🍀March 2021 MASS Flash🍀 |
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Hello to all my beautiful kings and queens out there! As we embark on this new journey together. I want to take the time to remind you of how special you all are!
You all are rockstars, and you all have untapped potential that is just waiting to beam out of you! Embrace every moment of it because you never know where it might lead you to! As always, we have terrific things and many opportunities in store for you, so stay tuned! Keep reading kings and queens!
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Thank you for attending the MASS 2021 It's a New World Make Your Ideas Count 22nd Annual Self-Advocacy Conference!
We were so glad to see all of you and hoped you enjoyed the Keynote speaker, Liz Weintraub, DDS Commissioner Jane Ryder, and participating in the fabulous and informative workshops!
👇Please visit our conference website for access to workshop and event recordings.
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Hello my beautiful and radiant kings and queens out there, Kamisha here! And as always, I have incredible news to share!
As you know, I am in school trying to get my diploma, so I can get into Bunker Hill Community College & UMass Boston to study Spanish Minor, Music, and Photography!
Well, I am definitely on the right path to getting there. Why do I say this?
Because on Wednesday, January 27th, 2021, I had a meeting with my wonderful teacher Maria to talk about my mid-year progress report.
Let me start by saying I knew I was doing great in school, but to my surprise, I am doing better than I expected. Again why do I say this? Because when I saw my mid-year progress, it was filled with straight
As, 3s, & 4s in every subject! Let me show you what I mean!
Ladies and gentlemen, this is what I’m talking about!
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Honestly, when I saw this, and my teacher Maria and I were talking about it, all I could literally do is jump inside, say thank you, tell her how hard I’m working in class, and I told her that I would do even better at the end of the year! Which is a thousand percent true! I will do whatever it takes! However long it takes!
Speaking of grades! Funny story! My wonderful teacher Maria thought I was doing so well in class she wanted to change my grade in Digital Literacy! I got an email back saying she had trouble changing it.
I told her not to worry!
Then I thought to myself, “As long as we are both seeing the growth, that’s all that matters to me, honestly.” To say I am proud of myself is truly an understatement! I am forever screaming because I’ve come so far from where I started!
Trust me when I say, “It’s only the beginning.”
I know I say this a lot, but the reason why I do is that it’s true! “
There’s so much more to do, so I can’t stop now.”
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Happy Birthday to all the amazing March out there! This is your time to show the world what you are made of! Time to put your mark on the world! |
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No matter what path you decide to take that is your choice. No one else can dictate your future besides you. Always follow your heart.
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Self-Care!
Hello to all my kings and queens out there; I just wanted to bring this to everyone’s attention, now more than ever. Even though we are in an unpredictable time right now, I believe that it’s really important to keep an open mind and take the time to do whatever is truly important to you; at the end of the day, you and your well-being are what truly matters.
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Center for Public Representation:
COVID-19 VACCINES & THE DISABILITY COMMUNITY
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Join us on March 9th starting at 6 pm for a webinar about the COVID-19 Vaccine.
The Center for Public Representation and our partners Mass Advocates Standing Strong, The Arc of Massachusetts, The Boston Center for Independent Living, The Disability Policy Consortium, The Massachusetts Association for Mental Health, The Massachusetts Developmental Disabilities Council, and Mass Families Organizing for Change held virtual listening sessions about the COVID-19 vaccine for the disability community.
This webinar will answer questions about the COVID-19 Vaccine participants asked during the CPR and partner listening sessions.
Click below to register:
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Fernald’s Legacy:
Ensuring We Never Forget Disability Rights History
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Join us on March 10th from 12 pm-1:30 pm for a conversation with self-advocates and institution survivors Reggie Clark, Woody Gaw, and Donna Jay about the legacy of the Fernald State School and other institutions alongside Alex Green, a historian, journalist, fellow at the Harvard Law School Program on Negotiation, and adjunct lecturer in public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School.
Click below to register for this informative and vital conversation on March 10th starting at 12 pm.
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R Cubed (R3) Project Update
The consultants were asked to review the app and provide feedback and were received by the Lead professor, Professor Krishna Venkatasubramanian. Consultants were busy reviewing the demo video and have continued to search out other video content for future use. The next step would be to have it reviewed by others in the IDD Community to get their feedback. The team is happy with progress at this point, with the next step being on the horizon.
On February 25th via Zoom, the consultants meet with 3 WPI students working on the project to discuss feedback on the student side and the consultant side. Natalia Carvajai Erker, Nicole Jutras, and Lara Padir met with Consultants Brian Kelly and John Mullally. Thank you, Natalia, Nicole, and Lara, for meeting with us, and it was nice to meet the students working on the R3 project. Another meeting is planned for the end of their Spring semester in March.
Melissa Beauregard
Brian Kelly
John Mullaly
Supported Decision Making (SDM)
The SDM Task Force held two meetings in February. We are working with the Harvard Project on Disability to apply for self-advocate fellows to work with us this summer. Two Supported Decision-Making Bills were refiled this month:
Thanks to task force member, Kim Plaut, for talking about this bill at the MDDC Bill Sharing Event on February 24th. Our next meeting is on March 10th.
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CENTRAL REGION UPDATES
Central Regional Coordinator: Sue Moriarty
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Central Region had another busy month in February!
February’s theme was friendship, and Central did our best to support one another and stay connected!
Jackie, Sam, and Jillian came up with a “friendship” Jeopardy game for our monthly drop-in meeting. It gave all of us a good laugh and lots to talk about! The theme in March will be health and wellness!
Congratulations to the new Central officers: President: Seth Gaston, Vice President: Jillian Berube, Central Meeting Manager: Beth Kollett, Legislative Rep: Justin Bernard, Transportation Rep: Deb Pierce, Treasurer: Mark Howard, Secretary: Karen Kent, Co-Secretary: Andrew Zajchowski, Sargeant At Arms: Dirk Fuller.
At our work-team meeting, we watched a video about teamwork and leadership; we have great leaders in Central Region!
We joined the Blackstone Valley Self-advocacy Group on Feb 10th, where Jackie led us in a lively discussion about who everyone was and what self-advocacy means in our lives.
Fran met with Elizabeth Warren’s Office and received a beautiful recognition citation: Elizabeth is willing to come to one of our meetings!
Beth attended the monthly NACDD self-advocate discussion series. We talked about the marriage penalty, legislative issues, and more!
Did you know that March is National Developmental Disability Awareness Month?
Central members were very active in the 2021 MASS Conference. Many people attended and some gave great workshops, made connections, and gave and received awards! Following the conference, Central met and recognized all those who were nominated for various awards. We thanked them for their great self-advocacy!
We joined Dr. Sally’s “Who Am I” Zoom meeting on Feb 2nd, where we gathered with friends and talked about joy and gratitude. Some of us also attended the Wednesday Martial Arts classes sponsored by Easter Seals.
The classes are fun and they make people feel stronger!
Deb continues to attend the REDD meeting (Feb 2nd) and the Transportation meetings around the Worcester area (Feb 18th). Thank you, Deb! Several of us attended a Worcester City Council meeting to talk about accessible transportation on Feb 9th.
The SARTAC meetings have given us some great information about creating vision boards, discrimination regarding health issues, and other self-advocacy issues to share with our group. We plan to talk more about our rights and also invite our friends from faraway places to join us in the future!
We look forward to March 20th when spring officially begins, and we wish everyone a happy and healthy March!
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NORTHEAST REGION UPDATES
Northeast Regional Coordinator: Bridget Crowley
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Hello Everyone and Happy March! February was a busy month for the Northeast Self Advocates with two meetings on February 3rd and 24th. We are all very proud of our whole group of self-advocates and supporters for their great leadership and dedication.
We especially want to honor Steven Comeau for receiving the Nancy Maynard Award, Tim Holmes for receiving the Craig Smith Spirit Award, and Barbara Pandolfi for the Gunnar Dybwad Supporter Award. All three of these people represent kindness, strength, and passion for advocacy. I also want to mention nominees Sarah LePoer, Wanda Burns, and Derek Spear for your outstanding contributions to our work!
We are very lucky to work together. As Secretary, Paula Mione says, “We are like a family united.”
Many regional members enjoyed the MASS Virtual Conference Week! Thank you to all who took part and supported this awesome experience.
Thanks also to Sandra Artey who presented her story of coming to the US and overcoming abuse at our February 24th meeting. Patty and Francesca joined us from the DPPC Sexual Assault Recovery Unit to support Sandra and the group during this presentation. They are available to talk with survivors to connect with other survivors and healing resources. As Sandra said, “Do not be afraid to speak up.”
Thanks to Donna and Tim for attending the MDDC Bill sharing event on February 24th. We learned about many bills aimed to help people with disabilities. We will talk more about some of the bills at our March 10th meetings.
In other exciting news, Nicole’s group for people with Autism & friends had Temple Grandin as their guest for the February 11th meeting! Temple shared her advice about finding jobs by making connections and showing employers what you can do! Hats off to Nicole for making such a special meeting happen!
Opportunity Works has a new self-advocacy group thanks to the efforts of Tom B. who is now running classes in his program and on google meet! Nice work, Tom, helping everyone learn about self-advocacy!
Our March regional Meetings will be at 2 PM on March 10th and 24th. We are also adding a “DROP-IN” meeting on March 8th at 6 PM for anyone who wants to say hello, learn about advocacy, or share news.
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SOUTHEAST REGION UPDATES
Southeast Regional Coordinator: Gail Delgado
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Southeast has been very busy this past month, and all that attended enjoyed the opening day and all the workshops at the 2021 Virtual Conference. Everyone loved #TeachDisabilityHistory and the Accessible Martial Arts workshops.
Luke Hutter Ross presented at the DDS SE Peer to Peer Lunch Bunch meeting on February 10th, so he shared his self-advocacy story. Several self-advocates from the region joined the group to hear him share his story. Next month’s meeting is on March 10th, and Mike Doyle will be speaking.
Southeast self-advocates had their regional meeting on February 11th, and one highlight was Albert Milne, Chairperson of the MASS Board told his self-advocacy story. Southeast self-advocates will meet either one additional time monthly or twice depending on the calendar. Their first drop-in meeting will be on March 3rd at 3:30 pm. We will be using the same link as the regional meeting.
On February 22nd Luke Hutter Ross and Cynthia Goldberg presented about self-advocacy to the Parents of students and Alumni students of Riverview School, Sandwich Massachusetts. One Alumni self-advocate joined the meeting all the way from Chicago.
Southeast region self-advocate Ashley Quick is doing a weekly talk show, and interviews interesting people during her talk show hour. Go Ashley!
The Southeast DDS Brockton area office has been meeting during the pandemic 3 times weekly with Brockton area self-advocates. Kerrie Kell, DDS Clinician with other DDS staff has been a tremendous asset for the self-advocates. I would like to congratulate Kerri Kell on being the Southeast 2021 Recipient of the Gunner Dybwad Supporter Award.
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METRO REGION UPDATES
Metro Regional Coordinator: Francis Seme
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February was very productive and full of activities!
After the opportunity to introduce myself as the new Metro regional coordinator and connect with members, we planned for a date and time for our weekly meetings. We have our weekly meetings on Wednesdays.
Kim Plaut was very generous to present on the Bill sharing webinar. Ann & Austine presented on supported decision making during the MASS conference.
Val, Lessa, Janice, Deb Long, Caitlin, Nora Mcshare all presented during the 2021 MASS Conference. We are very proud of their Self Advocacy and appreciate their contributions.

Thank you all for working together for Metro Region.
We are looking forward to a healthy March and Spring!
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Hi, my name is Fran! I go by the pronouns him/he, them/they, or her/she. I always knew I was different, not just having a developmental disability. I was afraid to come out as gay because I was brought up Byzantine Catholic, and I knew the church didn’t always accept LGBT people. One day my parents were ordering my favorite dinner, Chinese food. I’ll never forget that day because it was one of my favorite times with my family. I told my family I had something to say. They said, “Go ahead, son, you can talk to us about anything; we are here to support you.” I took a deep breath and said, “I’m gay,” really fast. My mom said, “What did you say?” I repeated myself, “I’m gay,” and then there was a moment of silence. Everyone in my family was looking at me. My mom came over and said, “It’s okay to be different. We accept you and will always accept you. No matter what, you are our son, and we love you.”
If I can be myself, you can too. I believe that everyone is unique, and you can also be who you are. If you need someone to help you or guide you, you can contact me or come to our Rainbow Groups. We are here to hear your voice and support you to be who you are! Let the light of the Rainbow shine on you!
Always with support from your local LGBT friend,
Fran
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SAVE THE DATE:
The West Regional Board has begun planning our annual West Region Self Advocacy Conference, which will be held virtually on zoom April 25th-28th.
February re-cap:
In February, West Region Self Advocates talked about healthy eating and expressing ourselves by writing poetry. West region self-advocates worked on planning fun workshops for our annual conference.
Coming in March 2021:
West Region Self Advocacy will continue to host Zoom meetings the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Tuesday of each month at 5:30 until all of the groups in our region are able to regularly meet again in person. These meetings are open to any self-advocates who want to join us, even if you are not a part of a self-advocacy group or do not live in the west region.
To join, use this Zoom link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4039799018
or
call 1 (408) 638-0968 -or- 1 (646) 558-8656 and enter Meeting ID: 403 979 9018
Every Wednesday and Friday at 2 pm, West Region Self Advocacy will be hosting a drop-in Zoom self-advocacy space on zoom. This will not be a formal meeting with an agenda, it will be a casual space where advocates can come if they need support or just want to chat with other advocates and staff.
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4039799018
or
call 1 (408) 638-0968 -or- 1 (646) 558-8656 and enter Meeting ID: 403 979 9018
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We Want To Hear From You! |
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Is there anything exciting happening in your life that you are just itching to talk about? Want to share it with the world?!
If so, great because I, Kamisha Heriveaux, am always on the look out for interesting events, your hobbies, and topics that interest you - so please don't hesitate to reach out!
I can't wait to hear from all of YOU! Have a great day and keep on reading!
~ Kamisha
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MASS Advocates Standing Strong |P.O. Box 560100
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