Alliance Center for Independence
On April 5th, 14 people participated in ACI's blood pressure and blood sugar screenings, conducted by the St. Peter's University Hospital's Community Mobile Health Services. A big thanks to them for once again providing this valuable service to our members!
St. Peter's University Hospital will be coming back to ACI this June to provide free sun damage screenings. Visit our website for more details and to register.
ACI was proud to be represented at the 18th Annual New Jersey Emergency Preparedness Conference in Atlantic City on May 4th. About 35 emergency personnel, medical service corps members, OEM officials and Red Cross volunteers learned how to plan and implement an inclusive mock overnight shelter exercise. Presenting with Luke was Madeleine Goldfarb, Executive Director, Noah's Ark Institute, and John Ferguson, Coordinator, Middlesex County Office of Emergency Management.
ACI celebrated Earth Day by planting flowers that attract butterflies. Participants also watched a documentary about the migration of the North American Monarchs, entitled The Incredible Journey of the Monarch Butterflies. Our next gardening event will take place on May 26th 2016. Visit our website for more details.
The Clothesline Project and Denim Day are efforts to bring public awareness to the issue of violence against women. These ACI events were held in conjunction with the Middlesex County Center for Empowerment for Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Thank you to all who participated in getting this important message out!
The games are over, the boards are put away, but fun was had by all at our recent Board Game Night! Participants taught each other different card games and learned about each other along the way. The mix of answers and laughter from the Taboo table filled the room, accented by the call of UNO and the crash of Jenga blocks hitting the table. If you want to attend any of ACI's future events or would like more information, please contact CJ Dodge at cdodge@adacil.org, call 732-738-4388, or check out our upcoming events page.
On Monday, April 18th, ACI hosted the monthly meeting of NJ Group for Access and Integration Needs in Emergencies and Disasters (NJGAINED). On the state level, NJGAINED works on issues affecting people with disabilities and those with access and functional needs before, during and after an emergency disaster. Following the NJGAINED meeting, ACI held its monthly Middlesex County Core Advisory Group (CAG) meeting. With the support of FEMA, CAG is an effort to involve people with disabilities and independent living centers in emergency preparedness. If you would like to be part of Middlesex CAG or would like assistance establishing a CAG in your county, contact ACI at 732-738-4388 or ctonks@adacil.org.
On Wednesday, April 13th, 2016, Middlesex L.E.A.D.S., a collaborative of the Middlesex County Center for Empowerment and the Alliance Center for Independence (ACI), came together at The Law Center of New Jersey to present a message of pride at this year's SHARES (Sexuality, Health, Awareness, Rights, Education and Safety) Task Force Conference.
Panelists CJ Dodge from ACI; Ashley Gaunt from Planned Parenthood; along with moderators; Melissa Keyes DiGioia from Finding Your Individuality and Monica Avisado from ACI and Middlesex County Center for Empowerment all took the stage and shared their life experiences and opinions about how important disability and LGBTQ pride is to the community. 21 Task Force Conference attendees joined the panelist and enthusiastically participated. All present came to the conclusion that organizations that serve individuals with disabilities and the LGBTQ community have a lot in common with their advocacy efforts and should continue to work together to realize the common goal of equality, empowerment, and pride!
