Congratulations and thanks to Exceptional Lives for their work in providing information to parents and caregivers of children and adults with developmental disabilities

City of Cambridge O-7 ORIGINAL ORDER IN CITY COUNCIL March 5, 2018 COUNCILLOR KELLEY WHEREAS: Exceptional Lives (www.exceptionallives.org) is a non-profit organization which provides trustworthy, easy-to-follow information for parents and caregivers of children and adults with developmental disabilities; and WHEREAS: Exceptional Lives has created a free online information platform to help families find the resources they need and to walk them through the complicated processes of getting services and benefits for their child or family member; and WHEREAS: The information is written in plain language and designed to be easy to understand and easy to navigate, and thus accessible to people with literacy challenges or low educational attainment; and WHEREAS: This is a resource that could help connect families to critical services and benefits for their children or family members with disabilities, in many cases benefits that they are not aware of; and WHEREAS: These services and benefits include Early Intervention, Special Education, SSI benefits, Health Insurance and Medicaid, and support with transitioning to adulthood and finding employment or supported living; and WHEREAS: This resource can support health equity by helping those with fewer resources, lower skills, and less knowledge of the systems involved, to find the services they need; now therefore be it RESOLVED: That the City Council go on record congratulating Exceptional Lives for its achievement and continued efforts; and be it further RESOLVED: That the City Clerk be and hereby is requested to forward a suitably engrossed copy of this resolution to Exceptional Lives on behalf of the entire City Council.