Celebrating Georgia Options with Founder Mary Kissel and past Board President Rita Patrick Where were you in 1992?
On the radio, Billy Ray Cyrus was crooning Achy Breaky Heart and Boyz II Men was singing End of the Road.
In August 1992, Hurricane Andrew was a Category 5 when it hit southern Florida costing billions of dollars in damages.
At the movie theatre you may have seen Disney's Aladdin, The Bodyguard, or Malcolm X.
Johnny Carson made his last appearance on The Tonight Show, passing the torch to Jay Leno.
In 1992, we wouldn't see an iPhone for another 15 years.
Did you know that 1992 is also the year Georgia Options was founded and designated by the State of Georgia as a tax-exempt nonprofit organization.
This was the result of tenacious and passionate people who dreamed this organization into existence with the mission to support and advocate for individuals with disabilities to have options – primarily the option to live in their own home. And, the work continues.
The photo above was captured recently at the home of Founder, Mary Kissel. As we prepare for our 30th year, we are reconnecting, reminiscing and re-imagining our work. We look back so we can look forward. We look back so we can see how far we've come and to inspire us to keep moving ahead. There is so much work left to do.
In the 1991 film "A Campaign for Full Citizenship" created by Emmy-nominated film maker, Laura Kissel (Mary's daughter), Mary says, "People are beginning to say - our children - our sons and daughters - should not have to leave their home communities to go live in a large congregate setting - a segregated setting - away from other people...simply because they happen to have a disability. Why can't our sons and daughters leave home like our other children? Why can't they find their own homes in our community? Why can't support be brought to them - instead of them having to go where the facilities are?"
Mary's perspective and this film is evidence that this "Campaign for Full Citizenship" wages on.
Today's Executive Director Rena Harris shares, "We are so much more than a service provider. We are fierce advocates for people with disabilities to be able to have the same access and opportunity as those without disabilities. We consider it our responsibility to inform and mobilize people who receive services and their families. They're not inspirational just because they happen to be born with a disability. What makes people with disabilities inspirational is when they break through a barrier that is created by a society that sees them as forever children and special."
Please join us in this ongoing, powerful and necessary work.
Make a gift. Join our board. Be part of our 30th anniversary celebration. We know your values are aligned with ours and we know that the work gathers speed with more voices. Do you have stories, photos and memories to share of Georgia Options? We'd welcome your involvement at this important moment in our history. Throughout the 30th year, we'll be celebrating by sharing stories, photos and successes. We'll also be looking ahead and imagining the next 30 years - and beyond.
So far, we've done this together. Join us, connect with us, support us, celebrate with us. |