Accessible Audio for Making A Difference

The EAGLE Academy is a two-year program within Georgia Southern University that provides individuals with intellectual disabilities a chance to gain independence, skills, knowledge and confidence alongside students who do not have intellectual disabilities. The program currently focuses on years three and four of the college experience, meaning the students have either attended other post-secondar...

The state of Georgia's 2023 November elections has significant importance as they will determine the direction and leadership of communities across the state. While they are not as high-profile as statewide or national elections, these municipal races have a profound impact on the lives of Georgians with disabilities and their families. There are roughly 650,000 people with disabilities of vo...

Fall is in the air, the leaves are changing, holidays are right around the corner and my favorite time of the year is almost here. That's right, the legislative session! From the second week of January to mid-March or later in the spring, Georgia State legislators come together at the state capitol, or what we like to call “the Gold Dome,” to work on the state budget for the upcoming year and...

When Georgia legislator Sharon Cooper, R-Marietta, heard from a constituent that there were residents making as little as 22 cents an hour, she had to do a double take. “It seems like that is something out of the 1800s when we didn't have child labor laws and they had children working for six cents an hour. It’s just antiquated,” she said. Cooper gathered her team to research the issue and di...

Life can change in an instant. From a loved one falling ill, to a natural disaster in your hometown, to a pandemic shutting down the world, emergencies can strike any time, any place and anyone. And, when it comes to people with disabilities, medical, situational and mental health emergencies can be even more critical and difficult to navigate.  The Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities (G...

The DSP workforce shortage has been an on-going issue for decades, but it has now become a crisis. People who rely on DSPs for care and community connection are left with few caregiving options. Between poverty-level wages, insufficient benefits, inadequate training, and a lack of advancement opportunities, recruiting and retaining DSPs is a growing challenge.  The Georgia Council on Developmental...

D'Arcy Robb, executive director of GCDD, is back in season 3 to discuss the opportunity that the state of Georgia has to build its workforce and economy by including people with disabilities.  The Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDD) is driven by its Five Year Strategic Plan goals to improve services and supports for people with intellectual and other developmental disabilitie...

Pinpoint interviewes Emily Myers, region director at Briggs & Associates, a supported employment company that assists people with disabilities with finding employment. This episode speaks about the state of work for people with disabilities, unemployment among people with disabilities, and what Briggs & Associates does to help individuals find meaningful and accommodating jobs and careers....

D'Arcy Robb, executive director of the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities, shares her views on what the Council has been doing and where it's going. The Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDD) is driven by its Five Year Strategic Plan goals to improve services and supports for people with intellectual and other developmental disabilities (I/DD). The Council, charg...

With the onset of the global pandemic that impacted everyone around the world, the disability community and the services and supports that individuals received daily was greatly impacted. From a Direct Support Professional (DSP) crisis that was already rising before the pandemic to a need for more waiver slots which has been an advocacy platform for many disability advocates, COVID-19 actually inc...

disABILITY LINK is a nonprofit organization in Tucker, Georgia that supports Georgians with disabilities by providing five core services of advocacy, information referral, peer support, independent living skills training and transition services. disABILITY LINK has worked under its current name since 2008, providing services and opportunities to those with disabilities in 12 Georgia counties. Howe...

The Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDD) is driven by its Five Year Strategic Plan goals to improve services and supports for people with intellectual and other developmental disabilities (I/DD). The Council, charged with creating systems change for individuals with developmental disabilities and family members, will work through various advocacy and capacity building activities to...

The Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDD) is driven by its Five Year Strategic Plan goals to improve services and supports for people with intellectual and other developmental disabilities (I/DD). The Council, charged with creating systems change for individuals with developmental disabilities and family members, will work through various advocacy and capacity building activities to...

The Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDD) is driven by its Five Year Strategic Plan goals to improve services and supports for people with intellectual and other developmental disabilities (I/DD). The Council, charged with creating systems change for individuals with developmental disabilities and family members, will work through various advocacy and capacity building activities to...

Now that the 2023 legislative session has ended, it’s the perfect time to reflect on the legislative process and the impact that so many advocates have had on making real policy changes. And hopefully the success stories from this year will inspire and revitalize us to continue doing good work in the “off season.” The Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDD) is driven by its Five Year...

The Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDD) is driven by its Five Year Strategic Plan goals to improve services and supports for people with intellectual and other developmental disabilities (I/DD). The Council, charged with creating systems change for individuals with developmental disabilities and family members, will work through various advocacy and capacity building activities to...

The Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDD) is driven by its Five Year Strategic Plan goals to improve services and supports for people with intellectual and other developmental disabilities (I/DD). The Council, charged with creating systems change for individuals with developmental disabilities and family members, will work through various advocacy and capacity building activities to...

With the rise of online reviews through websites like Yelp! and Google, WheelChariot, an online platform based in Atlanta, Georgia is getting in on the trend to help the disability community by providing business reviews based on accessibility.  The Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDD) is driven by its Five Year Strategic Plan goals to improve services and supports for people with...

Following the end of the Covid-19 pandemic and a strenuous election year, Georgia's 2023 legislative session was full of profound strides forward as well as unforeseen setbacks for the intellectual disability and developmental disability (ID/DD) community. With approximately 25% of the representatives being new legislators during this session, a significant portion of the Georgia Council on D...

On March 4, 2023, the disability rights movement lost one of its pioneers when Judy Heumann suddenly passed away at 75. Her international fight for rights for people with disabilities spanned her entire life and began at the age of five when she was denied the right to attend school as the administration considered her a fire hazard. Heumann’s advocacy spirit was ignited by her parents who fought...

Supported decision-making (SDM) is a tool that allows people with disabilities to retain their decision-making capacity by choosing supporters to help them make choices. A person using SDM selects trusted advisors, such as friends, family members, or professionals, to serve as supporters. Self-advocates John McCarty and Hannah Hibben share their experience of how Supported Decision Making impacts...

The Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDD) is driven by its Five Year Strategic Plan goals to improve services and supports for people with intellectual and other developmental disabilities (I/DD). The Council, charged with creating systems change for individuals with developmental disabilities and family members, will work through various advocacy and capacity building activities to...

Marian Jackson, from Fitzgerald, GA, is a state advocate for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and has been for over 20 years. She is also a mother of an adult child with disabilities. Jackson, along with five People First members and others from a small group advocated for public transportation, and they were successful in getting transportation for not just the disability c...

As an inclusive post-secondary education program, or IPSE, GOALS guides students with intellectual disabilities and the opportunity to attend college.  College for someone with intellectual (ID) in the GOALS Program gives them the same experience as students without disabilities. “It looks like any college student going to class. And even if some students require additional supports, we try to use...

One of the most effective ways to transcend ideas of equity and justice is through the teachings of those who came before us. A movement is only as strong as the lived experience of its advocates and allies. In disability rights, history has laid a solid foundation, but young people are the key to continued progress. The Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDD) is driven by its Five Ye...