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Disability Service Facilitators (DSF)
Who We Are
Disability Service Facilitators, or "DSFs", are agency representatives who are committed to making our agencies more inclusive. We are liaisons to New Yorkers with disabilities, connecting them to City government and services.
What We Do
As DSFs, we coordinate our agencies' efforts to comply with and carry out our agencies' responsibilities under the ADA and other federal, state, and local laws and regulations concerning access to agency programs and services by persons with disabilities.
Under Local Law 27 of 2016, each City agency must appoint a DSF.
Meet a DSF
Will Weatherly, DSF
Department of Homeless Services (DHS)
Who I Am
Earlier this year, I started as the Director of Disability Affairs for Homeless Services at the Department of Social Services (DSS), the umbrella administrative agency supporting the Human Resources Administration (HRA) and the Department of Homeless Services (DHS). I believe that accessibility for people with disabilities is central – not ancillary – to the Agency’s role as a safety net for people in extreme poverty. This is especially true given that, as a result of the inequities in our society, the poverty rate for people with disabilities is higher than for people without disabilities (as reported by the National Disability Institute). I am grateful that my job every day is to advocate for people with disabilities to be able to access critical services safely and with dignity.
What I Do
I work within the Office of Disability Affairs (ODA), part of the Office of Advocacy at DSS-HRA-DHS. ODA serves as a liaison between the disability community and the Agency, provides technical assistance to programs across the Agency, as well as develops and facilitates trainings for staff. Much of my work involves helping individuals with disabilities in shelter request reasonable accommodations for what they need, as well as providing resources and guidance to clients and the staff supporting them as they pursue permanent housing.
Fun Fact
I am also pursuing a Master of Social Work degree at Hunter College’s Silberman School of Social Work, as my work has helped me realize I love thinking clinically about how to support clients’ mental health!
Visit the Meet a DSF Archive