State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
Public Forums to Identify the Concerns of People with Disabilities and their Families
During the week of the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (signed on July 26th), the Governor’s Commission on Disabilities and many other state and non-profit agencies conduct a weeklong series of open forums to hear the concerns of people with disabilities and their families.
The forums are open for anyone to come in and speak; representatives of the sponsoring agencies will be there to listen. State policy makers and planners want to hear your concerns about current services, unmet needs, and suggestions for improving services and expanding opportunities.
Monday, July 27, 2015 | 3:45 – 5:45 PM
South Providence Library441 Prairie Avenue
Providence
Hosted by Perspectives Corporation
Tuesday, July 28, 2015 | 2 – 4 PM
Warwick Public Library600 Sandy Lane
Warwick
Hosted by the Ocean State Center for Independent Living
Wednesday, July 29, 2015 | 4 – 6 PM
Peace Dale Library1057 Kingstown Rd
Peace Dale
Hosted by National Multiple Sclerosis Society RI Chapter
Wednesday, July 29, 2015 | 4 – 6 PM
Middletown Public Library700 West Main Rd
Middletown
Hosted by Opportunities Unlimited For People With Differing Abilities
Thursday, July 30, 2015 | 1:30 – 3:30 PM
Zambarano Unit, Eleanor Slater Hospital2090 Wallum Lake Rd
Pascoag
Hosted by Zambarano Unit, Eleanor Slater Hospital
Thursday, July 30, 2015 | 4 – 6 PM
Woonsocket Harris Public Library303 Clinton St
Woonsocket
Hosted by RI Department of Health
Friday, July 31, 2015 | 2:45 – 4:45 PM
East Providence Public Library41 Grove Ave
East Providence
Hosted by RI Statewide Independent Living Council and National Federation of the Blind of RI
Additional information from the governor’s Commission on Disabilities about attending the Forum:
Remarks can be made in person during the forums, faxed to 401-462-0106, e-mailed 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 401-462-0100 or 401-462-0101(tty) in advance; arrangements will be provided at no cost. Language interpreting is available with the Deptartment of Human Serivces and requests can be made to 401-462-2130 in advance.
When making the ADA reservation with RIde to get to and from the public forum, tell the RIde reservationist (1-800-479-6902) that this trip is for the Governor’s Commission’s Public Forums in order to guarantee your return trip, after normal RIde hours of operation. ADA fare is still applicable.
When attending the forum, please use unscented personal care products. Mild fragrances can constitute a toxic exposure for a person with an environmental illness.