Stacey Ramirez Begins New Role at The Arc of Georgia
Stacey Ramirez joined The Arc of Georgia as the director of the Georgia State Office this past summer. In her role, Ramirez will work with The Arc chapters across Georgia to contribute to the statewide improvement of supports and services for...
The Georgia Disability History Symposium: Stories of Advocacy and Action will take place on Oct. 23 at the Richard B. Russell Building Special Collections Libraries at University of Georgia (UGA) in Athens, GA. The symposium will include speakers presenting their experiences advocating over the...
I am 21 years old, and I was diagnosed with cerebral palsy when I was born. A walker gets me around my house, and a wheelchair gets me around the world outside of it. I rode a different bus to school than most students did since they had no need of a wheelchair lift.
It takes me longer than...
Eleven years ago, a band of local activists came together to educate others in Georgia about the promises and accomplishments of the Olmstead vs L.C. decision. The US Supreme Court ruling, handed down on June 22, 1999, declared that segregating persons with disabilities was a form of...
When I attended the Children’s Freedom Initiative celebration event in Atlanta this spring, I was in a room surrounded with Georgia’s state agency leaders, advocates and people with disabilities who are determined to get the remaining 41 children out of institutions into inclusive...
It started with a personal purpose for Maha Al-Masoodi. The mother of four wanted to build a community that would help her assimilate to the Clarkston neighborhood and also help her son, Mohammed, who has disabilities, find the proper resources that would make him thrive.
She met Basmat Ahmed,...
Recently, a column by Frank Bruni in The New York Times described the Anderson Monarchs, the little league team out of South Philadelphia with the ace pitcher, Mo’Ne Davis, who pitched a shut-out in the Little League World Series last summer, focusing national attention on her, her team and...
Making a Difference will feature five guest columns by Johnson on the legacy of the ADA and how national and state groups are commemorating the anniversary. This is the fourth installment.We have been celebrating, commemorating and bringing attention to the ADA over the past year, and it is...
We have all the luck.
I pause to write this, between Callie’s respiratory treatment and another position change. Still mindful of last night’s seizure, I wonder whether to call the neurologist or just pray that we’re back to our “normal” type of seizure today.
I’m still watching for signs,...
One of the most difficult times in my career was watching a young child named Lori move to a nursing home and later to a state institution where she spent her childhood. There were very few community-based residential services for individuals with significant disabilities in 1979 and certainly...
