Families and students are invited to celebrate Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month and Neurodiversity Week at the upcoming Neurodiversity Festival on March 15 at South Eugene High School.

The festival will be a wonderful opportunity to educate students about disabilities and celebrate the wonderful gifts and strengths that all people contribute to our community. There will be fun activities, art, food and entertainment. 

The Arc Lane County is collaborating with multiple community partners on this event, including the Oregon Health Authority, the Eugene 4J School District, Full Access Brokerage, the Office of Developmental Disability Services, Kindtree-Autism Rocks, Resource Connections of Oregon, the University of Oregon University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, and the City of Eugene Adaptive Recreation.

Mark your calendars and make plans to join us on March 15!

The long session of the Oregon State Legislature is in full swing, and there are opportunities to advocate with us.

Read the latest GO! Bulletin to stay abreast of bills that impact the disability community and see the Developmental Disabilitiy (DD) Coalition's 2023 legislative priorities.

There will be a DD Advocacy Day Event and Legislator Reception on Feb. 23 at the Willamette Heritage Dye Center in Salem. Come meet with your legislators at this in-person event. Preregister online.

A strong work ethic, a positive attitude and never waning enthusiasm. These are all the characteristics BRING Recycling managers discovered in Billy, who regularly volunteered at BRING Recycling as part of The Arc Lane County's Employment Path program.

Billy's stellar volunteerism led managers at BRING to offer him a paid position, where he now works three days a week. Read Billy's story to see how he is improving overall employee productivity and what he enjoys most about earning a paycheck.

The Oregon Special Needs Trust (OSNT) operates a Remainder Fund Grant Program to help OSNT account holders, people with disabilities and members of The Arc with different expenses.

The grant options include a higher education grant, a convention/conference grant, a final burial grant, a legal expense grant and an accessiblity grant.

Read the about the grant award amounts, the eligibility requirements and the application process by visiting the OSNT website.

The Oregon Department of Human Services will issue the last of the Emergency Allotment benefits for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in February.

Read the End of SNAP Emergency Allotment, along with the Frequently Asked Questions, to learn more about this important change.

If this impacts you and you need help with food, the CARES Food Pantry is open on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. at 4181 E Street in Springfield.

Rent Well is an education program to help renters learn their rights and responsibilities as tenants. Classes are available online and in person.

Attendees of the Rent Well training will learn about the screening process, how to improve their credit, and how to review rental agreements and avoid eviction.

To find a Rent Well class in Lane County, refer to this list of Rent Well Tenant Education Providers.

Tax season is here.

The Palladio Group will host an informational webinar on Tax Planning Considerations for Special Needs Families on February 22.

Also, free tax preparation services are available. See the list of Lane County Tax Aide Sites open now through April 18.

Lastly, The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has published a web-based Guide to Filing Your Taxes for the 2022 Tax Year.

Relief Nursery has released the latest edition of its Community Resource Guide to help community members find and connect with resources they need.

The latest edition of the Community Resource Guide includes updates to food pantry sites, as well as updates to the crisis intervention and suicide prevention section.

See the Relief Nursery Community Resource Guide. The resource guide is also available in Spanish. See Relief Nursery Guia de Recursos en Español.