5 Things / User Error
A Note from Bernadette
Last week I accidentally got hit with my surfboard, and I still have a black eye. Last summer, I fell off an electric scooter. In both cases, it was user error. Story of my life.
I think the universe is telling me to protect my precious face!
It's almost always user error. But, I'm grateful for the adventure and the humor in the mistakes!
This Week's Good Vibes 🙌
Libraries Turn Into Music Studios
England's public libraries are becoming free recording studios under a new government-backed "Music in Libraries" scheme. Recording booths and mixing desks have been installed in libraries across the country, giving young musicians from underprivileged backgrounds a free, familiar space to create.
Separately, the LIVE Trust raised £1 million for grassroots venues, funded by artists like Harry Styles donating ticket proceeds to support rising acts and the small venues that host them.
♐️ Access to creative space is often gatekept by class and geography. This initiative meets young people where they already feel safe: the library.
Governor Signs Bills, Then Marches
My governor in Illinois, JB Pritzker, signed three trans rights bills into law just hours before marching in the Chicago Pride Parade.
The new laws simplify the process for transgender residents to correct gender markers on IDs, require insurance companies to cover hormone therapy and related supplies, and update the state's prescription monitoring program to protect access to gender-affirming and reproductive care.
♐️ Policy changes like insurance coverage requirements directly affect whether transgender people can access care, not just provide legal protections.
Black Farmers Win Back Grant Funding
A federal judge ordered the USDA to reinstate $127 million in grants to more than two dozen organizations led by and supporting Black farmers, after the agency terminated the funding earlier this year and called the awards "discriminatory."
The grants, part of a program addressing historic land loss among farmers of color, had already forced some organizations to lay off staff and pause community programs, undoing years of trust building with farmers.
♐️ Notice what "trust" actually costs to rebuild once broken, whether that's in a grant relationship or any other kind.
Netflix Adds Sign Language Overlays
Netflix is adding American Sign Language interpreter overlays to 73 kids' and family titles, including "The Magic School Bus Rides Again" and "Pinocchio," through a partnership with SignUp Media.
The feature is especially meaningful for Deaf children who aren't yet reading well enough to rely on captions and who typically depend on a parent to interpret dialogue. It joins subtitles, SDH, dubbing, and audio description as ways Netflix supports accessibility.
♐️ Ask who on your team, or in your family, is quietly missing the full experience because access wasn't designed in from the start.
Self-Advocacy Program Expands Nationwide
An occupational therapy student's capstone project, a six-week self-advocacy curriculum for individuals with Down syndrome called Empower, is expanding to all 62 GiGi's Playhouse locations across the U.S. and Mexico.
The program covers personal hygiene, leisure, and self-advocacy skills to help participants transition into adulthood. Transition-age support for people with disabilities is often overlooked, leaving families without a roadmap once school-based services end.
♐️ Consider what "transition support" looks like in your own organization for people moving into new roles or stages.
Good Vibes to Go & Updates
Read Last Night in Brooklyn, a novel by Xochitl Gonzalez. I'm reading it now and I'm a big fan of Xochitl, an old friend from my wedding planning days.