How We Began
Our History
CIDA started as a small family support group that first gathered at a community conference in 2013. These families were dealing with various problems relating to family support, advocacy, and a lack of service information due to language and cultural barriers within immigrant communities in New York. In response to these issues, Dr. Young Seh Bae, CIDA’s founder, and several other parents initiated free special education workshops, family events, and support meetings in collaboration with local organizations. In the process, many parent members expressed their urgent needs for preparing post-secondary life and inclusion opportunities for their children with disabilities and exceptional needs. As such, CIDA, a grassroots organization, was officially incorporated in 2016, focusing on parent training service resources and workforce development for immigrant families.
CIDA has grown to be one of the largest Asian-American networks of families, professionals and community partners. Currently, CIDA provides various levels of family support, advocacy and inclusive community programs.
Hear from Our Families
2022 CIDA Family interview
Together, We’ve created an inclusive and diverse network of community members who are committed to caring for our most vulnerable. Your tremendous support reminds the CIDA community that we aren’t alone. We’d also like to give a special thank you to everyone who worked tirelessly to make this event become a reality, Together we’ve moved one step closer to rethinking disability as a possibility.
Finding My Path: A Journey to Self-Determination
This video shows Korean-American young adults with disabilities building their dreams and their future goals through Self-Determination. Daun Kim was a participant of the Self-Determination Academy sponsored by CIDA. She shares her journey of finding a path to gain self-competence in order to build her career goals.
CIDA Social Co-op Project: CoSpire
CoSpire is a Social Co-op established by multi-talented young professionals with disabilities. Social Co-op, sponsored by CIDA (cidainfo.com) members launched CoSpire in February 2022. CoSpire members are provided with work-readiness, self-advocacy training and internship opportunities.
CIDA’s Worker Co-op
Devin Bae, 17 years old, talks about his brother with autism, his hope for the future, and the community.
Dr. Young Seh Bae, Executive Director is on TIM (Korean Language)
“Choices and Opportunities.” Dr. Bae shared a story of her children and self-determination at the Open Forum.
Dr. Yoonju Lee, Associate Professor of CUNY is on TIM (Korean)
“Stereotype and Prejudice.” Dr. Lee shared her experiences as a person with a disability, and the stigma situated in visible and invisible disabilities.
Comments are closed.