The Arc Eastern Connecticut received a $10,000 grant from the Dominion Foundation this week for its Communication and Connectedness Crisis Project for People with Disabilities. Dominion Foundation Grant Allows The Arc ECT to Help People with IDD Stay Connected
An innovative program seeking to prevent isolation of people with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, the statewide initiative helps people with disabilities stay electronically connected to families, caregivers, medical professionals, and support staff. The Dominion Grant will allow The Arc ECT to identify and assess the communications needs of people with IDD. Equipment, training and services will keep people online at a time when social distancing could further isolate an already marginalized group of people.
“We applaud Mid-State Arc and The Arc CT for creating this program to ensure that people with disabilities are included in conversations about technology and inclusion,” said Kathleen Stauffer, The Arc ECT’s Chief Executive Officer. “What might work for you or me might not work for people with IDD. Thanks to the Dominion Foundation, we can begin to provide the people we support with appropriate, accessible, and easy-to-use video chat and communication technologies to ensure they don’t become even more isolated during the pandemic and beyond.”
To learn more about The Arc Eastern Connecticut and its programs throughout the region, and for weekly agency updates and resources during the COVID-19 pandemic, please visit TheArcECT.org or contact Denise Tift at (860) 889-4435, ext. 116.
photo: Nancy Bulkeley, Senior Community Affairs Representative for Dominion Energy, presents the Dominion Foundation’s grant award check to The Arc ECT’s CEO Kathleen Stauffer. 
