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This support helps to ensure that people with disabilities and family members play a prominent role in the systems change process, bringing their voice, lived experience and invaluable input to the forefront.
Community NOW is a full stakeholder group (established in 2017) that works with Idaho Living Well to provide feedback to Idaho Health and Welfare (IDHW) on their Developmental Disability Services system. This is achieved through regular group meetings attended by self-advocates, family members, IDHW staff, service providers and disability organizations (ICDD, CDHD and Disability Rights Idaho).
Although previous Community NOW meetings were structured to focus on the lived experience of people with disabilities and family members, the meetings were run by paid facilitators. The agenda was set by disability advocacy organizations.
In the spring of 2023, Community NOW group members voiced a desire to have meetings refocus topics of discussion on people with disabilities and their families. The group supported the idea of existing members taking the lead to help make this happen. With support from Idaho Living Well, three self-advocates and two family member advocates were named Community NOW meeting leaders.
Norma Duarte, Noll Garcia , Maria Juarez, DR Reff, Larkin Seiler all undertook appropriate training and mentoring on how to lead discussions, ice breakers and managing meetings.
The new leaders led their first virtual Community NOW meeting on December 6 and 7. With two more meetings slated for May and September, they will continue to receive training and mentorship throughout 2024. The group will also develop ways to share meeting information to keep others well informed, and they will provide input on future Community NOW meeting agendas.
While this is the first meeting leaders’ cohort, the hope is to have additional self- and family-advocates complete the training.
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