Disability rights programs offered

February is Jewish Disability Awareness, Acceptance and Inclusion Month, and Jewish Family Service of the Lehigh Valley is hosting two free virtual events in recognition of the nationwide effort.

JFS is partnering with the Lehigh Valley Center for Independent Living and their Adaptations group as well as Pennsylvania LINK and SDM New York to host Supported Decision Making: A Practical Alternative to Guardianship will be held via Zoom 7-8:30 p.m. Wednesday. Supported Decision Making is a viable alternative to guardianship for young adults with intellectual and physical disabilities. Presenters from SDM New York will talk about the process of bringing SDM to their community and how SDM lets young adults with disabilities live more independent lives.

Disability Pride vs. Disability Fix,

a moderated panel discussion via Zoom, will be held at 3 p.m. Feb. 28. This conversation will be moderated by a representative of the disability community and feature two people with disabilities, one a bioethicist, and one a disability advocate. It will address how the rise of the disability pride culture is shifting the prevailing norms away from the cured focused model. A wide range of thought-provoking topics will be covered, 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.) There will be time at the end for questions to be asked of the panelists.

Both events are free. For information and to register, go to jfslv.org/jdaim. JFS welcomes and supports children, teens, and adults with disabilities and mental health conditions and their families and caregivers. If you require an accommodation in order to participate in these programs, contact them at 610-821-8722 or info@jfslv.org.