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Jewish Organizations, Initiatives, & Blogs
- Hineinu, a collaboration of the Conservative, Orthodox, Reconstructionist, and Reform Jewish Movements and Chabad
- Inclusion Innovations
- Jewish Braille Institute
- Jewish Deaf Resource Center
- Jewish Disability Awareness, Acceptance, Inclusion Month
- Jewish Sacred Aging
- The New Normal, a Jewish inclusion blog
- PJ Library
- Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism
- Removing the Stumbling Block, a blog by Jewish educator Lisa Friedman
- Yad HaChazakah: The Jewish Disability Empowerment Center
Other Organizations
- American Association of People with Disabilities
- Autism Speaks
- Autistic Self Advocacy Network
- Bay Area Jewish Healing Center
- Brain & Behavior Research Foundation
- Child Mind Institute
- Collaboration to Promote Self-Determination (CPSD)
- Depression & Bipolar Support Alliance
- Global Autism Collaboration
- Pathways to Promise
- RespectAbilityUSA
- SpecialNeeds.com
- Mental Health America
- Mental Health First Aid
- Mental Health Ministries
- National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
- National Institute of Mental Health
- Understood.org
Synagogue-Specific Resources
- “A Guide to Funding Disabilities and Special Needs” (Jewish Funders Network)
- “Creating Seating Space for People Who Use Wheelchairs” (by Shelly Christensen)
- “Hineinu: An Inclusion Resource Guide for Congregations” (Hineinu)
- “How Inclusive Are We? A Self-Assessment Tool for Synagogues” (MetroWest ABLE)
- “Mental Health Overview and Tools” (Women of Reform Judaism)
- “That All May Worship: An Interfaith Welcome to People with Disabilities” (AAPD)
- “Welcoming People with Disabilities” (Reform Judaism Magazine)
- Jewish and Faith Inclusion Resources (RespectAbilityUSA)
- “Study Guide: Leading Inclusion for Congregational Leaders” (DisabilitiesInclusion.org)
- VIDEO: “Rabbi Rick Jacobs on Jewish Communal Disability Inclusion” (Religious Action Center)
For Clergy
- “Disability Inclusion Resource Guide for Rabbis” (Yachad / National Jewish
- Council for Disabilities)
- “Inclusive Worship: Tips and Best Practices for Clergy” (Union for Reform Judaism)
- “Mental Health: A Guide for Faith Leaders” (American Psychiatric Association Foundation)
- “Mi Shebeirach: Prayer for Healing” (ReformJudaism.org)
- “Writing Inclusive Liturgy: A Study Session” (Matan Koch)
- “Mental Health Liturgy” (Religious Action Center)
- “Position of the Reform Movement on Disability Rights” (Religious Action Center)
- “Quick Reference on Mental Health for Faith Leaders” (American Psychiatric Association Foundation)
Synagogue Examples and Samples
- “Caring Community Manual” (Temple Beth Elohim, Wellesley, MA)
- “Access Committee Report” (Temple Sinai, Oakland, CA)
- “Our Inclusive Israel Trip” (Temple Sinai, Oakland, CA)
- “Mental Illness Support” (Temple Isaiah, Lafayette, CA)
Jewish Youth & Camping
- Campopedia: Inclusion Resources and Reports (Foundation for Jewish Camp)
- “Who’s Your Aaron? Finding a Community of Support” (The Jewish Week)
- “My Launch Pad: How the Micro World of Summer Camp Prepared Me for Full Inclusion in Society” (by Matan Koch)
- “Say It Out Loud: Speaking With Teens About Mental Health” (National Alliance on Mental Illness)
- “Top 5 Mental Health Problems Facing College Students” (BestColleges.com)
- “Inclusion and Educational Programs” (Religious Action Center)
- “Inclusion and B’nai Mitzvah”
Helpful Publications and Other Resources
- “Men Get Depression” (State of the Art, Inc.)
- “Out of the Shadows: Visiting People with Mental Illness” (P’tach Libeynu)
- “Your Life Matters! To Others, to this World, to God” (Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention)
- ”VIDEO “Comedy, Disability, and the Inclusive Synagogue” (ELI Talks)
- “Warning Signs of Mental Illness and Suicide” (DisabilitiesInclusion.org)
Technological Resources
- Custom Learning Materials (LessonPix)
- Section 508.gov (U.S. General Services Administration)
- SymbolStix Prime (n2y)
- “Web Content Accessibility Guidelines” (Web Accessibility Initiative)
High Holidays
- “14 Ways to Make Your High Holiday Services Accessible to Everyone” (URJ)
- “High Holiday Kit for Synagogue Staff, Lay Leadership, and Volunteers” (RespectAbility)
- “High Holidays and Families with Disabilities: Make it or Break it?” (Matan)
- “Tips to Increase Disabilities Inclusion at High Holy Day Services” (Union for Reform Judaism)
- “Yom Kippur: The Inclusion Confession” (JewishBoston.com)
Personal Essays
- Autism:
- “A Prayer for my Autistic Son” by Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson
- “My Son Is Not His Illness” by Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson
- Down Syndrome:
- “I am Rebecca” by Rabbi Andy Berlin
- Mental Illness:
- “What Have You Lost? Jewish Words on Depression, Loss, & Restoration” by Rabbi Simkha Y. Weintraub, LCSW
- “I Have a Mental Illness” (by an anonymous congregant)
- “I Have Bipolar Disorder” by Dena Croog
- Parenting:
- “Stop the Car! And Other Thoughts About Special Needs Parenting” by Dr. Laurie Katz Braun
- “Teaching the Difference Between Fairness and Equality” by Lisa Friedman
- Synagogue Life:
- “Inclusive Congregations: Justice, Not Charity” by Alison Wohl
- “My Synagogue’s Path to Access and Inclusion” by Denise Jacobson