Moving From Awareness and Education to Inclusion and Celebration

All throughout March we’ve been celebrating the unique gifts and abilities that the people Mosaic supports bring to the world.

While awareness campaigns may get a bad rap in the age of social media advocacy, National Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month is a chance to let people with intellectual disabilities shine in a world that often forgets they exist.

At Mosaic that means celebrating successes and sharing struggles.

We’ve talked about respect and inclusion when it comes to addressing people with disabilities as beloved and valued.

We shared some statistics about the intersection of poverty and disability and Mosaic’s work ensure that the rights of women with intellectual disabilities are included in the global conversation.

We’ve even gone back to into the vault to see how Mosaic has celebrated NIDDA month in years past.

All month the people we support have spent time in their communities, volunteering, advocating and working.

People supported by Mosaic in San Angelo spent the month of March filling more than 100,000 plastic eggs with candy and other goodies for a local community Easter egg hunt. The event couldn’t happen without their effort.

In Colorado, some of the people Mosaic supports and staff participated in a local St. Patrick’s Day Parade, where they won first place for best overall float.

In Kansas, people with intellectual disabilities from six Mosaic agencies all travelled to the state capital on March 23 to advocate for services and supports that matter most to them. Days like these are important to make sure that people with disabilities can share their own stories with legislators and government officials.

The people Mosaic serves may have disabilities, but it’s just one part of who they are. They are also volunteers, community members, advocates and much more.

These stories are just the tip of the iceberg, but they are a great place to start.