ASHTABULA – The Ashtabula County Board of Developmental Disabilities aims to ensure access to playgrounds, programs and events in the area. Such a large undertaking is not truly possible without partners throughout the community.
The ACBDD took a moment to show its gratitude for those in Ashtabula County who assist in the mission with a community partner appreciation event at Walnut Beach on Monday, Sept. 22.
“The County Board of Developmental Disabilities has a vision of creating a community where people have access to services to live their best life, and they are only able to do that through partnerships in the county,” Manda Jackson, ACBDD director of quality and community outreach, said. “Today, we wanted to use the last day of summer as kind of a community partnership appreciation day, where we can invite partners that we’ve worked with throughout the year on a variety of programs and services to just thank them for coming together and contributing to our community.”
The Board of Developmental Disabilities understands it truly needs its community partners to make the biggest impact possible.
“We obviously take the lead in advocating for people with disabilities, but our efforts wouldn’t make it nearly as far if it weren’t for the partnerships with many of the people who are here today, whether it’s the projects through the accessibility and inclusion grant,” Jackson said. “We selected this location because of Walnut Beach and our recent partnership establishing the inclusive playground here. That wouldn’t have been possible if we wouldn’t have partnered with the City of Ashtabula and Ashtabula City Manager Jim Timonere.”
“We work with our provider agencies,” Jackson continued. “They’re the ones who provide direct care to the people we serve. We can’t be a service provider, so without them, the people we support wouldn’t have the critical services they need. The libraries are another great example. They’re constantly looking for ways to increase programming for people supported, and that includes people of all abilities. Our impact will only be as good as the partnerships that we hold.”
That impact is greater than most might understand.
“We have a community that we are really proud of, and I think the impact that we make seems small because we, I guess, coin ourselves as a small county, but the impact we make is really big, and it shows that the more collaboration we have, the greater the impact can be,” Jackson said.
The appreciation event also highlighted the number of partnerships the ACBDD has in the county.
“Obviously, the county board takes the lead in providing supports to people birth throughout life, and people with disabilities are no different than you and I in the sense that we have things we enjoy, partnerships, or events that we like to attend, and really, I think this event is to highlight those partnerships and make sure that everybody has space and programming that they feel welcome in, both residents that live here full-time or visitors who visit our county,” Jackson said. “It’s our responsibility to ensure that everybody has access to services, programs and spaces to feel welcomed.”
The partnerships the ACBDD has have led to an increase of access for those with disabilities of all kinds in Ashtabula County.
“The county board supports people with disabilities in all environments, so that can be in-home and employment, in the community, at day programs, wherever people are, that’s where our services are,” Jackson said. “We’re working with those partners in our community to make sure that every space has access, or people have access to that space to really be included.”
“We mentioned Walnut Beach,” Jackson continued. “The first project we actually established here was the Moby mats here. And it was the first set of Moby mats that we had in our county. What started as one set of Moby mats turned into two. There are now some in Conneaut Township Park. We have the inclusive playground here at Walnut Beach. That was the first inclusive playground in Ashtabula County. There will soon be two. This momentum is gaining and we’re just really fortunate that our community is willing to partner with us to increase programming for everybody who lives here.”
Jackson made of point of saying thank you to everybody who makes the mission possible.
“I thank our governing board at the county board, for supporting all of these activities and programs that we’re fortunate to be a part of,” Jackson said. “I want to thank the community for partnering with us. Everybody has the intent of growing and making a positive impact in our county, and that’s kind of what today shows, as community partners are coming together, because we can make a greater impact together than we can alone.”
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