July 26--Go Fishing with Bob

The Messenger

July 26, 2022

"The ADA is the living testament to our Nation's commitment that we will always stand up for our neighbors' right to live fulfilling lives."

~Tammy Duckworth

Go Fishing with Bob August 2nd!

Have you wanted to try fishing? Have you fished before and want to do it again? Join us on August 2nd at 10:00am at Rushing Waters Fishery LLC in Palmyra. Spend a few hours outside, meet new people, and have a great time. No equipment or experience necessary. Rushing Waters is handicap accessible.

Participation will be limited.

2022 Community Award Winners!

Join the Wisconsin Disability Vote Coalition on Zoom as we celebrate the 32nd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act and discuss its impact on voting rights! We will hear from our keynote speaker, Charlotte Lanvers, a Trial Attorney from the Disability Rights Section of the Civil Rights Division within the US Department of Justice, as well as Kit Kerschensteiner, the Directory of Legal and Advocacy Services of Disability Rights Wisconsin, and a panel of voters. Learn about the protections for voting rights in the ADA and other federal laws, and how to request a disability related accommodation.

View the accessible event flyer here.

Registration is required. Register here for the event via Zoom

A fun day of entertainers, exhibits, adaptive sports, artists, and crafts people. Come celebrate Wisconsin's Disability Community as we celebrate the 32nd Anniversary of the ADA and make plans to make things even more inclusive.

Stop by and visit The Arc-Dane County & The Arc Wisconsin, TMG, VoteRiders, and so many more.

The Remember Project to Present Fortune Cookies

The ADRC of Dane County is excited to host the one act play Fortune Cookies by The Remember Project on August 4^th at the Lussier Family Heritage Center 3101 Lake Farm Park Road in Madison - Doors open at 10 – with light refreshments, welcome at 10:30 and the play will begin at 10:45

The Remember Project is a community of professional theatre artists that believes in building a more dementia-capable Minnesota and Wisconsin by using the arts.

The Remember Project is a two-hour event that includes a one-act play performed by professional actors who bring to life real issues connected to the care, diagnosis, and experience of dementia and how relationships can be tested in unexpected ways. Following the performance, audience members meet the actors and take part in a facilitated conversation about the themes, metaphors, and impact of memory loss depicted in the plays.

Fortune Cookies

By Bonnie Dudovitz

Mona has a great idea! This vibrant octogenarian is determined to be the first to know if her recall is slipping beyond what can be considered normal age-related memory loss. An unexpected visit from her son reveals that she has cooked up a way to help herself and others be on the lookout for the early signs of dementia.

There are two ways people can register:

1. Register by clicking here.

2. Call the ADRC at 608-240-7400 to register to attend the play

Do Your Part: Engage With Your Members of Congress During the August Congressional Recess

Each August, members of Congress leave Washington, DC and return to their states and districts to meet with their constituents for face to face events and town hall meetings. It is an important opportunity to make sure members of Congress hear about key issues for people with disabilities, their families, and the direct support professional workforce.

What can you do?

Find Your Members of Congress Here

Don’t make it harder for our vote to count

On July 20th the Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules (JCRAR) rejected the Wisconsin Election Commission’s emergency rule 2209 to clarify the kinds of minor clerical errors election clerks can correct on absentee ballots and should be adopted. This rule would have formalized existing election practices.

“Errors are not voter fraud; they are common mistakes,” said Kit Kerschensteiner, Survival Coalition Co-Chair. “Minor technicalities, like a missing city or zip code on a witness address, are easily corrected, and should not result in an absentee voter’s ballot being discounted.”

Increasing the odds that small mistakes will result in absentee ballots not being counted disproportionately harms voters with disabilities and older adult voters.

“Don’t’ make it harder for voters with disabilities to count,” said Beth Swedeen, Survival Co-Chair. “The rights and the voices of the disability community matter.”

Read the entire press release here.

Please read this update regarding our membership changes

People with intellectual and developmental disabilities are uniquely affected by the war in Ukraine. Donate today to The Arc’s Ukraine Relief Fund and The Arc will distribute 100% of the resources to reputable organizations that are supporting people with IDD on the ground in Europe.

Click Here to Donate

COVID-19 Information--Stay safe. Stay Informed.

“The COVID-19 vaccines and boosters remain one of the best ways to protect yourself from severe illness, hospitalization, and death due to COVID-19,” said DHS Secretary-designee Karen Timberlake. “As we see rising cases due to the spread of increasingly infectious variants, it is important that we continue to use all the tools we have available to prevent our hospitals from becoming overwhelmed – that includes getting vaccinated if you have not already done so and staying up to date by getting any recommended additional or booster doses.”