In This Issue: Advocacy Day at the Statehouse Jon's Corner Conference Announcement Kile's Corner Chapters are Growing

April 2023 As we close out the final days in April SUFU staff is looking back on all the work that has been completed. Self-Advocates testified on numerous bills and many more participated in Advocacy Day at the Statehouse. Staff have participated in outreach opportunities including a transition fair at Scarborough High School where we met high school students that are excited about their future, and the Brain Injury Resource Fair where we were able to share resources about self-advocacy. This newsletter will highlight Advocacy Day at the statehouse and the announcement of two new chapters.

Advocacy Day at the Statehouse. Speaking Up For Us was able to have our annual Advocacy Day and this year we were back at the Statehouse! This was a special day for self-advocates, many who had never attended Advocacy Day before. A special Thank You to their staff for helping them get there! We were joined by Disability Rights Maine as they helped to support self-advocates in connecting with their legislators. It was an extra special day for Self-Advocates, Speaking Up For Us staff, Support Staff, and Disability Rights Maine Advocates as a proclamation was read, honoring the life of Judy Heumann, the work she started as a Self-Advocate and the work that continues across the State of Maine today. A Thank You to Representative Erin Sheehan for including us in the reading of this proclamation!

Jon's Corner Hi there everybody, This week I was able to go Advocacy Day at the Statehouse.  I know the Statehouse can be busy at times and might not get to see your Legislators because they are busy also. If you get to see your Legislators, you get the chance to talk to them.  I was able to speak to two Legislators when I was there.  I was able to talk with Senator Joe Baldacci for the first time in person.  We talked about the Lifespan Waiver and how transportation is a big problem for people with disabilities.  I was also able to speak with Representative Joe Perry, and we were able to talk about the same issues.  Getting to the Statehouse is fun, but if you have not been to the Statehouse, it might not be what you thought it was.  We were able to sit in the Gallery at the beginning of the House Session where a proclamation was read about Judy Heumann.   I found it to be heartbreaking and overwhelming. Speaking Up For Us and Self-Advocates and Disability Rights Maine were RECOGNIZED for what they have done in Maine. The House was over-joyed to see us there.  Remember Advocacy Day is a lot of fun at the Statehouse. If you do not know who Judy Heumann is, here is a brief video about her.

2023 SUFU Annual Conference  Mark Your Calendar! The 2023 SUFU Annual Conference is coming. September 19th and 20th in Waterville, ME. We will be celebrating 30 years of SUFU! Mark your calendars to come celebrate with us!

Kile's Corner ”   Hey to all the self-advocates. Hey, it's me, Kile Pelletier with another Kile’s Corner For the month of April 2023. I would like to share a very special thank you to all the self-advocates that came out for advocacy day that happened on April 25th, 2023, at the State House in Augusta, Maine. We had around 40 Self-Advocates with their staff attend. A big thank you to Disability Rights of Maine for the help to Self-Advocates to find our Representatives and Senators. Advocacy Day is a day that self-advocates go to the statehouse in Augusta ME to speak to our house representatives and Senators about issues that affect people with disabilities. It is a time that we can build a relationship with the elected representatives. This is important to us because we make our voices heard and we get to actually make a change in our lives when we testify about bills that affect Self-Advocates. Bills pass and they make changes so building those relationships with Representatives and Senators helps them learn what is important. If the representatives don't hear from us, they don't know what things need to be changed. People with disabilities should always tell their stories and legislators want to hear from Self-Advocates face-to-face. Self-Advocates got to see the legislators going into their sessions and it was awesome to see the bills that they passed. The session acknowledged people with disabilities, Self-Advocates, and Advocates. There was a proclamation to honor Judith Heumann, a famous civil rights leader and Self-Advocate that recently passed away and I really appreciate that. I would love in the future to see more Self-Advocates come and talk to their legislators and build those relationships with them. I am thankful to everyone that attended the Advocacy Day, the House of Representatives acknowledging, Self-Advocates, the SUFU and DRM organizations for the things that we do, and a great memorial for a true icon in a self-advocacy movement.

2023 Advocacy Day from left to right, Stephanie Pelletier, Representative Austin Theriault, Kile Pelletier

Announcing New SUFU Chapters! Speaking Up For Us is excited to announce the start of two new SUFU Chapters. Down East - Washington County has started! They are meeting the 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month from 10-11 am. If you would like more information on this chapter, please contact Stacy Giberson at 956-1004 or by email. Secondly, we are excited to start our Self-Advocacy 101 chapter! This is a great place to start if you are interested in self-advocacy, informed choice, and more. We will talk about what is in the ADA, how to make an informed decision, who are allies are and more. This is a great first step to self-advocacy. This will start on May 16th on zoom. For more information on this contact Laurie Coldwell at 730-0474 or by email.

What's on the blog? Our Blog is a space where Self-Advocates share their stories. We invite you to check them out here. If you are a self-advocate that would like to submit an entry for our blog please reach out to Laurie Coldwell or Jon McGovern.

Finally We invite you to check out our website . Read our most recent blog post and subscribe to future blogs. You can also find the list of our chapter meetings, or follow us on Facebook. If you are a SUFU member we want you to join our members only Facebook Group. To do that please email Laurie Coldwell or Jon McGovern. We don't want you to miss anything.

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Have an Idea for Something to be in The Connector? Contact: Laurie Coldwell Program Manager (207) 956-1004 / Ext. 1 lcoldwell@sufumaine.org

SUFU CONNECTOR Speaking Up For Us of Maine 207-956-1004 www.sufumaine.org