We’re On Our Way!

Leadership Assembly 2007
It was a dark and stormy night last May 21 when about 40 advocates of people with developmental disabilities met to hear reports from our four research teams. Created as a result of our previous leadership assembly in May of 2006, this assembly met under beckoning storm clouds, torrential rain, and an occasional thunderclap, but the stormy weather did not bend our resolve to make life better for people with developmental disabilities.

Our enthusiastic (if slightly soggy) gathering heard reports from teams studying housing, education, social inclusion, and employment, and gave insightful feedback in return. Although each team had many excellent ideas, only the first four or five have been reprinted here. These teams have worked hard to identify the most important needs of people with developmental disabilities in our community and we look forward to our next assembly in 2008 when we decide what direction to take our advocacy effort in the coming years. Here are some of the issues our teams are looking at: 

Housing
1. Collaborate with organizations in Spokane to develop mixed use housing
2. Increase the Washington State Housing Trust Fund from $80M to $160M within 4 years
3. Decrease the barriers that people with developmental disabilities face in accessing housing
4. Increase and streamline efforts to connect people who need affordable housing with current vacancies
5. Secure funding to provide modifications of housing for accessibility

Education
1. Improving transition to adult life planning and outcomes by . . .

• Disseminating best practices information and experience in effective transition planning among school districts in Spokane County and beyond
• Encouraging districts to form co-ops of successful transition programs modeling the Images program in Spokane Public Schools
• Strengthening the connections and collaboration between school districts and adult services

2. Improving information dissemination to families by . . .

• Establishing a centralized resource such as a website including all school districts in Spokane County where information is available
• Identifying a key entity dedicated to maintaining a core set of information for families
• Creating a DVD series for families following the transitions time line: 0 to 3 years, children adolescents with special needs (families’ stories of what parents need to know along with school perspectives, and frequently asked questions with responses)

Social Inclusion
1. Increase opportunities for meaningful participation
2. Increase efforts to build a welcoming community
3. Increase self-confidence, self-awareness, self-worth, and personal choice for people with developmental disabilities beginning at birth and carrying-on through life
4. Increase access to assistive technology
5. Implement "Kids on the Block" program to increase community awareness

Employment
1. Increase the number of people with developmental disabilities who are successfully employed long-term, no longer dependent on government supports.
2. Increase employment through micro-enterprise, entrepreneurial and self-employment opportunities.
3. Increase the number of people working more than 20 hours per week.
4. Increase meaningful employment that utilizes a person’s interests, skills, abilities, and potential