Self Advocates Becoming Empowered and ACL's Administration on Disabilities are pleased to announce the 2022-2023 Self Advocacy Resource and Technical Assistance Center (SARTAC) Award Fellows.
Six Fellows were chosen based on the policy or leadership project they wanted to do to help the self advocacy movement. Fellows are listed below with their hometown, host organization, and project summary.
To learn more about SARTAC, visit: selfadvocacyinfo.org. To learn more about the winners and the past Fellows, visit: selfadvocacyinfo.org/fellows.
2022-2023 SARTAC Fellows:
Jordan Anderson
Auburndate, WI
Fellowship Project: Medicaid Policy Changes
Host: Jennifer Neugart, Wisconsin Board for People with Developmental Disabilities (BPDD)
SAR-TAC Project: When people with disabilities need durable medical equipment, there are a lot of challenges, including the time the process takes, lack of providers, and insurance denials. This project will look at the process for getting medical equipment. The hope is to find ways to make the process easier to get and repair equipment. The project will also look at the training required for rehab specialists who help people get equipment and encourage more people to enter the field. This will help shorten the time that repairs take and shorten the time people with disabilities are stuck at home waiting for repairs.
Eddie Hall
Lakeland, FL
Fellowship Project: A formal Approach for Self Advocates
Host and Name: Thomas Griffin, Bird Dog Boats of Florida, Inc.
SAR-TAC Project: The project will focus on adaptive recreation by creating a non-profit called Expedite Life for self advocacy. Activities for this project will include sponsoring a recreational event for self advocates and writing and presenting on the tools needed to start a non-profit and sponsor an adaptive recreation event.
Kenneth Kelty
Chapel Hill, NC
Fellowship Project: Disability Advocacy Podcast: Exceeding Expectations with Kenneth Kelty
Host: Melissa Swartz, PhD., NC Council on Developmental Disabilities
SAR-TAC Project: Kenneth’s project is to use podcasting for more disability awareness. In Kenneth’s words, “The podcast is about all types of people with disabilities who want to go above what's expected of them and want to live their own lives.” He wants to highlight people who are blazing the trails on a national level and in their community. He plans to interview people who are creative leaders in disability advocacy organizations. Some possible topics include COVID vaccination efforts, going to college, and the Supreme Court Olmstead decision.
Nathaniel Livernois
Londerry, NH
Fellowship Project: New Hampshire Disability: History Revisited
Host: Sarah Sadowski, M.A., The New Hampshire Series at the Institute on Disability/ UCED at the University of New Hampshire
SAR-TAC Project: The New Hampshire Leadership Series for years used the "Lost in Laconia" documentary film to springboard a discussion on the history of disability within the state. However, this fellow believes that this film describes an incomplete picture of the history of how people with disabilities have lived and been treated throughout the years. He also believes that the current situation is not better, just different. The goal of this project is to educate the community with an entire history not just about Laconia. The intent of the project is to empower people with disabilities by continuing the discussions about the history of disability policy, education, and culture. This project will make it possible for self advocates and family members to have more information to discuss subjects for which they wish to advocate. After creating a complete collection of materials, the project will work with the New Hampshire Leadership Series to update their history session’s training and information. These materials will be used by self advocates and their family members to be more prepared to advocate whenever there is a need.
Susan Parker
St. Peters, MO
Fellowship Project: Advocates with Determination — Charting My LifeCourse
Host: Kyla Mundwiller, Institute for Human Development, University of Missouri– Kansas City, Partnerships for Effective Social Change
SAR-TAC Project: Charting the LifeCourse is designed to be used for individuals own life, for their family members, or in the work you do. The framework and tools will help organize ideas, vision, and goals, as well as problem-solve, use services to get what you need, and advocate for supports. In the past the Charting the LifeCourse framework has been taught by professionals and not self advocates. The goal of this project is to create self advocate leaders who can support other self advocates to become Charting My LifeCourse trainers and support individuals to use the tool in their life. This will also allow individuals to facilitate their planning process when it comes to services and help them achieve their goals outside of the system.
Nathan Turner
Holland, OH
Fellowship Project: Enhancing Control and Choice with Personal Care Services through Self Direction
Host: Dana Charlton, Ohio Self Determination Associations, OSDA
SAR-TAC Project: The project will promote self direction with direct care staff. It will create a plain language toolkit about best practices for building successful relationships with provider agencies and staff. The toolkit will share presentation that support individuals with disabilities to teach their peers, learn from their personal experiences, help others solve problems, and have more control and dignity with their services.
SAR-TAC was created to share self advocacy ideas and help others across the country. It operates with support from ACL. To learn more about the fellowship and the previous classes of fellows, visit: selfadvocacyinfo.org/fellows.