People First

People First Highlights January-April 2012

karihorn — Wed, 09 May 2012 00:04:17 +0000

Our main focus this period has been to organize and continue the leadership and sustainability trainings begun the beginning of the year to prepare the People First chapters to operate without the assistance of the Americorps VISTA’s. VISTA’s have been taking more of an advisory role rather than a hands on approach in the past months. This has led to an increase in independence and ownership at the meetings.
Major accomplishments this period: all chapters have received training in fiscal management, have opened and are managing their individual chapter bank accounts, are actively collecting dues and have at least one advisor/mentor they voted in to provide support in conducting monthly meetings. Additionally, three chapters have conducted inclusive social events in their community and four chapters have organized and conducted their own fundraisers resulting in a cumulative dollar amount of $893.50. The remaining two chapters are planning their fundraisers and the Reno chapter is planning it’s second. As a statewide organization, People First received a $500.00 donation from the Autism Society of America. VISTA’s are also on track to complete self-advocacy training in 25 schools across the state.
Project Vote training was completed at the April Fernley People First chapter meeting by Diana Rovetti. Further trainings are scheduled for all active chapters to be completed by August of 2012.
We are working with the Arc of Nevada for their Partners Plus training. A training was held April 27^th and 28^th in Vegas and Reno and was attended by several People First members.
The Reno chapter has started a “scream room” committee currently consisting of 6 members. Members meet on a monthly basis to discuss the Office for Civil Rights report on Seclusion and Restraint in public schools and to talk to school officials in person throughout Reno on their seclusion and restraint policy.
On April 20^th 7 Reno People First members joined NNCIL and NDALC at the RTC meeting to protest the possible action of giving the contract for ACCESS services to a company out of California which would mean individuals would have to complete their paperwork online. Travis testified for People First. RTC voted to keep services with a local company here in Reno.
In addition, People First members across the state learned about, discussed and participated in letter writing campaigns to their senators to support the Keeping All Students Safe Act and the ABLE Act.

Upcoming Events:

Vegas and Elko chapters will participate in the PACE events put on by the DD Council. Elko May 9^th and Vegas May 18^th
VISTA’s and People First members are collaborating with a Public Health Intern from the University of Nevada, Reno to create presentations on talking to your doctor about your disability and avoiding health risks like Diabetes. A meeting is set with Family Ties to review the presentations and collaborate on how to make them universally accessible to individuals across the state. An initial presentation is scheduled for the May People First meeting in Reno.
Santa Perez, Statewide President of People First will be visiting all the chapters across the state in May and June
We are working on the next People First newsletter due out the end of May
The next statewide People First Board meeting is scheduled for June 15th at the University of Nevada Reno.

Reno People First chapter advocates to keep RTC ACCESS services local.

karihorn — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 18:21:39 +0000

Members of the Reno People First of Nevada chapter joined the Nevada Disability and Advocacy Law Center and the Northern Nevada Center for Independent Living to advocate for their rights on Friday, 4/20/12 at the Reno Regional Transportation Commission meeting. RTC sent out a proposal to agencies to contract for ACCESS services. Three companies applied: 2 local and one out of state. After proposal review, RTC was proposing to give the contract for ACCESS services to the out of state company. The concerns of Reno People First members were two fold. First, no one with a disability or who uses ACCESS was on the RTC review committee and two, the out of state company, based in California, would mean that anyone who used ACCESS would have to complete their assessments and paperwork online. Not everyone with a disability uses computers or has access to computers. Reno people first members rallied together to testify against the action of giving the contract to any out of state company. They wanted the contract to stay in Reno so that people have a local place to go for assistance in completing paperwork and obtaining assessments. As of Friday afternoon, the RTC commission voted to keep services in Reno and contract with a local company.

People First Highlights July – December 2011

karihorn — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 22:48:37 +0000

With VISTAs help, People First has been busy!! A new chapter officially opened in Mesquite, NV in September of 2011. The chapter currently has 16 active members. Two VISTA’s with IDD have participated in one inclusive college class each and one other VISTA with IDD is scheduled to start in January. People First members assisted in helping to teach youth with IDD about self-advocacy and self-determination in 17 schools and community centers across the state. 170 individuals with disabilities have received training in leadership, finances and sustainability of the People First chapters and 120 individuals with disabilities are currently active in systems advocacy. We are beginning our collaboration with the Nevada Arc for leadership training, Santa Perez – former Partner’s in Policy Making graduate has held video and phone conference calls with the Carson, Fallon, Elko and Reno chapters where she discussed officer and leadership roles and responsibilities with chapter members. Six People First chapters have received financial training, all People First chapters have set up their own bank accounts and are beginning to collect their own dues and a sustainability model/binder has been created and distributed to all chapters. People First also held a statewide board meeting on December 13th, 2012 where the current by-laws were reviewed and many additions/clarifications were added to help ensure a cohesive guide for People First as they move forward with their goal of independence and sustainability. To date, chapter fundraisers have been held in Mesquite, Reno and Las Vegas and two inclusive social events have been held in Reno and Las Vegas bringing together eight other community agencies and 72 individuals to promote inclusion. All other chapters are currently working on their own fundraising and inclusive events as well as getting advisor/mentors to help guide chapters in their pursuit of self-advocacy and self-sustainability.

New People First Chapter Opens in Mesquite

karihorn — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 02:30:43 +0000

With the help of Linda, our newest Americorps VISTA member, we have added a new People First Chapter in Mesquite. Meetings are held on the fourth Thursday of the month from 6:30-7:30 pm at the Veterans Center. For more information contact Linda at 702-345-5116.

Local Advocate Highlighted in National Magazine

karihorn — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 18:06:43 +0000

Brianna Hammon, a local advocate, People First member and Treasurer of the Reno People First chapter and the librarian for the Center for Self Determination, Inc. has made the national stage for her advocacy here in the state of Nevada. Logan Magazine, a national magazine for young people with disabilities published in Colorado and disseminated nationally, has spotlighted Brianna in its Living Out Loud feature.

Excerpt from the Logan Magazine article:

“With a determined attitude and a willingness to teach – or take legal action if she’s not being heard – Brianna Hammon is a young woman who personally made the state of Nevada a better place to live for people with disabilities where she helps people who need speech generating devices, or supportive services.

Americorps Opens New People First Chapter in Mesquite

karihorn — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 21:19:18 +0000

Most people have heard of the Peace Corps but not many know of its sister agency, AmeriCorps.AmeriCorps is a national network of hundreds of programs, among them VISTA, a program designed specifically to fight poverty.

Linda Taylor is the new representative for the non-profit VISTA/People First office in Mesquite. “My focus in Mesquite is to help people with disabilities in coordination with other programs such as the Nevada Center for Excellence in Disabilities, the Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities and AmeriCorps,” Taylor said.

“Over 80 percent of people with disabilities live in poverty and my ultimate goal will be to create a sustainable group within our community of people with disabilities and to give them a strong voice on those issues that affect them,” she added.

Taylor’s initial challenge will be to start a “People First” chapter in Mesquite similar to the eight other chapters throughout the state. The “People First” concept means “we are people first” who also happen to have a disability. There are currently People First chapters in Reno, Winnemucca, Carson City, Elko, Fernley, Fallon, Las Vegas, Minden/Gardnerville and now in Mesquite.

Excerpt taken from the Mesquite Citizen Journal posted 7/22/11 by John Taylor. For full article visit http://www.mesquitecitizen.com/viewnews.php?newsid=114

People First Highlights of Fiscal Year 2011

karihorn — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 23:24:00 +0000

92 People First self-advocacy meetings were held in 8 chapters across the state with over 300 individuals in attendance.
People First members assisted in helping to teach over 460 youth with IDD about self-advocacy and self-determination in 35 schools and community centers across the state.
Three newsletters were published and distributed across the state.
A panel was appointed to approve materials and maintain the content of the People First website and the People First Face Book page.
People First members from several chapters marched with their peers in the Nevada Day Parade on October 30^th.
Six chapters participated in focus groups to obtain information on higher education goals and opportunities. This information was collected and used to support a grant proposal to support individuals with intellectual disabilities to attend college.
Members were involved in the “Talk the Talk” program with three youth with disabilities. Program teaches individuals with disabilities how to give speeches and create digital visual aids. Resulted in two of the youth giving their speech at our statewide People First conference.
People First held their bi-annual Self-Advocacy conference, “Advocacy in Action” March 6^th – 8^th.
People First members in Las Vegas held fundraisers and were able to contribute over $1, 500 toward scholarships and speaker fee’s for the conference where over 160 individuals with IDD from all over the state were able to attend and actively participate. The conference offered many opportunities for education and discussions on advocacy with four keynote speeches, twenty-one breakout sessions, a talent show and a dance.
Reno, Vegas and Elko members testified on several key pieces of legislature and attended three state transportation commission meetings; one Elko member was very active in the fight not to shut down the NEAT bus.
Members of 6 chapters participated in Kathy Snow’s Self Determination for All webinar
Reno member worked with the board of a secluded camp to help them adopt more inclusive procedures for their staff and campers.
Two statewide board meetings were held on March 8^th and June 9^th. At the June 9^th meeting it was unanimously voted by People First members for the organization to remain with the NCED for two more years with the goal of becoming self-sustainable at the end of those two years.
People First members attended the AUCD conference in Washington D.C., the Family Ties Youth Transition Jamboree in Las Vegas, the APSE (Association for Persons in Supported Employment) conference in Seattle and were part of a state team that represented Nevada in the first ever Envisioning the Future: Allies in Self-Advocacy Summit in Los Angeles. Members were crucial in helping to develop Nevada’s state plan to move forward in strengthening our self-advocacy movement and presented this plan to ADD commissioner Sharon Lewis.
Members participated in a national teleconference as a follow up to the Self Advocacy summit. Topics of discussion included what gets in the way of self-advocates being in charge of their own movement and what supports are helpful.
Plans are moving forward to begin the 9^th People First chapter in Mesquite by the end of the summer. An Americorps VISTA has been hired, a meeting site located and member recruitment is beginning.

People First VISTA’s making a difference

karihorn — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 21:01:32 +0000

For the fiscal year 2011, a handful of dedicated Americorps VISTA’s spent over 180 hours helping to organize guest speakers, paperwork and food for eight People First chapters across the state and touched the lives of over 300 individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities by providing information on self advocacy and self determination. For more information please visit the People First website at www.peoplefirstofnevada.org

New CDC Findings: 1 in 6 Kids Have A Developmental Disability

karihorn — Tue, 24 May 2011 19:24:58 +0000

The CDC has released the results of a new study published online in the journal of Pediatrics Monday that states about 1 in 6 children in the U.S. are diagnosed with a developmental disability. This is an increase of 17% between 1977 and 2008.

“The rise was largely due to growth in cases of autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and the catch-all category of “other developmental delays,” according to Coleen Boyle, director of the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities at the CDC, who led the study.”

More information is available at: www.disabilityscoop.com

“Envisioning the Future: Allies in Self-Advocacy” A.D.D. Summit in Los Angeles, California, 2011

karihorn — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 03:07:18 +0000

By Kenneth Taycher

People First Member, Las Vegas

When I first heard that I would be going to the A.D.D. (Administration on Developmental Disabilities) conference, I was nervous about what I would have to say or do. This was such a prestigious event that I did not want to mess it up. Advocating is the most crucial part of life! Speaking up for yourself and others to help improve the quality of life is important, but even more important is knowing how, when, and where the time is right to speak up. Any time is a good time to stand up and be counted for what you believe in, but in order to do that, you must be aware of important issues that are influencing your state. It was an honor to be at the A.D.D. summit in Los Angeles with such great minds. I felt privileged to have been chosen to go to this historic event. Contributing with such influential people was inspiring, amazing, and wonderful. To be effective, just be yourself, know what is important to you, and speak out.

Only a handful of important, influential people came from six states: Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Oregon, and Nevada. It was a gathering of great minds coming together to improve their states with their suggestions. We discussed how the A.D.D. can improve their policies and what the A.D.D. is. I was part of a dedicated group of people who protest for the rights of people with disabilities (like you and me). The conference was held in numerous meeting rooms in the hotel. We banded together, forming teams and alliances with other people at the conference. In the break-out rooms where we deliberated, there were people writing down our comments. I was voted to be the reporter for the group, which was exciting. I got to go on stage to present to the crowd on what we had talked about, and I gave the verdict by microphone. Wow! I also created a perfect slogan that matched the theme of the conference with our state of Nevada: “I say N – E –V, you say A-D-A!” I started chanting it, and then all of the attendees joined in enthusiastically. It was terrific and an amazing feeling to think that I had such a positive impact at the conference! I had a great time there. I was involved with something bigger than myself. I was speaking up for the people with disabilities in Nevada. At the meetings we learned valuable lessons about how far good collaboration can go, and we found that a lot of us have similar concerns for our state and had come together for one reason – to work hard together. Even though the conference only lasted two days, I felt like we really worked hard and collaborated well. While I was there, I met the original lady who started the very first chapter of People First. She was from Oregon.

It was a wonderful feeling to use our personal skills to help make new policies. After the conference was over, I felt proud that I had a hand in suggesting ideas to the A.D.D. so they can better help us. It was an empowering feeling to be one of the minds that helped to shape Nevada’s future.