In my daughter's words:
"With the big deal being made about bullying and gay and lesbian rights, you don't hear much about people with disabilities and their rights. A man with an intellectual disability was told today that he has 90 days to pack up his stuff and find somewhere else to live. Why? Because he complains. Why does he complain? Because the group home he lives in buys their groceries in bulk. This wouldn't be a problem except they ask him for his grocery list before they go to the store and many times return with nothing from his list, and only a few things he will actually eat. Realizing that he has only enough food to last him for 2 days, he calls his sister who makes the necessary phone calls to administration. After years of dealing with this, the organization decides "he obviously isn't happy here" without asking him if is indeed unhappy, and tells him he has to move out of the only home he has known for years. His response when asked by his sister if he wants to move - "No". But he doesn't have an option. The organization is already going through the steps to have him removed.
This man is my uncle and his sister is my mom. So while celebrities are standing up against bullying and our president is suddenly changing his mind about gays and lesbians being able to marry, there are people with disabilities being kicked out of their homes (which happen to be funded by our lovely government) because they ask for food. That's like kicking a child out of school because they ask for a pencil to write with. When is someone going to stand up for these individuals also!? Something is very wrong with our country."
823 Pageviews Read Stories
- EIN 63-0375738
- 205-322-9055
- 215 21st Ave South Birmingham AL 35205 USA
- www.arcofjeff.com/recyclability
- Add to Favorites
Promote This Nonprofit
Nonprofit Overview
Causes: Developmentally Disabled Centers, Disabilities, Human Service Organizations, Human Services, Job Training
Mission: The Arc is an association formed in 1950 by family members and friends of people with mental retardation. Today there are 120,000 members and nearly 1,000 state and local chapters. The primary objective of the Arc is to secure for all people with mental retardation the opportunity to choose and realize their goals of where and how they learn, live, work, and play. The Arc is further committed to reducing the incidence and limiting the consequence of mental retardation through education, research, advocacy, and the support of families, friends, and the community.
Results: The Arc of Jefferson County was recently awarded grants from the Alabama Council for Developmental Disabilities and the Wachovia Foundation. The funding was used to start The Arc’s RecyclABILITY Program, a business that provides affordable and eco-friendly on-site shredding services to local businesses in the Greater Birmingham and surrounding areas. The RecyclABILITY team and shredding truck will travel to your businesses and shred documents on location. Documents will be shredded and then recycled by The Arc of Jefferson County to promote a greater degree of environmental awareness.
Target demographics: individuals with intellectual disabilities
Direct beneficiaries per year: hundreds with intellectual disabilities to reach their maximum potential by providing advocacy for consumers and their families and by providing a comprehensive array of services to promote education, employment, and independence.
Geographic areas served: Jefferson County, Alabama
Programs: RecyclABILITY employs individuals with intellectual disabilities who have learned job skills and training and who are now ready to enter the job market. This business not only promotes greater independence for many of the individuals enrolled in Employment Services, but also provides an eco-friendly and competitively priced on-site shredding business to many Birmingham businesses and organizations.