Katherine Olson
Self-Advocacy Coordinator
The Arc of Virginia

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Voices of Virginia is a statewide self-advocacy group run by people with intellectual and developmental disabilities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities
Voices of Virginia helps individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities speak as one voice

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We are composed of representatives from nine local self-advocacy groups located all across
Virginia:
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People First of Charlottesville
People First of Northern Virginia
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People 4 People ( South Hampton Roads)
Our Voices (Norfolk)
People First of Chesterfield
The Arc of Greater Williamsburg- Self-Advocacy
Program
The Arc of Rappahannock- Self-Advocacy Program
Four Seasons (Richmond)
Hampton/Newport News Aktion Club

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Self-advocacy gives people their rights of basic personhood and citizenship by letting them speak up and stand up for themselves
Self-advocacy contributes to the knowledge, experience, and wisdom that others have of your needs and desires

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1967: Sweden
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Swedish parent ’ s organization held a meeting for people with developmental disabilities
Leisure clubs were formed for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities
1968 & 1970: National Conferences were held for members of these clubs; participants developed statements on how they wanted to be treated

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1972: Movement Spreads
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Great Britain and Canada
1973: First Self-Advocacy conference, May We Have a
Choice, is held in British Columbia, Canada.
Individuals from Oregon attend and take the information home with them
1974: First People First convention is held in Salem,
Oregon. Instead of being led by professionals, as was the case for the Canadian conference, it was run by people with disabilities

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Oregon: Within five years, Oregon had over 1,000 members of self-advocate groups
Today, the self-advocacy movement has grown into an international movement in an estimated
43 countries, with 17,000 members. In the US alone, there are an estimated 800 self-advocacy groups
Every chapter is different in their own way

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An international movement
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Individuals representing themselves
Primary Objectives: To meet the needs of individuals with I/DD so that they may live independent and normal lives

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January 8, 1974: At a conference planning meeting one person talked about being labeled as
“ mentally retarded ” and said, “ I want to be known as a person first!
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HISTORY OF PEOPLE FIRST IN VIRGINIA
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Virginia ’ s People First started right here in
Virginia Beach- it ’ s time to take it to the next level!
1989: After attending The Association for
Severely Handicapped (TASH) Conference in
Richmond, individuals from Virginia Beach began to meet informally
1990: Virginia Beach chapter requests funds from the Virginia Board for People with Disabilities
1991: Virginia Beach chapter receives funding, hires a staff, and attends the national People
First Conference in Nashville, Tennessee

HISTORY OF PEOPLE FIRST IN VIRGINIA
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1991: People First chapters formed in Norfolk and Northern Virginia
1992: 130 people attend Virginia Beach ’ s “ The
Power Behind the Vote.
” Afterwards, they file papers and become a statewide non-profit organization; People First of Virginia, Inc. is born
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1993: The first State Conference was held in
Charlottesville. New chapters were established in
Emporia, Harrisonburg, Staunton, and
Chesterfield

HISTORY OF PEOPLE FIRST IN VIRGINIA
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1994: Northern Virginia hosts the National
People First Conference
1995: Several chapters become inactive as a result of poor funding and other problems
1997: The Arc of Virginia provides People First with support and resources; as a result, two chapters are started in Prince William and
Fauquier

HISTORY OF PEOPLE FIRST IN VIRGINIA
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1998: The Arc of Virginia and People First collaborate and successfully apply for a grant from the Virginia Board for People with Disabilities.
Staff are hired to develop community support, maintain self-advocacy groups, and create new selfadvocacy groups. A consumer is hired to staff
People First of Virginia
2000-2007: People First chapters continue their work independently of one another
2008: The Arc of Virginia hires a self-advocacy coordinator
2008: The Arc of Virginia ’ s first State Convention; self-advocates attend and develop a credo

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The State will take the “ R ” word out of the name of the Department
Even at Arc meetings that we won ’ t hear the “ R ” word being used
We will live in the community, like other people
We won ’ t live in institutions
We will have something to do during the day… like a
JOB that pays OK money
We will have a way to get around town
The service system will acknowledge the failure of stereotypes like ones that say we are not capable of doing things or making our own decisions
The Arc of Virginia, 2008 State Convention

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We will have authority over the services we get
We will have authority over our own life… that is, power over our life
We will be part of any decision making our life to help us stay safe and healthy
People won ’ t tell us what to do
Our parents and others will listen to us and not tell us what to do like we are children.
Sometimes parents don ’ t listen well. We can make decisions! But we want to stay safe too
You will respect that we want to date like other people do, have boyfriends and girlfriends and maybe even get married
The Arc of Virginia, 2008 State Convention

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Tremendous need for statewide self-advocacy effort; we need to work together!
Nine local I/DD self-advocacy groups located all across Virginia
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People First of Charlottesville
People First of Northern Virginia
People 4 People (South Hampton Roads)
Our Voices (Norfolk)
People First of Chesterfield
The Arc of Greater Williamsburg- Self-Advocacy Program
The Arc of Rappahannock- Self-Advocacy program
Four Seasons (Richmond)
Hampton/Newport News Aktion Club

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The Justice Department found that Virginia unnecessarily institutionalized people with intellectual disabilities in training centers and failed to provide adequate community-based services, violating the Americans with
Disabilities Act
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The state faces a lawsuit if it does not fix the problems, as outlined in the DOJ findings letter
DOJ asked to meet with People First Chapters in
Virginia
Historic moment for Virginia

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Major barriers to equality and community integration for people with I/DD: waiting lists, institutions and sheltered workshops
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Other issues: community inclusion, transportation, employment, discrimination, need for help with bill paying, housing, limited health care, accessibility

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Help one another by speaking up for each other, as well as speaking for those who cannot speak for themselves
Contact candidates for the election to make them aware of the issues surrounding the I/DD community; write letters to delegates and the state legislature
Advocate to shut down the institutions
Peer advocacy, volunteer work, vote, promote public awareness in schools, at church, and in the workplace

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Help local self-advocacy groups come together to establish a statewide voice
Help the self-advocacy movement spread across
Virginia
We will come together as one strong voice, representing the self-advocates of Virginia with I/DD, to inform the public that people with disabilities are able to accomplish many things
We will work together to promote the equality and independence for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities
We will meet quarterly to discuss the issues that currently face the I/DD community- everyone has a story to tell

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Do you know of a local self-advocacy group that wants to be involved?
Is there a need for a self-advocacy group in your region?
Spread the word!
Share your experiences

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Katherine Olson
Self-Advocacy Coordinator, The Arc of Virginia
E-mail: kolson@thearcofva.org
Telephone: 804-649-8481, ext. 100