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For the disabled community, COVID-19 presents unique challenges United Cerebral Palsy faces obstacles but soldiers on NEWS & OPINIONS COMMUNITY

BY SEAN KELLY sean@connectsavannah.com

EVERYONE IS FEELING the weight of COVID-19 and its impacts on their everyday life. The measures that have been taken federally and on the state level to stop the spread of the coronavirus are necessary, but have no doubt caused significant economic damage and major disruption on almost every level of functionality for people.

When we’re presented with situations like this, certain issues become clearer than they might have been under normal circumstances. Take, for example, the new protocol for digital and remote schooling. This is something that can be rather easily implemented for the most part in terms of students being able to make the transition. But what about those who have special A local resident at one of United Cerebral Palsy’s homes works on a gardening project.

needs due to disability? As someone with Cerebral Palsy, I’ve been invested in the needs of the disabled community; which is why it’s troubling to see several recent stories about students with disabilities being left behind in regard to accessibility of materials and websites, etc.

On the same token, organizations like United Cerebral Palsy of Georgia (of which I’m a board member) are facing their own unique challenges as they navigate these uncharted and unprecedented waters. UCP has 10 homes in Savannah with residents who have many different types of disabilities, and they have a full-time staff of Direct Support Professionals, who work closely with the residents every single day. Since the ban on gathers and the social distancing measures have been taken, UCP has faced some hurdles—including having to close its day program.

“The day program is a higher-density program. It’s a building with people doing all kinds of activities every day, plus transporting people to and from—obviously you can’t do social distancing in a minivan full of people,” UCP of Georgia President and CEO Diane Wilush tells Connect.