families network

[Guest guest]

Hello Families Network! Today we are starting a week long public education

and outreach campaign which we are calling Get Connected with The Arc. As

part of our efforts, we will be reaching out to law enforcement agencies and

libraries throughout the state with information on individuals with

developmental disabilities and The Arc, having a display at the State House,

working with our local Chapters to have open houses and legislative visits,

and many other activities designed to increase public awareness of the

issues facing individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities

and their families.

One of our key activities this week is the launch of our new online " Friends

Network " . This new network, set up for individuals who are not family

members but want to help by responding to our action alerts, was established

in response to one of the recommendations I received from a number of you --

that we increase our efforts to engage and educate the broader community

about our issues. While we agreed that we want to encourage everyone to

get involved, we also wanted to maintain the focus and purpose of the Family

Advocacy Program. We felt that the creation of a parallel " Friends Network "

would help us to begin to reach out beyond the disability community, without

compromising the mission of the Family Advocacy Program.

As many of you know, The Arc of New Jersey started the Family Advocacy

Program four years ago this month and it has grown immensely over the past

four years. In the past year alone, the number of families involved in the

program has doubled, with over 850 family advocates from all over the state.

Most of you are active and responsive and collectively, we have made

substantial progress in a number of areas - successfully shifting the burden

of proof in special education due process hearings from parents to schools,

getting a ballot question approved that removed the word " idiot " from the NJ

constitution, drawing attention to our state's growing waiting lists for

services, and preventing drastic budget cuts to developmental disability

services among many other accomplishments. Unfortunately, even with all the

great progress we have made, many of our community's problems are not going

away. Our services system is a mess; we still have extensive waiting lists;

families still lack many critically needed supports and services; and our

community continues to face the threat of additional cuts year after year.

Clearly, the time is right to do this outreach, but we are counting on your

help. We need you to help us spread the word and engage your community by

asking your friends, extended family members, neighbors, co-workers, and

anyone else you know to sign up for the Friends Network! Be sure to let

them know that it only takes a few minutes a month, but in that short time,

they can do a lot to help ensure a better future for your family and others

like yours.

If you like, you can simply copy, paste, and fill in the blanks on the

paragraph below and email it to everyone you know. In addition to filling

in the blanks, I encourage you to personalize your email by sharing a bit of

your story so that your community understands why this is so important.

Thanks to all of you for your efforts in helping us grow this new network,

and as always, for your advocacy on behalf of all families members of

individuals with developmental disabilities in New Jersey!

Denbigh Shelton

Director, Family Advocacy Program

The Arc of New Jersey

985 Livingston Avenue

North Brunswick, NJ 08902

(732) 246-2525 ext. 49

dshelton@...

Draft Email Inviting Your Community to Join The Arc of NJ's Friends Network:

As you may already know, my ____________[son/daughter/sister/brother] has

developmental disabilities. Because of ______[his/her] disability,

___________[name of loved one] will need services and supports for the rest

of _____[his/her] life. Our circumstances are not unique. There are

approximately 160,000 individuals with intellectual and other developmental

disabilities living in New Jersey. I feel that one of my responsibilities

as a _________________[mother/father/sister/brother/grandparent] is to

advocate to ensure that all of these individuals have the opportunity to

live safe and fulfilling lives. I am asking you to support me as I advocate

for __________[name of loved one] by signing up for The Arc of New Jersey's

Friends

<http://www.arcnj.org/help/e_action_network.html?PHPSESSID=c404762aa05831218

3d80a491f205346> Network and responding to their action alerts on issues

affecting individuals with developmental disabilities in New Jersey. When

issues arise you will be asked to send an email to your elected officials

asking them to support people with disabilities. The Arc of New Jersey

provides all the information for you and even has a sample letter you can

modify and send. It is so simple and easy - it will take less than 5 minutes

a month to participate! You can visit The Arc of New Jersey's website at

www.arcnj.org <http://www.arcnj.org/> for more information. Thank you for

your support!