ONA Ramirez June Initiative

The ONA Ramirez June Initiative was created in 2019 to support new Americans with disabilities in New York State. Our mission is to increase access to disability services for new Americans through outreach, training, and partnership. The ONA Ramirez June Initiative aims to support new Americans of all ages with all types of disabilities. 

What does the ONA Ramirez June Initiative do?

• Host workshops.​
• Create and share multilingual resources. ​
• Build partnerships and provide technical assistance.​
• Launched the ONA Bilingual Coordinator Program, in Brooklyn, NY, to provide direct case management services to help new Americans connect with the disability and mental health services they need.
• Share strategies to increase access to disability services for new Americans.

How did the ONA Ramirez June Initiative start? 

The ONA Ramirez June Initiative launched as a grant from the NYS Council on Developmental Disabilities (CDD) in 2019 to support new Americans with developmental disabilities (DD) and their families in New York State. The ONA Ramirez June initiative is named after the Ramírez family and the family of Siewling (June) Lum, two new American families who live in New York State. The CDD grant ended June 2025, but the ONA Ramirez June Initiative continues to support new Americans with disabilities in NYS. 

Voyage, a Multilingual Resource Book for Families

The ONA Ramirez June Initiative created Voyage a free, multilingual resource book to help families with children birth to 3-years old identify disabilities and get help early. Sign up to receive free copies of Voyage mailed to you at no cost.  

All content in Voyage is bilingual in English and a second language. Voyage is available in Spanish, Chinese, Russian, Bengali, Haitian Creole, Korean, Arabic, Dari, Pashto, Ukrainian, Somali, Burmese and Karen. 

Voyage order form: https://bit.ly/OrderVoyage

We want to hear from you! 

Share your thoughts on our Voyage resource book in our 2-minute anonymous survey. 
Survey (English): https://forms.office.com/g/m8kMX5wkbD

Encuesta en español: https://forms.office.com/g/wz61UT61aN 

New Americans with Developmental Disabilities Issue Brief

Read the Issue Brief to learn more about new Americans with developmental disabilities in New York State. Learn about their needs and challenges and what resources can support new Americans with developmental disabilities.

New Americans with Developmental Disabilities Issue Brief

New Americans with Developmental Disabilities Issue Brief – Plain Language Version

Disability Resources Toolkit

This Toolkit has information on disability services in New York State. People can use this Toolkit to learn more about available resources and services people with disabilities of all ages can access. 

learn more

Connect 

If you would like to host multi-lingual outreach for new American communities or service providers in New York State or connect with the ONA Ramirez June Initiative, contact [email protected].