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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72" style='word-wrap:break-word'><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal>Confronting The Crisis<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>At The Greater Detroit Agency For The Blind And Visually Impaired Day Of Action Peaceful Protest March III August 26th<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>• Opened in 1961, the Greater Detroit Agency for the Blind and Visually Impaired (GDABVI), is a nonprofit agency that provides vision rehabilitation services to blind and visually impaired clients across 7 counties in Southeast Michigan including: Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Monroe, Washtenaw, Livingston, and St. Clair. GDABVI specializes in teaching Braille, mobility/independent travel, cooking, and essential independent living skills to blind senior citizens. It also serves as the only place for the Greater Detroit Blind Community to meet regularly for social, recreational, and educational events. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>• Using the global pandemic, the need for cosmetic building upgrades, and the absence of an executive director (after he forced-out two of them consecutively without just cause) as weak excuses for his hidden personal agenda to get rid of the GDABVI, GDABVI’s Board Chairman Frederick Simpson has kept the building closed since March of 2020. Refusing to meet with or give the blind public a timeline for the reopening of the building, while offering GDABVI clients who are desperately waiting in limbo no reasonable alternatives for rehabilitation services, Simpson is arrogantly and disrespectfully point-blank denying life changing services to scores of blind people who are more isolated and in greater need now than ever before. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>• Frederick Simpson and his Board of Trustees’ reckless disrespect for and neglect of the entire blind community will no longer be tolerated.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>• We invite all of our community partners, supporters, family members and friends to join the Greater Detroit Blind Community as we unite to address this crisis that has been created unnecessarily at the GDABVI. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>• Stand with us by attending our third Day Of Action Peaceful Protest March in front of Frederick Simpson’s residential home Thursday August 26th at 1:00 PM located at 3019 West Boston Boulevard in Detroit.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>• Come and express your outrage as well as your support for the blind community’s policy recommendations for this agency at our peaceful protest march Thursday August 26th from 1:00-2:00 PM.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>• Participants must wear a mask and should bring a light folding chair if desired.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>• Spread the word, tell everybody!<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>• Help us fightback, reopen, and save this vital community institution.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>• For more information, call 313-247-3301.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Policy Recommendations<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Fought For By The Greater Detroit Blind Community<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>To Resolve The Crisis<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>At The Greater Detroit Agency For The Blind And Visually Impaired<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>• We, the members, organizations, community leaders, and consumers of the Greater Detroit Blind Community stand and fight in unity for the immediate reopening of the Greater Detroit Agency for the Blind and Visually Impaired (GDABVI) located at 16625 Grand River in Detroit; and for the preservation and improvement of the agency through the implementation of our policy recommendations listed below. Please join our efforts to pressure GDABVI’s Board of Trustees and Board Chairman Frederick Simpson to fully implement each of these policy recommendations that are designed to keep the GDABVI open, relevant, and viable for future generations to come. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>• The GDABVI shall convert its daily operations and bylaws from that of a private nonprofit organization to that of a public nonprofit organization thus granting the general public legal rights to access to and reasonable prior knowledge of GDABVI Board Meetings, votes, and related documents and procedures, in addition to the timely posting of all minutes from GDABVI Board Meetings on GDABVI’s web site. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>• The GDABVI shall be sanitized, cleaned, and reopened immediately for daily operations and the provision of urgently needed rehabilitation services to the blind and visually impaired with appropriate staffing, cleaning, and pandemic related safety protocols put in place prior to reopening.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>• The GDABVI shall add and at all times maintain at least four members on its Board of Trustees who are accomplished leaders in the Detroit Blind Community specifically and who have authoritative knowledge of the scope of needs and capabilities of blind people. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>• The GDABVI shall hire and maintain an executive director who has a strong background in business financing and fund raising, an impressive track record of training/working with blind and visually impaired people, and authoritative knowledge of the scope of needs and capabilities of blind people. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>• The GDABVI shall remain a key hub for social, recreational, educational, and political activity throughout the Greater Detroit Blind Community continuing to provide blind consumers, organizations, and community leaders with access to the facilities and a welcoming space for such activities at no-to-very-low cost as established under Former Executive Director Victor Arbulu.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>• Staff at the GDABVI shall emphasize personal independence and mastery of blindness skills to consumers across all rehabilitation service areas.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>• For more information, call 313-247-3301.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>