Northeast Highlights!
Thank you to Paula Mione of Gloucester for visiting the North Shore Area DDS Office with the NE Regional Coordinator on February 6th to present to the Area Office Staff on Supporting Self Advocacy. Thank you to Area Director, Jennifer Killeen, for inviting us!
At our Regional Meeting in February we talked about planning a dance this spring and our regional retreat this summer.
Next month we will have two guests at our meeting on March 20th -- Becky Christie, our Regional Human Rights Specialist and our new Statewide Coordinator for MASS, Brian Kremer. Please join us at the Seven Hills' Office, 261 N Main Street, Middleton from 6-8PM. Donna Jay attended the Link20 meeting on transportation. Donna Jay and John Anton attended the February 9th Supported Decision Making Task Force at Harvard.
We are looking forward to seeing many friends and allies at the March 6th Legislative Reception at the State House.
Bridget Crowley - Northeast Coordinator
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Metro and Southeast Highlights!
Southeast
February meeting went well and all enjoyed the heart shaped cookies. Nate Trull joined us and he will be sharing Emergency Preparedness with us in the future. Albert Milne reported he is enjoying his new position on the MASS Board, and will attend his 2
nd
meeting February 16
th
in Millbury.
Metro Region
SAVE THE DATE: Metro Self Advocate Regional meeting is MARCH 21, 2019 6-7:30pm Beaverbrook STEP 85 Main St Watertown. Come join us to find out what other self advocates are doing.
Anne Fracht is being honored by The Arc of Massachusetts at their Annual Gala as a Leader Leading By Example. Congratulations Anne from all the self-advocates in the Metro Region
.
Matthew Bander has been reporting to us on latest developments involving advocacy work being done by the Ruderman Foundation. Major League Baseball will no longer call their injured players disabled players. Advocacy for actors with disabilities to have more opportunities to act, especially parts that call for a person with a disability.
A recent event held by Link20 to talk about transportation in Boston was attended by Matthew Bander and Joe O’Connell. Link20 is also organizing a letter campaign to State Reps and Senators regarding The Ride and the Pilot Program using Uber and Lyft. Join us next month at the Regional meeting we will look up everyone’s Senators and House Reps to add their names to send out as many letters as possible. Please email Gail or call Gail for more information: 339-832-2922 or
gail@ma-advocates.org
.
Self-advocates from Minute Man Arc and other self-advocates continue to meet at the state house 2
nd
Wednesday of the Month for Legislative Education Day.
Self-Advocates around the Metro region are attending any and all Forums regarding Transportation, The Regional Coordinator and 3 self-advocates will attend the MASSDOT Conference in April.
The Metro Region is looking for self- advocates who are interested in a bigger commitment with MASS as a member on the Board. Those interested must fill out an application and be able to attend all Board meetings and regional meetings.
The self-advocates in Metro are super committed and also like to have fun. They are planning a dance, date to be announced, they need volunteers to help the evening of the dance, the more volunteers we have the more everyone can have fun. Please contact Gail for more information.
Gail Delgado - Metro and Southeast Coordinator
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Central Region
Central had a good month in February but our regional workteam meet and greet was cancelled due to bad weather. We are trying it again in March, where we hope to meet some self-advocates from the new groups at My Choice and Autism Resource Central, as well as to celebrate the hard work of our current Central Workteam members! We are busy working on grant projects in the region, like a new WPI technology grant (more on that later!).
Looking ahead to April we plan to welcome the Director of Human Rights, Frances Nwajei to our meeting. We also plan to join the fun at “Light it Up Blue”and to have a good showing at the Central Region legislative breakfast in April.
Meanwhile, we continue to work with our partners on transportation, recreation options and self-direction, as well as other ISP issues.
Happy Spring everyone!
Sue Moriarty - Central Regional Coordinator
