Watertown Commission on Disability

This just in from the Cambridge Commission on Disability:

You are invited to hear about a strategic plan and share your ideas to improve the employment picture for people with disabilities in the Commonwealth. Consumer Quality Initiatives (CQI) will be holding five regional forums to get your input on a strategic plan for improving employment for people with disabilities in Massachusetts. The first one is this coming Saturday at the Somerville Public Library from 2-4 p.m.

These forums will be held on the following dates and locations:

• Somerville Public Library, 79 Highland Ave, Somerville, MA 02143 on Saturday, September 27 from 2-4 pm

• Taunton Public Library, 12 Pleasant St, Taunton, MA 02780 on Thursday, October 2 from 5:30-7:30 pm

• Pollard Memorial Library, 401 Merrimack St, Lowell, MA 01852 on Saturday, October 4, 2-4 pm

• Hoagland Pincus Center, UMass Medical School, 222 Maple St, Shrewsbury, MA 01545, Monday, October 6, 6-8 pm

• Western Mass: Location and date to be determined

CQI is non-profit, consumer-run research and evaluation organization. This event is being sponsored by the University of Massachusetts Medical School, along with the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services and the Institute for Community Inclusion at UMass Boston. Beginning in January of 2008, these three organizations began a strategic planning process to increase employment among people with disabilities in Massachusetts as required under the Massachusetts Medicaid and Comprehensive Employment Opportunities (MI-CEO) Grant.

To develop a successful plan, we need to hear from people with disabilities, their families and other interested parties. Just to be clear, this is not a job fair. It is an opportunity for you to have your voice heard on employment issues. We are looking to hear your personal experiences and your thoughts about how to increase access to jobs for people with disabilities.

Light refreshments will be provided.

We hope that you can join us for this important forum. If you are interested in attending, please respond to this email to CQI at (866) 895-4400 or (TTY: 617-442-6042) or info@cqi-mass.org. See www.cqi-mass.org for more information.

If you need a reasonable accommodation to attend these forums, please also contact CQI at least one week before the forum or ASAP.

We look forward to seeing you!