JFS to offer disability awareness programming

By JFS Staff

This year, Jewish Family Service of the Lehigh Valley will be celebrating Jewish Disability Awareness, Acceptance and Inclusion Month (JDAIM) in February with two virtual events. 

For the first event, JFS is partnering with the Lehigh Valley Center for Independent Living (LVCIL) to introduce Supported Decision Making (SDM) to the community. SDM is a viable alternative to guardianship for young adults with intellectual and physical disabilities. While Pennsylvania doesn’t currently have laws to support this program, JFS and CIL are committed to advocating to bring SDM to the Lehigh Valley. This informational discussion will be on Feb. 17 at 7 p.m. via Zoom.  

On Feb. 28 at 3 p.m. via Zoom, join JFS for “Disability Pride vs. Disability Fix.” The event will focus on how the development and the availability of a “cure” is not always the obvious answer. The discussion will cover a wide range of thought provoking topics including:  what is a cure and what is not, how is disability identity affected by a cure, who is the cure meant to help (the answer is usually not the person with disability), and can disability pride be counteracted by the cure movement? The discussion will be moderated by a representative of the disability community and features two people with disabilities:  one a bioethicist, and one who is a disability advocate. There will be time at the end for questions to be asked of our panelists.

Both events are free to the community. To learn more and register for events, please visit jfslv.org/jdaim or contact info@jflsv.org.