Photo of computer and smart phone displaying DRM website with a red circle around button with words 'Accessibility and Language Options'. Red banner with words in white 'Recite Me, Believing in Accessibility for All'

DRM Announces New Website Accessibility Tool

Posted on November 17, 2022

DRM is excited to launch a new accessibility feature for our website located on the ‘Accessibility and Language Options’ button at the top and bottom of each page. The feature allows website visitors to change the format of our website pages to make it easier to access information. Visitors can change the font, font size, language (including when playing audio), line height, plain text, color, mask screen, and much more. These features can be used on mobile devices and any documents opened from the site. See our Accessibility Statement below.

Website Accessibility Statement

Recite Me is a innovative cloud-based software that lets visitors view and use our website in a way that works best for them.

We’ve added the Recite Me web accessibility and language toolbar to our website to make it accessible and inclusive for as many people as possible.

It helps one in four people in the US who have a disability, including those with common conditions like sight loss and dyslexia, access our website in the way that suits them best.

It also meets the needs of one in five people in the US who speak a language other than English at home, by translating our web content into over 100 different languages.

How do I access the Recite Me toolbar?

You can open the Recite Me language and accessibility toolbar by clicking on the Accessibility and Language Options button.

This button now appears in the top right and bottom middle of every page of our website.

After you click on the Accessibility and Language Options button, the Recite Me toolbar opens and displays a range of different options for customizing the way the website looks and ways you can interact with the content.

How does Recite Me help me access this website?

Recite Me helps people access our website and customize the content in a way that works best for them.

The Recite Me toolbar has a unique range of functions. You can use it to:

Read website text aloud (including PDFs)
Download the text as an MP3 file to play it where and when it suits you
Change font sizes and colors
Customize background-color
Translate text into more than 100 different languages
Access a fully integrated dictionary and thesaurus

You can find out more about how Recite Me works from the Recite Me user guide.

Where can I find support for Recite Me?

If you have any questions about Recite Me you can contact us by email at info@reciteme.com or call us at +1 571 946 4068.

Thin red banner with white words 'Register! Educate! Vote! Use your Power! Next line says Rev Up! The bottom line is in blue and says 'Make the disability vote count'

Maryland Election Day November 8!

Posted on November 2, 2022

The upcoming general election for the State of Maryland is November 8, 2022!

Polling places will be open from 7am to 8pm and are required to provide reasonable accommodations to voters with disabilities. You can find DRM’s Voter Rights and Voting Action Plan on our website.

Election Protection Hotlines are open before and during election day:

ENGLISH 866-OUR-VOTE 866-687-8683

SPANISH/ENGLISH 888-VE-Y-VOTA 888-839-8682

ASIAN LANGUAGES/ENGLISH 888-API-VOTE 888-274-8683

ARABIC/ENGLISH 844-YALLA-US 844-925-5287

DRM wants to hear from you if your polling site was accessible, if election judges provided accommodations, if you had any problems with the voting machines, or anything else on your mind. Email your comments to Voting@DisabilityRightsMD.org or call us at 443-692-2492.

Disability Rights Activists holding yellow signs that say Housing is a "Human Right" and a green sign that says, "Fair Housing is a Civil Right."

Maryland’s Eviction Crisis is an Affordable Housing Crisis

Posted on September 19, 2022

In Maryland, more than half of all people with disabilities had annual household incomes below $15,000 in 2016. While many people with disabilities receive monthly Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits, SSI payments alone are usually not enough to afford market-rate housing: in 2020, the average monthly rent of a one-bedroom apartment in Maryland was $1,223, while monthly SSI payments were just $783.

Maryland’s eviction crisis is an affordable housing crisis.

If you are experiencing routine eviction filings by your landlord and cannot pay rent timely because of when your benefits arrive, you may have the right to a reasonable accommodation for an extended grace period to pay your rent.

Read more from The Baltimore Banner, “Filing for evictions is cheap and easy in Maryland. Tenants suffer.”

A group of friends with intellectual disabilities living a vibrant and happy life.

Maryland Kids in Distress

Posted on September 1, 2022

A recent in-depth article in the Baltimore Banner documents how children and young adults with behavioral health challenges are being housed long-term in hospital emergency rooms. Hundreds of individuals with complex needs are spending months if not years in health care facilities ill-equipped to serve them due to the severe shortage of appropriate placements. Part of the problem is that the state agencies involved are “not talking to each other in the way that they need to,” says DRM attorney Leslie Margolis. “These are systemic issues and they can’t be solved child by child by child.” DRM will continue to advocate on behalf of these individuals to address this growing problem and ensure that these individuals receive the appropriate services and supports to live productive lives in their own communities.

Read the article.