Press Releases

GEORGIANS FOR A HEALTHY FUTURE IS LOOKING FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES TO LEAD NEW PROJECT

(April 27, 2022, Atlanta, Ga.) – The Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities’ (GCDD) DD Network partner Georgians for a Healthy Future (GHF) is looking for four individuals with developmental disabilities and four family members to lead a new project. The project aims to improve housing and support services for Georgians with developmental disabilities.

GHF is partnering with the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDD) for this project which will include three steps. The first step is that a survey will be conducted to ask Georgians with developmental disabilities and family members about their housing needs and what’s getting in the way of them having safe, affordable, accessible, healthy housing. Step two, GHF will gather information from other states and experts about solutions for housing for people with developmental disabilities in Georgia. The third step, GHF will use the learnings to suggest fixes to Georgia laws and policies and the fixes will make housing safer, more affordable, more accessible, and healthier for Georgians with developmental disabilities.

Leadership group members will help direct this project and will work with the GHF team members to decide what questions are asked about housing in Georgia and how to get the survey to people with developmental disabilities and their family members around the state. They will also help GHF understand the results of the survey and will help GHF share the research results back out to people with intellectual or developmental disabilities and family members. Additionally, their leadership will make sure this project is accessible to people with developmental disabilities at every step.

The leadership group members will attend one meeting each month. Each meeting is one and a half to two hours and begins in May 2022. The meetings will end in spring 2023 and will be held virtually with options for needed accommodations. Leadership group members are paid $25 for this project for each meeting that they attend. Individuals can be a leadership group member if they are a person with a developmental disability or a close family member of a person with a developmental disability.  GHF is looking for leaders who are as diverse as Georgia is and is very interested in leaders who live outside of the metro-Atlanta area. GHF is encouraging leaders who are Black, Hispanic, Asian, or other races to fill out this form.

Four people with developmental disabilities and four family members will be selected for the leadership group. If you want to be on the leadership group, please click here to complete the Leadership Group Interest form, which also includes a list of questions. The deadline to apply is May 4th. For more information, visit www.healthyfuturega.org.

About the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities: The Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDD) is the State's leader in advancing public policy on behalf of persons with developmental disabilities. Its mission is to bring about social and policy changes that promote opportunities for the wide spectrum of diverse people/persons with developmental disabilities and their families to live, learn, work, play, and worship in their communities. For more information, visit at www.gcdd.org.