On the date of Wednesday, December 19, 2018 from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM we had a special visitor come from the NY Alliance Group. Katie Mayo led everybody in attendance in a legislative advocacy training session where we learned some valuable skills on how to advocate for common issues that affect those in the disability community. Katie also educated us on how to build relationships with those who make the laws within our state as well as taking full advantage of the fact that we live a stone’s throw away from the State Capital.
Our CEO, Fred Erlich was in attendance as well as other leaders within our Living Resources, Inc. staff including Frank Prevratil, who is the Director of the DCOP Program. College Experience alumni Andrew Maggio, Amy Maiorano, and David Lieberman are featured in one photograph within the Living Resources Board Room. The second photograph is David Young posing with Fred Erlich who happens to be our dedicated President of the Living Resources Self-Advocacy Group.
We are currently in the process of preparing for a bFair2DirectCare rally at the State Capital, and we have another board meeting scheduled for Tuesday, January 8, 2019. One of our missions is to raise the salaries for Direct Care Workers who perform this valuable work in order to keep more dedicated employees in this field.
We will also continue our training to advocate for issues that affect individuals such as access to education, housing, and employment opportunities. Furthermore, we never forget that the best advocates and warriors for better realities are the individuals we work with every single day. We applaud their courage for advocating on behalf of themselves and their staff!
What comes after graduation? Many College Experience students, in fact most, choose to remain in Albany. They maintain friendships with their fellow and former graduates, form romantic partnerships, and some get married.