Fall Events

Fall is upon us, and activity is ramping up.  Some important upcoming events:

• The Developmental Disabilities Council (DDC) will hold its quarterly meeting on September 21, from 3-5pm, at 441 4^th Street, NW, Suite 729N or via Zoom.  Questions, or to get the Zoom link -  contact Alison Whyte (alison.whyte@dc.gov).

• DDS Community and Provider Forum on Friday, September 22^nd from 12-1:30 pm via Zoom. Recordings of past meetings can be found at https://dds.dc.gov/node/1470236 and Power Points of presentations at https://dds.dc.gov/node/1519506.  Get the Zoom link by contacting Charlisa Payne (Charlisa.Payne2@dc.gov).  With covid again in the news, this session will share important updates. 
• NOTE: In my last blog post (https://www.ddinwdc.com/2023/08/keeping-peoples-rights-at-forefront.html):  I mentioned the presentation last March on people’s rights during the pandemic - that Power Point can't be found on the main page at https://dds.dc.gov/node/1519506, but you can get to it by clicking on the link “Covid Data for Forum 12.02.2022 – 02.24.23,” which will open  https://dds.dc.gov/node/1655841, and you'll find it there.

• 5^th Annual Latinx Conference on Saturday, September 30, from 10am – 4pm, at the Columbia Heights Educational Campus, 3101 16^th St, NW.  Contact Mark Agosto (mark.agosto@dc.gov) or Alison Whyte (alison.whyte@dc.gov).

• As announced by DDS director Andy Reese in the community forum on March 24 and in his testimony before the DC council on March 29, the personal needs allowance (PNA) for people receiving residential supports from DDA will increase from $100/month to $150/month on October 1, with further cost-of-living increases on January 1 of each year.  I’m sure DDS will be making a more formal announcement about this before the end of this month.