Uniting for Change self-advocates will continue their work during the summer months this year. Many will work hard to advocate for voting rights for the disability community in Georgia.  Uniting for Change will also be represented throughout Georgia by getting involved with the 2024 Caravan for Disability Justice and Freedom. The Caravan kicked off its national campaign in April. It will continue through October 2024 to travel across the country in a red, white, and blue flag-wrapped caravan, stopping in cities and communities along the way, including Georgia cities, to raise awarenes...

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 and Senate will come together to discuss issues impacting Georgians. One of the most important things they will be covering is the state budget. The state budget helps fund Georgia’s programs and projects throughout the state. They will also be deciding how to move forward with Georgia's waiver programs like NOW/COMP. Cu...

Self-advocates across Georgia work and contribute to their communities as individual citizens and as members of the growing self-advocacy network, Uniting for Change. When we focus on how everyone has something to contribute, we find ways for people to find and share their gifts and talents.  Everyone has something to offer and can contribute when given the opportunity and/or provided with the supports needed. The many ways we contribute to our jobs, our neighborhoods, with our friends and families, and around our communities must be recognized and celebrated.  In this article y...

Throughout the voting cycle this year, Uniting for Change has been and will continue to be committed to educating and engaging all people with disabilities in Georgia about the importance of voting. We have created a series of voting workshops for self-advocates that will continue through October 2024. The “Our Voice, Our Vote Part 1: The Foundation of Voting” workshop was held on July 9, 2024 and again on September 24, 2024 via Zoom. During this workshop self-advocates explained and discussed a variety of topics as it pertains to the disability community, including why voting is importa...

The Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDD) hosted its annual Advocacy Days at the Capitol during the 2024 legislative session, which began in January. Using the power of self-advocates from Uniting for Change, GCDD was able to educate and inform lawmakers on issues affecting the developmental disability (DD) community throughout Georgia.  GCDD hosts three separate Advocacy Days each year during the Georgia legislative session, IPSE Day, Waivers and Wages Day, and Employment Day. IPSE Day focuses on advocating to increase funds for IPSE grants. Waivers and wages day addre...

During this year’s session, we had some wins with getting an additional 500 waivers added to the Georgia state budget and we also are dealing with specific “disregard language” around Georgia’s Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) rate study. Disregarding language means Georgia cannot continue the process of increasing the rate. This was a critical need for DSPs. Currently, some DSPs get paid as low as $9.00 an hour to help people who have disabilities be out in the community. This rate study would have brought it up to $15.18 an hour. This year’s summer advocacy will be focused on educatin...

I also helped to advocate for the closing of the institutions in Georgia. I am a public speaker and I am proud to be a part of Uniting For Change. I have been a part of the leadership collective since the beginning, helping create the group's mission, vision, and guiding principles. Today, I would like to discuss the relationships with people that receive supports and their allies/supporters and Direct Support Professionals (DSPs). Many times, people with disabilities are lonely and isolated. The DSPs come and help people with learning how to get out there and make friends. They often get ...

In November, Uniting for Change held a State and Area Leadership Collective retreat in Macon with 80 people attending. During this retreat, we set priorities for 2024 within each workgroup of the four Local Area Networks, and as the Statewide Leadership Collective. We decided that we will focus on legislative advocacy in each of our three workgroups: Impact and Engagement, Education, and Outreach/Public Relations.  As a part of this retreat, Uniting for Change wrote and sent a letter to all of our state legislators, sharing our legislative priorities for 2024 and a...