Tennessee Kindred Stories of Disability

A project of the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center (VKC) Public Policy Team, each year the VKC and The Arc Tennessee collaborate to produce a collection of stories that highlight the challenges individuals with disabilities and their families face as they navigate service systems and supports. Stories are collected by master's-level students from Vanderbilt University who interview the families as part of a course assignment. Stories are printed with subject photos taken by young photographers with disabilities from Able Voices and shared with Tennessee legislators during Disability Day(s) on the Hill and the Disability Policy Seminar in Washington, D.C., to educate them with first-hand accounts from constituents in their districts.

Call for Stories: Safety and Criminal Justice for Tennesseans with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD)

The Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, The Arc Tennessee, the Tennessee Council on Developmental Disabilities, and Able Voices are in search of volunteer interview subjects for the 2027 issue of Kindred Stories of Disability, Safety and Criminal Justice for Tennesseans with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD).

Some individuals with disabilities have communication skills, mobility limitations, and/or behavioral needs that are different from those without disabilities. These differences have the potential to heighten sensitive situations when law enforcement officers and first responders enter the scene, including but not limited to traffic stops and crisis intervention.

We want to talk with adults with IDD, families, social workers, and public defenders as well as with first responders and law enforcement. We will share the stories with legislators and policymakers in Tennessee for educational purposes. We are seeking interviews with: