This past August, Dymelza Calderon, and Abhishek Seth from KK Dental of Edison held a workshop at ACI on dental care. The class emphasized the importance of dental care as part of overall general health. KK Dental will soon be offering their services at a substantial discount to ACI members. Stay tuned for more information in the coming weeks!
Luke and Carole with NJ Assemblywoman, Nancy Pinkin (middle)
On August 19th, Carole and Luke met with state assemblywoman, Nancy Pinkin of the 18th Legislative District, which includes Edison. Among other topics, the assemblywoman was asked to sponsor a bill to revised NJ's accessible parking to eliminate the word "handicapped" and to replace the old wheelchair symbol of accessibility with a modern symbol of active wheelchair user. All new accessible parking signs will be subjected to this change. A bill, which is based on NY's new accessible parking law, is currently being drafted by the Office of Legislative Services.
ACI's IL Specialist and Social Rec Coordinator, Nybil Ghanem, recently attended the ADAPT Community Organizer Training in Austin, Texas. Here's what he had to say about his visit...
"I learned a lot through the ADAPT training of Texas this past August, as about 25 others from all across the country, joined us for a weekend of non-stop training on how to advocate as an activist with a disability. Topics discussed were: Negotiation Tactics, Protests, Issues VS. Concerns, Organizer Thinking & People Power. The climax was when we completely shutdown a taco store in protest for not being accessible for people with disabilities as part of our training. What a wonderful training on community organizing."
For more information on ADAPT, please visit adapt.org.
This past August, ACI's Social Rec group enjoyed a wonderful Plays in the Park production of Bye Bye Birdie, the classic musical about love and life in a small town in Ohio during the Elvis-era.
For more information on ACI's Social Rec Program, contact Nybil Ghanem at 732-738-4388 ext. 121 or nghanem@adacil.org.
On Friday, August 22nd, the Alliance Center for Independence (ACI), Middlesex County Office of Emergency Management (OEM), FEMA and the American Red Cross will bring together 50 adults with all types of disabilities to spend the night at the Livingston Campus at Rutgers University in a mock overnight emergency shelter experience.
Congratulations to the students at Montgomery High School (Somerset County) who completed the Tier 2 course of Its All About Work this summer. Thank you to Beth Conte, Supervisor of the Somerville office of NJ Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services, who spoke to the students on services offered by NJDVRS.
Edison, NJ, July 21, 2014 – The Alliance Center for Independence (ACI) is pleased to announce it has been awarded a $140,000 grant from the Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund. The funding will be used to continue the Sandy Recovery Program previously administered by Portlight Strategies. The program provides financial assistance for home accessibility equipment, funding for the replacement of durable medical equipment and supplies, as well as counseling and referral services to disabled residents impacted by Hurricane Sandy. Portlight Strategies’ Sue Pniewski, will join ACI as the Sandy Recovery Program Project Director and continue her work out of The Visitation Relief Center in Brick, New Jersey.
