People First Self-Advocacy Group: Designed to empower people with disabilities to create
change to improve their overall quality of life by providing them with
the skills and knowledge necessary to advocate for themselves. The
focus of this group is to train people with intellectual, cognitive, and
related developmental disabilities in self-advocacy, self-determination,
and leadership.
The WV
Healthy People 2010 report states that in spite of recent federal
legislative initiatives and funded programs, there remains a discrepancy
in the quality of life between persons with disabilities and their
non-disabled peers in the areas of self-care, independent living, social
skills, self-determination, education, health and safety, employment,
and leisure. This is especially true in rural West Virginia. As a
result of the state's geographic and demographic make-up, unemployment
rate, and tax base, individuals are less likely to have an accessible
system of transportation; persons with low incidence disabilities may be
widely scattered, making it difficult to provide services; and persons
with disabilities are less likely to secure employment when they must
compete with non-disabled peers for a small pool of jobs. The
elimination of such barriers is crucial to improving the quality of life
for all individuals with disabilities - thus requiring first-hand
involvement and self-advocacy from this population.
People First Language: The Arc of the Mid Ohio Valley provides
members, families, professionals, organizations, and the community at
large with information on how to appropriately communicate about and
with individuals with disabilities. This is accomplished by conducting
trainings, distributing literature, and modeling the appropriate
behaviors.
WV People First
Conference: In addition to the local People First group, The Arc of
the Mid Ohio Valley leads the planning of an annual state-wide
conference, which draws more than 180 each year. This conference is
designed to train attendees and empower them to advocate for themselves
when they return to their communities.
Download a
registration form
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