Topics Archives - GCDD Making a Difference Magazine

GCDD: Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities

Let’s Talk About Advocacy

Featuring Nandi Isaac, Self-Advocate & GCDD Council Member Nandi Isaac, self-advocate and GCDD council member; and Eric Jacobson, executive director of GCDD sat down for a virtual interview on what advocacy means and how it helped the disability community during

What’s Happening in Washington?

It’s been a busy 2021 so far, which has brought some important wins for the disability community. Below we provide a few key updates and what we expect to see in the coming months. COVID-19 Response American Rescue Plan Act:

Now is the Time to Get Vaccinated

It has been over a year since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. Since then, we have struggled with how the virus might impact us or a loved one. We’ve worn masks and isolated ourselves from others. When people got sick and went into the hospital, we could not visit them.

Our brothers and sisters living in nursing facilities have been left alone, and many have passed away without the comfort of friends and family. Our only hope was that scientists would develop an effective vaccine.

East Georgia Makes Higher Education an Easy CHOICE

Theresa Davis retired from her position as a special education instructor and high school transition coordinator after more than a decade, but she chose to continue working with young adults with disabilities who wanted to attend college after high school.

GCDD Funding Boosts Key Georgia Projects Seeking Federal Support

For the last 35 years, the Quick Response Research Award Program has awarded small grants to a variety of academic institutions to support social and behavioral science in the wake of disaster. As the pandemic began last year, Georgia State

Welcoming Community Movement Gaining Momentum across Georgia

A new focus has changed the 10-year-old Real Communities Initiative, funded by the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDD), into a totally new movement. The program, now the Welcoming Community Movement (WCM), has shifted its goal to creating welcoming communities

2021 Virtual Advocacy Days Bring Greater Access to Event for People with Disabilities

Over 550 disability advocates registered to virtually attend the 2021 GCDD Advocacy Days – the first time the DD council has hosted the days exclusively online since the initiative’s inception. Hosted by the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDD) in

The Kidpreneur

It’s a rainy Saturday afternoon in Columbus, Georgia. The Christmas tree is up in the Le Denney house, but it’s not yet been decorated. Seven-year-old Kalel, Kal for short, runs from one end of the house to the other, full

Uniting for Change Impact Committee at Work!

Hello from Uniting for Change, a statewide network of self-advocates who are “uniting Georgians and influencing change by speaking up and taking control of our lives.” We are a group of folks in Georgia who have intellectual/developmental disabilities (I/DD) and

Georgia’s 2021 Legislative Recap

In March 2020, we experienced the world come to a glaring and hard stop. Now in 2021, things are slowly opening back up, including the Georgia State Capitol. Legislative session feels, looks and is different for everyone this year. We