Mont Co. Board of Dev Disabilities Services (OH)

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How Montgomery County Employees Are Helping the Community Recover

On Memorial Day, 15 tornadoes ranging from EF-1 to EF-4 in intensity struck Montgomery County, Ohio, leaving destruction and chaos in their wake, and thousands of people with damage to homes and property. These tornadoes caused severe damage to Brookville, Butler Township, Clay Township, Clayton, Dayton, Harrison Township, Perry Township, Riverside, Trotwood and Vandalia. The largest tornado was rated an EF-4, with winds up to 170 miles per hour.

As tornadoes bore down on the region, staff from the Montgomery County Board of Developmental Disabilities realized that many people with developmental disabilities were in danger. That's why, in the hours immediately following, MCBDDS staff acted quickly to determine the safety and whereabouts of every person with developmental disabilities who receives services from the County, doing into stricken communities, and searching for individuals who did not have family supports. They physically relocated some of the individuals whose homes were damaged, and coordinated an array of services for those affected.

To learn more about these services AND the services other county agencies provided, please check out the County's "Serving the County as One" newsletter, "Weathering the Storm" edition https://www.mcohio.org/County%20Collaborative%20Newsletter%20TORNADO%20SPECIAL%20SECTION%202019.pdf. Details about MCBDDS can be found on page 10.

MCBDDS Self-Advocacy Group members train Public Health staff about developmental disabilities
Members of MCBDDS’s Voices Matter Self-Advocacy Group and Communications Department

recently conducted training sessions to help Public Health - Dayton & Montgomery County staff
improve service outcomes for people with developmental disabilities (DD).

Public Health approached MCBDDS in March with a request for two 1.5 hour cultural sensitivity trainings specific to developmental disabilities. Self-Advocacy Group co-advisor Janice Saddler Rice then worked with self advocates Torry Brown and Richard Conley to develop and present these training workshops to 40 Public Health employees. Staff gained a greater understanding of what developmental disabilities are, and how they affect the day-to-day functioning of people who have them. They also learned about the challenges and barriers that people with DD face, and worked with the presenters to identify where their services overlap with the needs of the DD community. Presenters then offered recommendations as to how Public Health could work with people with developmental disabilities in a way that would be sensitive to those needs.

The presentations were very well received, and evaluations from participants revealed an appreciation for the sessions AND consistently excellent ratings across the board for content and presenters. Way to go, self-advocacy team!