VOICES OF DISABILITY SERIES
Jewish Disability, Awareness, Acceptance, and Inclusion
Jewish Disability Awareness, Acceptance & Inclusion Month (JDAIM) is a unified national initiative during the month of February to raise disability awareness and support efforts to foster inclusion in Jewish communities worldwide. In partnership with Jewish Learning Venture’s ‘Whole Community Inclusion’ initiative, Germantown Jewish Centre presents a series of sessions focusing on both the barriers that people with disabilities face and also the kinds of accommodations that can be created within communities through an inclusive mindset.
All sessions have the same access link, which is emailed to those on our mailing list: Please contact the GJC office for the Zoom link.
Monday, February 13 at 7:00 PM
Disability, Family Life and the Jewish Community
with Gabrielle Kaplan-Mayer
A family story…Gabrielle Kaplan-Mayer, Chief Program Officer of Jewish Learning Venture and Director of JLV’s Whole community Inclusion shares about what she’s learned from the life and legacy of her Great-Uncle Mace Bugen, who was 43 inches tall and became a self-advocate during an era when disability stigma and prejudice was simply accepted. She’ll also share about what she’s learned as the mother of a son with severe autism and an intellectual disability and how her personal experience has motivated her to work for a more inclusive Jewish community.
Her book is available to purchase via amazon or your favorite online bookseller.
Monday, February 20 at 7:00 PM
Universal Design and Disability Inclusion
with Dr. Alanna Raffel, OTD, OTR/L
Dr. Raffel demystifies the concept of universal design, a way of configuring the environment so that anyone with or without disabilities can access it. She’ll explain the importance of this concept in synagogue culture and in the larger community and steps that can be taken to overcome barriers to inclusion. This session will explore how communities are using universal design to address hybrid/online accessibility in response to Covid-19.
Monday, February 27 at 7:00 PM
Stories of Independence
with Dr. Beth Rosenwasser and Self-Advocates from JCHAI
People with intellectual disabilities who are part of the JCHAI program share about their lived experiences in finding independence and the kinds of supports that they need in order to do so. Dr. Rosenwassser, Director of Community Engagement at JCHAI, will frame these stories with information about the intellectual disability system.