07/2026

Have you gotten your tickets for Paint with EmpowHer yet?! 🎨👻

https://givebutter.com/PaintWithEmpowHer

We’re getting SO excited for October 16th, and we’ve been sharing a sneak peek at just a handful of the raffle and silent auction items you’ll have a chance to win, including hotel getaways, fun experiences, and yes… an 11-foot skeleton. 💀😂

But the best part of the night is getting to spend time with the EmpowHer community. Some of our participants will be joining us and sharing their experiences, so you’ll have a chance to hear directly from the people who participate in our programs and learn more about the work your support makes possible.

And you do NOT have to paint to join us! Come enjoy plenty of appetizers, snacks and drinks, enter the raffles, check out the silent auction, meet our community, and have some spooktacular fun. 🎃

We only have about 25 adult tickets left, and space is limited!

🎨 Adults: $60
👻 Youth: $50

Grab your tickets before we sell out: https://givebutter.com/PaintWithEmpowHer

Come for the fun, learn more about EmpowHer, and maybe leave with an 11-foot skeleton. 💀

Address

67 Firestone Drive
Rochester, NY
14624

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