D.A.S.H. and Peacebuilders Camp Extend Real Communities Partnerships’ Mission

Two new partners joined the growing network of Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities’ (GCDD) award-winning initiative, Real Communities Partnerships.

Addressing issues such as housing and social justice, D.A.S.H. (Dependable Affordable Sustainable Housing) for LaGrange in LaGrange, GA and the Peacebuilders Camp at Koinonia Farm (Peacebuilders Camp) in Americus, GA are the newest Real Communities Partnerships expanding GCDD’s mission of inclusion and integration of people with developmental disabilities.

D.A.S.H. for LaGrange is located in the Hillside neighborhood of LaGrange – a town almost two hours southwest of Atlanta. Once a thriving mill village, changes in the textile industry and housing demands left a shell of the former community. After decades of disinvestment, Hillside was in need of revitalization. In 2003, D.A.S.H. for LaGrange began purchasing substandard properties owned by absentee landlords. Since 2003, D.A.S.H. has eliminated 132 substandard structures through rehabilitation or demolition and has started the process of reviving the neighborhood.

As a Real Communities partnership, D.A.S.H. will launch the Hillside Roving Listeners program in the neighborhood. The Roving Listeners program will be designed to maximize input from diverse voices. The team will intentionally work to encourage residents from areas of the neighborhood that have not been active to have a voice in the planning of neighborhood activities and initiatives, and ultimately, in the future of their community.

Continuing its mission of bringing social justice and disability justice under one umbrella, the Peacebuilders Camp is a unique overnight summer camp where youth ages 11-14 spend a week together learning how to work toward peace and justice.

Campers of different races, religions, ethnic backgrounds and socioeconomic levels; from rural, suburban and urban neighborhoods; and those with and without disabilities live and work together as a community for a week at Koinonia Farm, an intentional community with a rich history in social justice activism.

With support from GCDD Real Communities Partnerships, Peacebuilders Camp is able to include more youth with disabilities and to offer more programming that educates and inspires all campers by highlighting the work and heroes of the disability rights movement.

For more information on D.A.S.H. for LaGrange, Peacebuilders Camp at Koinonia Farm or any other GCDD Real Communities Partnerships, visit www.gcdd.org/real-communities/real-communities-partnerships.html