COVID-19 Updates
Resources
- The most up-to-date and accurate information on Coronavirus can be found at the Center for Disease Prevention (CDC) website
- The Massachusetts Department of Public Health website
- Massachusetts residents can now call 2-1-1 for real-time #COVID19 information, resources, and referrals in multiple languages.
During this challenging time, we would like you to be informed of the procedures currently being taken at MAB to maintain the safety of our participants, staff, visitors, and members of the general public. Everything we are doing is in conjunction with our State agencies, such as the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, the Department of Developmental Services, the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, and MassHealth. The health and well being of our clients, staff, students, and the communities we serve is of the utmost importance. We are taking several measures on how we deliver our programs and services and interact with each other, adhering to the latest guidance from state and federal officials to ensure everyone’s well-being.
Statement from CEO, Barbara Salisbury commemorating the somber anniversary of a year with Covid-19
Weekly Updates from MAB CEO, Barbara Salisbury:
- MAB Update from CEO, Barbara Salisbury 5/11/2020
- MAB Update from CEO, Barbara Salisbury 5/4/2020
- MAB Update from CEO, Barbara Salisbury 4/27/2020
- MAB update from CEO, Barbara Salisbury 4/21/2020
- MAB update from CEO, Barbara Salisbury 4/13/2020
- MAB Community Services Coronavirus (COVID-19) Statement
Adult Disability Services
Massachusetts Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired (MABVI)
- Statement from Executive Director, Sassy Outwater-Wright concerning Coronavirus / COVID-19
- Statement from MCB and MABVI: All Peer Empowerment (PEP) support group meetings shifting from in-person to phone meetings
- Blind Legislative Informational Networking Day 2020 Has Been Cancelled
Ivy Street School
- Resources for Ivy Street students and families
Recent Media
Mass. restaurant famous for its chicken sending love through meals
Channel 5 about aired a story on MAB’s Food is Love campaign and the tremendous support for our direct care workers from local restaurants preparing meals that were then delivered from members of MAB’s board. Taking care of people who are caring for individuals with developmental disabilities
Vital Coronavirus Information Is Failing the Blind and Visually Impaired
When it comes to communicating crucial updates around the pandemic, blind readers are an afterthought.
By Melanie Ehrenkranz
Apr 9 2020, 8:24am Several times a day, I search for coronavirus updates online, an increasingly grim and unconscious habit I’ve adopted over the last few weeks from the confines of my New York City apartment. I’m met with a barrage of charts, infographics, and transcripts of news conferences. I’m able to grasp the harrowing reality we’re in with just a few clicks. But for the blind and visually impaired communities, information from the government and news sources remains largely inaccessible, and in the midst of a global pandemic, this isn’t merely an inconvenience, it’s a fatal negligence…
Coping with disease and disability in the time of coronavirus
Ryan Prior
By Ryan Prior, CNN
Updated 11:33 AM ET, Wed April 8, 2020
(CNN) Sassy Outwater-Wright has fought off cancer three times in the last 33 years, losing most of her eyesight to a rare form of the disease at the age of three.
And now, at age 37, she’s fighting a fourth cancer — this time in her brain.
As a result, Outwater-Wright is no stranger to navigating the byzantine corridors of the healthcare system, and she guides others who’ve lost their sight in her role as executive director of the Massachusetts Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired.
As someone who relies on touch to navigate the world, the potential threats to her existence have multiplied now that the novel coronavirus might be waiting on the next door knob or window sill…