Six participants represented United Cerebral Palsy (UCP) of Central Ohio at Solidarity ’09, Ohio’s leading conference by and for people with disabilities. The event returned for the tenth time Tuesday, April 14 to Thursday, April 16, 2009 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. The conference is organized by the Disability Network of Ohio (DNOS) and attracts Ohioans with disabilities from all corners of the state. The first Solidarity conference took place in 1991, and the 2009 event featured a 10-year retrospective.

“The main thing that inspires me is seeing that everybody can achieve their goals,” said UCP participant, Chris C. “People with disabilities may have to work a little harder, but they should never give up,” said Chris.

Keynote speakers at the conference included:

• Joyce Bender, host of Disability Matters, the internationally-acclaimed radio program about employing and empowering people with disabilities.
• Matt Roloff, star of TLC’s  Little People, Big World

Solidarity ’09 featured more than 30 workshops on a wide variety of topics including employment and careers, the Americans with Disabilities Act, service animals and the law, Medicaid Buy-In, getting out the vote, job skills assessments, obtaining assistive technology, dealing with depression and more. Many aspects of the conference focused on the state budget and how it will affect Ohioans with disabilities now and in the coming years. Participants had the opportunity to make legislative visits during the conference to speak on behalf of issues important to the disability community