Friday, September 25, 2009

A great model

Assalaamu alaikum everyone, and belated Eid Mubarak!

As you might recall, one goal for this blog was to highlight success stories and share resources about accessibility. One success story in the making -- mashaAllah and inshaAllah -- has been the Muslim Education Center (MEC) in Morton Grove, IL, which is mosque, community center, and school. Newly remodeled, it is now physically accessible. It also has a working group of individuals and families that are making the community more inclusive. Some recent actions taken by the group include:

-- Establishing a regular support group for families of children with disabilities
-- Talking to leadership to include accessibility issues on the policy and funding agenda
-- Developing literature to help community members better support individuals and families with disabilities
-- Distributing literature on Eid to discuss MEC's work to become more accessible and to invite comments and advice on how to understand and cater to needs even better
-- Making sure the Eid khutba/sermon was available in print for deaf individuals and any others who needed it

MEC was featured on the website "JJ's List" -- a site that reviews businesses and services for accessibility. See http://www.jjslist.com/pages/bridge_builder_detail/28.php?id=261 for the reviews! As a side note, check out JJ's list -- the website is fantastic, and please contribute your reviews as well.

MashaAllah, MEC, a job well done and keep up the good work.

Isra