The American with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law 25 years ago on July 26th. In recognition of this landmark legislation, the Governor’s Commission on Disabilities and other state and non-profit agencies will conduct a week-long series of open forums to hear the concerns of individuals with disabilities and their families.
The forums are open to the public. Representatives from the sponsoring agencies will be present to listen to your comments. State policy makers and planners want to hear your concerns about current services, unmet needs and ideas for improvement. This is a great chance to have your voices heard!
Monday, July 27th, from 3:45-5:45pm
South Providence Library, 441 Prairie Avenue, Providence
Hosted by Perspectives Corporation
Tuesday, July 28th, from 2-4pm
Warwick Public Library, 600 Sandy Lane, Warwick
Hosted by the Ocean State Center for Independent Living
Wednesday, July 29, from 4-6pm
Peace Dale Library, 1057 Kingstown Rd, Peace Dale
Hosted by National Multiple Sclerosis Society RI Chapter
Wednesday, July 29, from 4-6pm
Middletown Public Library, 700 West Main Rd, Middletown
Hosted by Opportunities Unlimited for People with Differing Abilities
Thursday, July 30, from 1:30-3:30pm
Zambarano Unit, Eleanor Slater Hospital, 2090 Wallum Lake Rd, Pascoag
Hosted by Zambarano Unit, Eleanor Slater Hospital
Thursday, July 30, from 4-6pm
Woonsocket Harris Public Library, 303 Clinton St, Woonsocket
Hosted by RI Department of Health
Friday, July 31, from 2:45-4:45pm
East Providence Public Library, 41 Grove Ave, East Providence
Hosted by RI Statewide Independent Living Council and National Federation of the Blind of RI
Remarks can be made in person during the forums, faxed to 462-0106, emailed to GCD.Disabilities@gcd.ri.gov or mailed by August 8th to Governor’s Commission on Disabilities, John O’Pastore Center, 41 Cherry Dale Court, Cranston, RI 02920. CART recorders (real-time captioning) and assistive listening devices will be at all sites, courtesy of the Office of Rehabilitation Services/Assistive Technology Access Partnership. The RI Commission on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing will provide sign language interpreters for each forum.
To request information or accommodation, please call 462-0100 or 462-0101 (tty) in advance; arrangements will be provided at no cost. Language interpreting is available with the Department of Human Services and requests can be made to 462-2130 in advance.