AADD Volunteer Orientation

Do you want to make a difference in your community?  Are you passionate about helping others?  Do you enjoy having fun while doing good?

   

If you answered yes to any of these questions, we enthusiastically invite you to attend AADD's first volunteer orientation of the year!   

Orientation Details

November 8, 2011

1440 Dutch Valley Place Suite 200

Atlanta, GA 30324

6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

Please join us to learn more about the exciting volunteer opportunities available at AADD!  RSVP to Suzie Fatkin by Monday, November 7.

Adopt an AADD Family for the Holidays!

Lakela is a single mother of six children who is living with a developmental disability.  Before she came to AADD, she was homeless, using drugs, and had lost her children to the court system because of her addiction. Today, with AADD's help, she has moved into an apartment, been drug-free for two years, and trained in custodial work at Good Will.

Despite all of the positive changes in Lakela's life, she is still unemployed and has no other income except the $200 she receives each month in food stamps. Lakela remains optimistic that her life will continue to change for the better. She dreams that she will one day be reunited with all of her children and will be able to support them with a steady job.

Lakela's only holiday wish is to provide gifts for her children.

You can help make holiday wishes come true for Lakela and others like her through AADD's Annual Holiday Adopt a Family initiative. When you adopt an AADD family, you will give the gift of joy to some very deserving families living with developmental disabilities. Your donations of food, gift cards, clothing, toys, and household essentials will create a holiday celebration that will be remembered for years to come.

With your support, we can help meet the basic needs of every family we serve for the holiday season. It is only through the generosity of people like you we can make this happen. To learn how you can sponsor one of the amazing families AADD is proud to serve, please contact Suzie Fatkin at (404) 881-9777 extension 205.

Action Alert! ADAPT

Today (Friday, October 14th), groups from across the country are calling Congress and sending the message that My Medicaid Matters!

FamiliesUSA has provided a toll free phone number you can use to call your Congressional Representative.

This alert will take LESS THAN FIVE MINUTES but will make a BIG DIFFERENCE!

1. CALL 866-922-4970 and ask to be connected to your member's office.

2. TELL THEM:  "I'm calling because I want Representative ________ to contact the super committee and tell them that s/he opposes cuts to Medicaid. Medicaid is important because it pays for home and community-based services that support seniors and people with disabilities so they can live in the community.  Medicaid also funds jobs for direct care workers who provide these long term services and supports.  I want my representative to actively oppose Medicaid cuts because my Medicaid matters."

3. FORWARD THIS EMAIL to your family, friends, and other contacts asking them to take action too.

Thank you!

ADAPT

Autistic Man Arrested at Whole Foods for ‘Acting Odd

OCTOBER 4, 2011

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DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – Blake Wimberly lives in the dark, gripped by paranoia.

The 28-year-old hides inside his small Dallas apartment because of fear that police will arrest him wherever he goes.

“I see a cop right there, so that tells me that I should not be going outside not for nothing.”

Wimberly is both autistic and schizophrenic, so he struggles with self-control.

Despite his condition, Blake has progressed enough to live on his own.  But his mother, Lori Lux, says a trip to a grocery store started a downward spiral.  “I see a man who has shut down,” she said.

The incident happened on April 28 at a Whole Foods store on Park Lane.

Police reports say Blake was ‘acting odd,’ leading to customer complaints.

Officers were called, and Blake was told to get out of an unauthorized area or be arrested.  His response to officers was: “No, I have to call my mom.”

That refusal led to Wimberly’s arrest for criminal trespassing even though he wore a medical alert bracelet and told officers about his condition.

“I told them I had autism and he told me basically I was a liar.”

“I asked them repeatedly, was he violent? Did he ever threaten? No, they all told me no he was just odd,” Lux said.

She says she was in the shower when police called her that morning, but no one answered when she called back.

It was more than 12 hours later when she was able to bring Blake home from jail.  “I was mistreated in jail,” Blake said.

“They have just totally turned our lives upside down for no reason,” added Lux.

In a statement, Whole Foods defended the store’s actions, saying Blake was quote, “Running up and down the aisles and repeatedly going into areas of the store that are employee-only.”

A spokesperson says Dallas police officers made the decision alone to take Blake to jail.  Department officials did not return our calls for comment.

Since the arrest, Blake relies on his mother for trips to grocery stores, but still has a compulsion to visit them.

But the experience has made him fearful and reclusive.  “I miss being welcome into places.”

In criminal trespassing cases, DPD officers have the discretion to either issue a citation or make an arrest.  Blake’s family says they are planning to file a lawsuit over what happened.

AADD's 1956 Like Us Campaign Update

Dear Valued Supporters and Friends,

Since the launch of our 1956 Facebook Campaign to celebrate our 55th year of service to the community, 137 people have "liked" us on Facebook. So far, 893 people like us, and we still have 1,063 to go! 

Will you help us reach our goal to get 1,956 people to "like" AADD? All you have to do is go to our Facebook Page and click the "Like" button at the top. Share our page and encourage your Facebook friends to like AADD as well!

Each week, we will feature contests and a chance to win prizes, so visit often to see what's new.

Thank you for your ongoing support!

Seabaugh to exit state senate for job in Deal adminstration

By Aaron Gould Sheinin 

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Seabaugh, who led the Senate's recent work to redraw the state's political maps, will report to new state treasurer Steve McCoy, who is being promoted from the deputy's position. Seabaugh leaves the Senate after serving 10 years. Gov. Nathan Deal announced Monday that state Sen. Mitch Seabaugh, R-Sharpsburg, will be the next deputy state treasurer. Seabaugh has a bachelor's degree in Accounting from Southern Arkansas University and served as chief financial officer for a company in Newnan. Deal today will issue a writ to set a special election for Seabaugh's District 28 seat on Nov. 8. McCoy has been deputy treasurer since August. From 1997-2010 he ran an investment advisory firm that worked with state and local governments.