October 15, 2018

Dozens of people attend the Gaston County Residents Rights Celebration on October 3 at the Gaston Senior Center in North Carolina. Photo Credit: Gaston Gazette. 

Advocates across the country have been holding events and promoting Residents' Rights Month in the media. We have received photos, articles, stories and details about Speak Up: Know Your Rights and How to Use Them events nationwide. Thank you for helping us celebrate this month and honor residents' rights!

• A Residents' Rights Gala will be held on October 24, 2018 in Midland, Texas.  The event will feature expert speakers and will be attended by residents and staff.
• The Governor of Florida, Rick Scott, wrote a letter offering greetings and best wishes to all observing October 2018 as National Long-Term Care Residents' Rights Month. 
• Ombudsmen in Minnesota are promoting Residents' Rights Month, including recommendations for celebrating and a learning circle exercise.
• Long-Term Care Ombudsman Jan McFerron wrote a letter-to-the-editor of the Southeast Missourian.
• Long-Term Care Ombudsman Michelle Motta wrote a letter-to-the-editor of the Evansville Courier & Press in Indiana. 
• Georgia Governor, Nathan Deal, proclaimed October Residents' Rights Month.

Georgia Governor, Nathan Deal, joined with Department of Human Services Commissioner, Robyn Crittenden; Division of Aging Services Director, Abby Cox; State Long-Term Care Ombudsman, Melanie McNeil; Long-Term Care Ombudsman Advisory Council members, volunteers and the staff of the Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman to proclaim the month of October as “Residents’ Rights Month.” 

See more events and media coverage here.  What's going on in your area?  Send photos and details about Residents' Rights Month news and events to info@theconsumervoice.org. 

We have received many wonderful entries to this year's Resident's Voice.  See this week's featured video below and check out even more thoughtful submissions on our website.

Residents at Kensington Park Senior Living in Maryland and the Creative Arts Therapy team worked together to create a song to the tune of "My Country Tis of Thee" to highlight the importance of individual rights, and their goal to empower other residents to speak up. Residents also created art projects using water colors to conceptualize what right they wanted to paint on their own. Watch their video here.

Read and watch more inspiring stories from the Resident's Voice Challenge on our website.

To learn more about the 2018 Residents' Rights theme, "Speak Up: Know Your Rights and How to Use Them," visit the Consumer Voice website.