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Monday 8am - 5pm Tuesday 8am - 5pm Wednesday 8am - 5pm Thursday 8am - 5pm Friday 8am - 5pm

Hawaii Disability Rights Center

The Hawaii Disability Rights Center is Hawaii’s Protection and Advocacy (P&A) System for people with disabilities and designated Client Assistance Program.

Hawaii Disability Rights Center is Hawaii's designated
PROTECTION AND ADVOCACY (P&A) SYSTEM FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

Congress created a nationwide Protection and Advocacy System for People with Developmental Disabilities in the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 1975. On July 1, 1977, Kahua Ho'omalu Kina (A Place of Protection for the Handicapped) was established

as a non-profit corporation in the State of Hawaii to carry out this new federal mandate in the State of Hawaii. Shortly thereafter, the corporation began doing business as the Protection and Advocacy Agency of Hawaii. The corporation was renamed Hawaii Disability Rights Center (HDRC) in January 2000. Today, there is a protection and advocacy system operating in every state and territory of the United States, in Washington D.C., and for Native Americans. Congress has expanded the authority of the P&A systems to serve all disabilities and to operate and enforce the following statutes:

Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities (PADD) is authorized in the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act, 42 USC 15001, PL 106-402. Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness (PAIMI) is authorized in the Protection and Advocacy for Mentally Ill Individuals Act, 42 USC 10801, PL 106-310. Protection and Advocacy for Individual Rights (PAIR) is authorized in the Rehabilitation Act, 29USC 794e, PL 106-402. Protection and Advocacy for [Individuals in Need of] Assistive Technology (PAAT) is authorized in the Assistive Technology Act, 29 USC 3011,3012, PL 105-394. Protection and Advocacy for Beneficiaries of Social Security (PABSS) is authorized in the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act, 42 USC 1320b-20, PL 106-170. Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Traumatic Brain Injury (PATBI) in the Children's Health Act of 2000, 42 USC 300d-53, PL 106-310. Protection and Advocacy for Voter Access (PAVA) in the Help America Vote Act of 2002, 42 USC 15461-62, PL 107-252. Protection and Advocacy is also authorized in Hawaii Revised Statutes 333F-8.5, and HDRC is designated by the Governor (Executive Orders 77-3, 82-4, 89-2 and 94-06) to provide its important protections for people with disabilities.

12/04/2025

Priority and Objective Survey for Fiscal Year 2026

07/12/2025

It's that time again. Make Your Voice Heard - Protect Your Rights!
HDRC does not have enough resources to address all legal rights issues for all people with disabilities, so we develop annual Client Service Priorities. These are the rights violations that are accepted first when we review applications for assistance. We invite you to take the survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/HDRC2026
Priority and Objective Survey for Fiscal Year 2026

Priority and Objective Survey for Fiscal Year 2026 Take this survey powered by surveymonkey.com. Create your own surveys for free.

‘Ōpio Fest 2025 | HIFF | Hawai'i International Film Festival

04/08/2025

https://hiff.org/

Film synopsis:
The story of the greatest civil rights movement most people have never heard of. “Deaf President Now!” recounts the eight days of historic protests held at Gallaudet University in 1988 after the school’s board of trustees appointed a hearing president over several very qualified Deaf candidates. After a week of rallies, boycotts and protests, the students of Gallaudet University triumph as the hearing president resigns and beloved dean Dr. I. King Jordan becomes the university’s first Deaf president. The protests marked a pivotal moment in civil rights history, with an impact that extended well beyond the Gallaudet campus, and paved the way for the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). “Deaf President Now!” features exclusive interviews with the five key figures of the movement, including the Gallaudet Four — Jerry Covell, Bridgetta Bourne-Firl, Tim Rarus and Greg Hlibok — alongside I. King Jordan, as well as archival and scripted elements. The film also incorporates an experimental narrative approach called Deaf Point of View, using impressionistic visual photography and intricate sound design to thrust the audience into the Deaf experience.

‘Ōpio Fest 2025 | HIFF | Hawai'i International Film Festival HIFF NEWS SUBMIT YOUR SHORT OR FEATURE FILM TO HIFF45 HIFF Selects May | JANE AUSTEN WRECKED MY LIFE APPLY NOW: HIFILM Storytellers Lab: From Page to Screen ...

12/05/2024

https://www.khon2.com/local-news/kupuna-caregiver/exoskeletons-do-the-heavy-lifting-to-help-those-in-need/

Exoskeletons do the heavy lifting to help those in need “Being a caregiver, I mean, it’s physically, it’s emotionally, it’s very draining, especially when you talk about people that are in that sort of middle generation, where ma…

Accessing Democracy (ASL, Audio Description, Captioned)

10/17/2024

The National Disability Rights Network is proud to present Accessing Democracy a documentary short that follows Monica Wiley, a Black woman with a spinal cord injury, as she travels the East Coast ahead of the 2024 generational election, interviewing voters with disabilities. Monica asks voters about the barriers they face, from accessing the everyday conveniences that able-bodied people take as a given to inability to receive the services they need to work and be a part of the community. This short explores how politicians have left behind one of the largest minority groups in the United States and what disabled voters want from their commander in chief.

Accessing Democracy (ASL, Audio Description, Captioned) The National Disability Rights Network is proud to present Accessing Democracy a documentary short that follows Monica Wiley, a Black woman with a spinal cor...

09/03/2024

WEEK WITHOUT DRIVING

The Week Without Driving challenge aims to draw attention to the difficulties faced by nondrivers in accessing our communities across the country and to inspire decision makers to address the barriers and gaps in our transportation system. Click the link below for more info:

hawaiidisabilityrights.org

08/01/2024

Priority and Objective Survey for Fiscal Year 2026 Take this survey powered by surveymonkey.com. Create your own surveys for free.

07/26/2024

https://www.eeoc.gov/newsroom/opportunities-resources-inc-pay-325000-eeoc-disability-discrimination-lawsuit

Opportunities & Resources, Inc. to Pay $325,000 in EEOC Disability Discrimination Lawsuit HONOLULU – Nonprofit organizations Opportunities and Resources, Inc.

06/27/2024

PSA for HDRC

Hawaiʻi Disability Rights Center PSA Public Service Announcements (PSAs) are created via ‘Ōlelo’s PSA Service. This service offers O’ahu’s 501(c)3 non-profit organizations, educators, and govern...