Center for Jewish Belonging Presents Low Vision Awareness Month with Michelle Friedman.
February 20th • 3 PM ET
February is Jewish Disability and Awareness Month as well as Low Vision Awareness Month. Michelle Friedman will lead us in an informative session to help us address our own biases around disability and how we can address and engage those segments of Jewish Life with Low Vision to create a community of belonging. We will educate our community about the challenges faced by individuals with low vision and the available resources to cultivate belonging in our Jewish spaces. Our content expert is Michelle Friedman an active member of Jewish life including JUF Chicago and a recent graduate of the Center for Jewish Belonging's Certificate Leadership Program.
Key Take Aways
- Help us to address our own fears and bias around vision impairment.
- An understanding of Low Vision, other vision impairments, and who it can impact.
- Tools and strategies for fostering belonging in our Jewish spaces for those with vision impairments.
Michelle Friedman began her career 40 years ago at Access Living as a case manager and independent living counselor. She’s been an active member of the Jewish community for over 30 years and has served as a lay leader for multiple not-for-profits, schools, camps, and social service agencies in the Chicago Jewish community. Currently, Michelle is the board chair of Keshet in Chicago. She also serves on the JDC Global Israel Disability Committee, volunteers on the ADL Advocacy Committee, is a member of Disability Lead in Chicago, and chairs the Disability Committee of the Village of Skokie Commission on Family services. Michelle is a recent graduate of the Center for Jewish Belonging's Certificate Leadership Program.
As a woman who is blind, Friedman is a passionate disability advocate. She speaks to school-age children from preschool to high school and organizations on disability awareness. Friedman is the author of two children’s books Close Your Eyes and There Once Was a Camel, and the author of her blog Blind People Don’t mingle, where she writes about disability issues. she is committed to working with communities and organizations to bring disabled representation to the tables of power and influence, and create a more inclusive and just world for her children and grandchildren!