Four Dekalb Residents Graduate from Partners in Policymaking Program, Working to Provide a Voice For Georgians with Disabilities

Dekalb County Residents Graduate from Partners in Policymaking Program, Working to Provide a Voice For Georgians With Disabilities

Partners in Policymaking program teaches advocacy from grass roots to Capitol Dome

Pictured from L-to-R: Shelia Glover (Decatur), Natalie Perkins (Lithonia), Sherrell Seymour-Vanellison (Lithonia), Jennifer Sheran (Dunwoody)

Dekalb County, July 2, 2015 — Four Dekalb County residents took steps toward empowerment recently by participating in All About Developmental Disabilities’ (AADD) Partners in Policymaking program, where they gained the tools to become better advocates for all individuals with disabilities in Georgia. AADD is an Atlanta-based non-profit organization dedicated to providing family support, advocacy and training opportunities for individuals and families living with developmental disabilities.

The goal of the program is to establish and maintain productive partnerships between people needing and using services and those who make public policy and laws. As participants become educated about current issues and best practices and familiar with the legislative processes at the local, state and federal levels, they learn what they can do to act as a catalyst for change.

Upon graduation, participants use their new skills to work to obtain state-of-the-art services for themselves and others. The four joined others in the intensive, two-weekend training at AADD’s headquarters in Decatur, GA.

Over the last 20 years, Partners in Policymaking has produced hundreds of graduates across the state. These parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, sisters and brothers have become advocates and voices for individuals living with developmental disabilities.

For more information contact-Mitch Leff at Leff & Associates LLC (404) 861-4769 mitch@leffassociates.com