Kamisha's Corner!
Happy holidays everyone! I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you so much for always reading The Mass Flash every month! It really means the world to me. You have no idea how much! The Mass Flash has definitely grown with me for so many years and has been a part of me. The fact that you guys enjoy it so much puts a smile on my face every time, so thank you so much! Trust me when I say we’re just getting started!!!!💚
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Meet Faye Alexandra Jones!! |
Self-Advocate Story of The Month...
Hi my name is Faye Alexandra Jones and the reason why I became a self-advocate is because I feel that people with special needs need a voice. Also, someone to be a role model to younger kids who have special needs or not...
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Dec. 8th & 9th Healthy Self-Advocates Peer Training & Trivia
💙 Each training meeting is followed by a trivia game! 👍 Register now for this 2 Day Peer Training followed by a trivia game with other attendees! Register for Day 1, Wed., Dec. 8th or Day 2, Thurs., Dec. 9.
Read more
myemail.constantcontact.com
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Supporting Your LGBTQ+ Friends and Family: A Holiday Discussion: Tuesday, December 14
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The holidays are a time of joy and celebration for many people. LGBTQ+ people sometimes feel alone or rejected during the holidays because their friends and family do not accept them.
The Rainbow Groups are hosting a discussion on Tuesday, December 14 from 5:30pm-6:30pm for self-advocates and supporters about how you can show your LGBTQ+ friends and family that you accept and support them.
Registration is required for this event.
Please click on the link or button below to complete the registration form. You will then receive an email confirmation with the Zoom link to join the event on Tuesday, December 14 at 5:30pm.
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Join us for MASS Legislative Advocacy Meetings! |
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Starting this month, MASS will have monthly legislative advocacy meetings!
These meetings are open to self-advocates and people with disabilities who are interested in learning more about important legislative advocacy and participating in upcoming initiatives!
We will be meeting on: Monday, December 20th, 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM
We will use the same Zoom link for all meetings:
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MASS Board Members Testified on November 22! |
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New Framework Proposed to Aid in Life Decisions
“Everyone uses supported decision-making every day, even you all sitting here today,” said Kim Plaut, a board member of the self-advocacy organization Massachusetts Advocates Standing Strong. “Supported decision-making is like..."
Read more
www.wwlp.com
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GATOR (Guardianship Alternatives and Transfer of Rights) |
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The MASS GATOR team has worked incredibly hard for the past several months. Self-advocate researchers Kamisha Heriveaux and Cynthia Golberg, along with other researchers from the Self-Advocacy Association of New York State (SANYS) and the Institute for Community Inclusion (ICI), have now wrapped up a comprehensive scoping literature review.
Our objective in this review was to investigate the literature accessible to students in MA and NY about transfer of rights, guardianship, and alternatives to guardianship. Working as a combined team, MASS, SANYS, and ICI identified and reviewed a range of sources which met our research criteria. Following a series of steps, the team then discussed what we found and organized our findings from the sources based on major themes.
We will soon be publishing a research brief based on our completed scoping literature review. The brief is targeted to parents and supporters of youth in transition and will outline our research process, findings, and recommendations.
To promote the findings from our brief, our researchers gave a presentation on November 4, 2021 as part of the most recent GATOR Advisory Board meeting. In addition, some of our researchers will participate in a virtual workshop on December 1, 2021 as part of the annual TASH conference in order to highlight our GATOR project work.
Our GATOR team hopes that our work will help provide valuable information to individuals in transition as well as those who support them, and that we will see more positive discussions and outcomes for everyone involved in the transition process.
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It has been an exciting time for our MASS R3 team. Self-advocate consultants Brian Kelly, John Mullaly, and Melissa Beauregard have continued their work developing the R3 app, which is designed to help individuals with disabilities recognize, report, and respond to abuse. In particular, our consultants have been providing continuous feedback on how to make the app more accessible and effective for persons with disabilities.
On November 9, 2021, our R3 team presented a live workshop based on our work on the R3 app at the annual conference of the National Adult Protective Services Association (NAPSA) in San Diego, California. The workshop was titled “Building Services and Supports for Individuals with IDD: Keys to Successful Collaboration.” In the workshop, we highlighted how we included the perspectives of individuals with disabilities in our R3 collaboration process and how others can successfully do the same in their own work.
Consultants Brian Kelly and Melissa Beauregard participated live in San Diego as part of the workshop panel, and consultant John Mullaly provided his perspective as well via video recording. Overall, the team is very proud of our workshop performance as well as our progress on the R3 app, and we hope to have a more polished version of the app ready very soon.
Our MASS R3 team would like to thank our project partners - DPPC, DDS, Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) and the University of Rhode Island (URI) for their continued collaboration on the R3 project.
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CENTRAL REGION
Regional Coordinator: Sue Moriarty
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Click the link next to the date you want to attend. The link will bring you to the MASS Events Calendar where you can find the Zoom link. |
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Regional Meeting Dates for Central:
Tuesday Dec 14: 3:30 PM - 5:30 PM:
Tuesday Dec 28: 3:30 PM - 5:30 PM:
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NORTHEAST REGION
Lead Regional Coordinator: Bridget Crowley
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Click the link next to the date you want to attend. The link will bring you to the MASS Events Calendar where you can find the Zoom link. |
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Regional Meeting Date for Northeast:
Wednesday Dec 15: 4:00 PM - 5:30 PM:
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METRO REGION
Regional Coordinator: Valerie Horn
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Click the link next to the date you want to attend. The link will bring you to the MASS Events Calendar where you can find the Zoom link. |
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Regional Meeting Date for Metro:
No open meetings in December; we look forward to seeing you in January!
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SOUTHEAST REGION
Regional Interim Coordinator: Valerie Horn
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Click the link next to the date you want to attend. The link will bring you to the MASS Events Calendar where you can find the Zoom link. |
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Regional Meeting Date for Southeast:
Thursday Dec 2: 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM:
Friday Dec 17: 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM:
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Rainbow Group
Rainbow Coordinator: Pauline Bosma
Rainbow Support: Oscar Hughes
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Click the link next to the date you want to attend and it will bring you to the MASS Events Calendar where you can find the Zoom link. |
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Rainbow Group Meeting:
Tuesday December 28: 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM:
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We Want To Hear From You! |
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Is there anything exciting happening in your life that you are just itching to talk about? Want to share it with the world?!
If so, great because I, Kamisha Heriveaux, am always on the look out for interesting events, your hobbies, and topics that interest you - so please don't hesitate to reach out!
I can't wait to hear from all of YOU! Have a great day and keep on reading!
~ Kamisha
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MASS Advocates Standing Strong |P.O. Box 560100
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