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Public Policy for the People: A Recap of Georgia’s 2023 Legislative Session

Following the end of the Covid-19 pandemic and a strenuous election year, Georgia’s 2023 legislative session was full of profound strides forward as well as unforeseen setbacks for the intellectual disability and developmental disability (ID/DD) community.

Viewpoint: The Power of Advocacy

I love Advocacy Days. I’m biased because when I previously worked for the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDD), I had the pleasure of starting Advocacy Days. It was a way to have events that really focused on particular issues, large groups of advocates, but not in the thousands. It gave us a way for advocates to directly connect with their legislators because that is such an important part of the process.

Practical Examples of Supported Decision-Making

Supported decision-making (SDM) is a tool that allows people with disabilities to retain their decision-making capacity by choosing supporters to help them make choices. A person using SDM selects trusted advisors, such as friends, family members, or professionals, to serve as supporters. Self-advocates John McCarty and Hannah Hibben share their experience of how Supported Decision Making impacts their life and why it’s important.

Uniting for Change – How and Why We Advocate

Hi, I am Marian Jackson and I am from Fitzgerald, GA. I am a state advocate for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and have been for over 20 years. I am also a mother of an adult child with disabilities. I, along with five People First members and others from a small group, advocated for public transportation. We successfully got transportation for not just the disability community but for all people in Fitzgerald.

Meeting GOALS of Students with Intellectual Disabilities

Thomas Harkins finds his academic pursuits keep him very busy. “My first class is at 12 o’clock all the way until 12:50. Then my last class is at 2:00 all the way until 2:50. And then after that, I have my tutoring session. So, I usually get home at around five, maybe six o’clock in the evening,” Harkins explains.

Building a Community with Intention

“Nobody has a real straight answer of when [the Down Syndrome Association of Atlanta (DSAA] started,” laughs Sheryl Arno, executive director of DSAA. “I’ve tried to find out the answers, and if we look at our paperwork, we surmise it’s 1976.”

The Next Generation of Advocacy

One of the most effective ways to transcend ideas of equity and justice is through the teachings of those who came before us. A movement is only as strong as the lived experience of its advocates and allies. In the world of disability rights, history has laid a solid foundation, but young people are the key to continued progress.

2023—GCDD’s Work Continues!

One of our time-honored beliefs at the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDD) is “no numbers without stories, no stories without numbers.” It’s not enough for us to present data, nor is it enough to tell great compelling stories. To

COVID-19 Update

Since the start of the pandemic, COVID-19 has claimed the lives of more than 41,000 Georgians. While many have largely returned to pre-pandemic activities, it is important to remember that there are still thousands of new cases in Georgia every

Advocates Prepare for the 2023 Legislative Session

Hello Advocates, The Georgia General Assembly is preparing for another legislative session coming up in January. The Georgia Legislative session will start the second Tuesday of January and go until early or mid-April. During Georgia’s Legislative session, the state House