Schenectady ARC Regional Rally
a Huge Success
Schenectady ARC and Assemblyman Angelo Stantabarbara co-hosted a rally last week to bring attention to the workforce crisis. They were joined by nearly a dozen Chapters of The Arc New York, NYDA, other area providers, families, self-advocates and Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) to call for appropriate resources to recruit and retain DSPs, who are the backbone of the service system. Assemblyman Santabarbara highlighted the growing threat to sustainable and equitable supports and services New Yorkers with I/DD. Senator James Tedisco and Assemblyman Phil Steck also spoke and offered their support.
Self-advocates, parents, and DSPs provided an impassioned call to enact systemic change and invest in stable and sustainable supports and services for people with I/DD. Their experiences personalized the staffing crisis, which has been escalating for years and is now compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The rally generated media attention in multiple outlets. Coverage can be viewed below:
Deadline Approaching for Grant Opportunity: 2022 MLK Day of Service
The Arc US is partnering with AmeriCorps to offer $5,000 to $20,000 grants to chapters of The Arc to develop service projects that include people with and without disabilities. Volunteer activities should help provide food to those suffering from food insecurity within the local community. Learn more here.
Update on Arc US Survey on Position Statements
Over the last few months, The Arc US has been reviewing their Policy and Positions statements and solicited your comments. Based on the recommendation of The Arc US Policy and Positions Committee, the boards of directors of The Arc and the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD) voted to conduct a full substantive review and revision of three of the statements:
- Human and Civil Rights;
- Addressing the Causes and Effects of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities; and
- Advocacy
In addition, the boards agreed to write a new joint position statement on anti-racism. AAIDD adopted an anti-racism statement in December 2020, which can serve as a starting point for that statement. This revision process will begin in September. Comments from chapters, advisory committees, and leadership committees on the current versions of the four statements are welcomed, so the Policy and Positions Committee and its workgroups may consider them during the revision process. An editable version of the position statements can be downloaded here, and a survey will be available in September to receive comments, which we will share once it's released. In the meantime, contact Mike Nagel at nagel@thearc.org with any questions.
How Can The Arc US Help You Find Programs to Do at Home?
The Arc US is in the middle of launching an exciting new resource -- a free Virtual Program Library that will serve as a hub for on-demand activities that can be done from home. People with I/DD and their families will be able to find and share activities to do themselves. There will also be resources that service providers can use to facilitate or deliver live remote programming.
The Arc US and The Arc New York want the Virtual Program Library to be the best it can be, and we need your help to make it a robust and valuable resource for people with I/DD who must or prefer to access programs from home. So, what resources would you recommend? Please complete this survey to give us your thoughts!
