Edwardsville’s NAACP will host a public disability information fair on Dec. 13 at the Edwardsville Public Library, connecting neighbors with local resources and wellness providers while encouraging everyone to help remove each Community Access Barrier that keeps People with Disabilities from fully participating in civic life. Timed to December’s observance of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, the fair emphasizes inclusion grounded in The Social Model of Disability—the idea that many limits come from fixable barriers in our environments, not from people themselves. Organizers…

Nashuva’s annual Inclusion Shabbat on February 7 celebrates Jewish Disability Awareness and Inclusion Month (JDAIM), reinforcing the importance of fostering vibrant, diverse, inclusive, and accessible communities. Led by Rabbi Naomi Levy and the Nashuva Band, this special service welcomes members of The Miracle Project (TMP), an inclusive theater and arts program, to co-lead prayers and share personal reflections on belonging. This event is a powerful reminder that when we remove barriers, we create sacred spaces where the voices of People with Disabilities are heard and valued. Join us in…

A new Disability Lived Experience Group at Mid and East Antrim's council gives twelve residents a direct role in shaping services that People with Disabilities can use. Members will review how the borough develops its property and facilities, along with council policies and projects, and bring personal experience into decisions. The group was proposed because People with Disabilities have too often gone unheard, and its members include parents of children with disabilities and people who face barriers when they use council services.

A new exhibition called "The Life I Choose," opening July 11 at C-Art Gallery in Springfield through a collaboration between Abilities First and artist Randy Bacon, gathers black and white portraits, short films, and first person accounts that keep People with Disabilities at the center of their own story rather than letting a diagnosis or outside assumption define them. Maggie Rollwagen of Abilities First and Bacon both describe participants as leaders, neighbors, and contributors whose everyday choices and relationships shape their lives, and the exhibition asks visitors and Community Builders alike to move past quick judgments and truly attend to each person they meet.

The article reports a clear finding: a new study by the disability-inclusion nonprofit Matan — released on the International Day of Persons with Disabilities — shows that Jewish organizations are **lagging behind** secular ones on access. The study calls the gap “very solvable,” yet warns that failure to act continues to push people out of community life. Based on surveys, interviews and focus groups across 15 U.S. communities from 2018–2025, the study found that in each community 20–25% of people identified as having a disability, but supports in Jewish settings are thin. Less than one-third…