News Release

July 20, 2006

Contact: Carolyn Pennington, 860-679-4864
e-mail: cpennington@uchc.edu

2006 Spirit of the Americans with Disabilities Act Celebration

This Year’s Honorees Include Lt. Gov. Kevin Sullivan

FARMINGTON, CONN. – The Connecticut Developmental Disabilities Network will celebrate the 16th anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) at an event on Wednesday, July 26, from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Michael J. Adanti Student Center at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven.

This year the Developmental Disabilities Network, a partnership of the Council on Developmental Disabilities, the Office of Protection & Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities, and the University of Connecticut Center on Developmental Disabilities at the UConn Health Center, honors individuals and organizations that go above and beyond to promote the inclusion of people in recovery from mental illnesses. The 2006 Spirit of the ADA Celebration honorees include:

• Lt. Governor Kevin Sullivan, a leading advocate in Connecticut’s state government for children and adults with mental illness,
• Artreach Inc., a group that produces original educational comedy and drama about the experience of mental illness,
• Karen Kangas, a champion of persons with disabilities in the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services,
• Advocacy Unlimited, Inc., an organization that built a grassroots network of mental health advocates across Connecticut.

Lt. Governor Sullivan will also be speaking at the event.

Visit www.uconnucedd.org/ddnetworkevents.html for more details and a complete list of the service providers, support groups and advocacy organizations from across the state that will be honored.

This year’s event is hosted by the Disability Resource Center at Southern Connecticut State University. The Michael J. Adanti Student Center is a fully-accessible, world-class facility that opened earlier this year.

The University of Connecticut Health Center includes the schools of medicine and dental medicine, John Dempsey Hospital, the UConn Medical Group and University Dentists. Founded in 1961, the Health Center pursues a mission of providing outstanding health care education in an environment of exemplary patient care, research and public service. To learn more about the UConn Health Center, visit our website at www.uchc.edu.

Note: News professionals are invited to visit the Office of Communications homepage at www.uchc.edu/ocomm/ for archived news releases and other information.