On February 26, 1987, President Ronald Reagan officially declared Proclamation 5613 making March National Disabilities Awareness Month. 

Proclamation 5613 called for understanding, instilling confidence, and opportunities to help those with disabilities to live productive and fulfilling lives.

I think inclusiveness benefits individuals with disabilities as well as the rest of our society.

A functioning organism as a society ensures all people have a healthy existence.

I worked as a provider for the Franklin County department of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (MRDD) until Franklin County MRDD switched to a company called Boundless in 2016. I worked with Boundless until 2020.

A provider goes into the homes of the developmentally disabled. A provider works with social, and life skills from a recommended individual service plan. A provider drives a person with Autism or Down syndrome to work, school, recreation centers, the grocery, and other places where a individual might visit.

A new global geopolitical game is in formation, and the Middle East, as is often the case, will be directly impacted by it in terms of possible new alliances and resulting power paradigms. While it is too early to fully appreciate the impact of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war on the region, it is obvious that some countries are placed in relatively comfortable positions in terms of leveraging their strong economies, strategic location and political influence. Others, especially non-state actors, like the Palestinians, are in an unenviable position. 

Human trafficking is the second-largest, and fastest-growing, organized crime activity internationally. The bad news is, Columbus is literally at an interstate crossroads for trafficking. 

The Good-News?  Here on Columbus’s Westside, the 1DivineLine2Health Drop-In Center on Sullivant Ave is working hard in the streets to change victims into survivors. But we need your help!

JOIN US, this Saturday, March 19th, from 6-8 pm, at Parkview United Methodist Church, 

344 S Algonquin Ave, for a fundraising dinner and program. Parkview UMC is on Columbus’s Westside, right next to Westgate Park.  And do invite your friends!

Hear the story of the struggle of 1DL2H’s Esther Flores to address the needs of those on the streets of Columbus, as well as the powerful testimony of heroic survivors of human trafficking, all while enjoying a hot meal (with Chicken or Vegan options). This event is $25, and there is an opportunity to contribute more to expand the facilities and programming eventually to all four corners of Columbus. Be a part of the solution!

Waiting on the Court

Tomorrow, the Equal Districts Coalition — a group of over 30 Ohio advocacy organizations and labor unions engaged in the redistricting process — will hold a press Q&A at the Statehouse to provide an update on the current status of Ohio’s redistricting constitutional crisis. A decision on the 3rd set of GOP-authored legislative maps is expected from the Ohio Supreme Court as early as this week, a month after candidates were required to file for districts that are still not final.

Some of the new bills and hearings we're watching this week can be found highlighted below.

New Legislation This Week