Advocacy

Self-Advocacy

Q and A with Katherine Olson, Self-Advocacy Coordinator, The Arc of Virginia

Q: What is self-advocacy?

A: Self-advocacy is about making your own decisions. It is about making your needs and desires known to others in order to have them met. It is about finding the right services that you need.

Self advocacy is about bringing people with developmental disabilities together to create one strong voice that is loud enough to make change. Self-advocacy is about speaking up for yourself or others who may have difficulty being heard. Its about protecting yourself and others from discrimination and making sure that the civil rights of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities are not being violated. Its about making legislators aware of your needs and the needs of others.

Q: What is it like to be a self advocate?

A: I enjoy being a self-advocate because it has made me a much stronger person. It has helped me meet other people who have the same concerns and has showed me how I can get others involved. It has taught me to be more determined, more independent and it has made me more sensitive to the on-going struggles that others face in order to have a quality life.

Q: How can other people with developmental disabilities get involved with self-advocacy?

A: Call your local chapter of The Arc and see if there is a self-advocacy group in your community. If there is not, consider offering to help get a group started. All self-advocacy groups are run by people with developmental disabilities for people with developmental disabilities. Some self-advocacy groups do different things like learning public speaking (Toastmasters) volunteering in the community (Aktion Clubs) and social events. Here is a list of self-advocacy groups in Virginia to help you get started.

Self-Advocacy Groups in Virginia

People First of Charlottesville
Contact: Martha Maltais, Advisor
(434) 970-2131
Meeting time/location: Meetings are held on the 3rd Tuesday of every month

People First of Chesterfield
Contact: James Holdren, Advisor
(804) 748-6006
Mailing address: PO Box 08
Chesterfield, VA 23832
Meeting time/place: 3rd Thursday of every month from 6:30-8:00pm
Chester United Methodist Church
12132 Percival Street, Chester, VA

People First of Northern Virginia/Toastmasters of Northern Virginia
Contact: Jill Egle, Facilitator
(703) 532-3214, ext. 103
jegle@thearcofnova.org
Mailing address: 98 N. Washington Street
Falls Church, VA 22046
Meeting time/place: 2nd Thursday of every month
Fairfax County Government Center
Conference Rooms 2 and 3
12000 Government Center Parkway
Fairfax, VA 22035

Four Season (Richmond)
Contact: Eric Drumheller (drumhellere@rrsi.org) and Cindy Minto (Mintoc@rrsi.org)
(804) 358-2211
Meeting time/place: 2nd Tuesday of every month at 6 p.m.
1000 N. Thompson Street
Richmond, VA 23230
Advisors: Cindy Minto, Eric Drumheller
President: Thomas Payne

People to People (S. Hampton Roads)
Contact: Paula Traverse-Charlton
(757 567-4819)
Meeting Time/Place: Meetings are held the first Wednesday of the month.
Dinner at 5:30, Meeting begins at 6pm.
Eggleston Services on Ingelside Road in Norfolk.

People First of Virginia Beach/Aktion Club
Contact: Nancy Monteith, Advisor
(757) 385-0593
Email: HSPeople1stofVB@vbgov.com
Mailing address: Nancy Monteith,People First Advisor

Virginia Beach Dept of Human Services
Pembroke 6, Suite 218
Virginia Beach, VA 23462
Meeting time/place: Meetings are held on the second Saturday of each month -
September to May, except for January (Coalition Rally in Richmond).