2018 DISABILITY INTEGRATION PROJECTS · to the Olmstead Academy, ACT Center for Disability...

DECEM

BER

2018

©2018 Advocating Change Together

ACT OLMSTEAD ACADEMY, CLASS OF 2018

2018 DISABILITYINTEGRATION PROJECTS

A REPORT TO THE COMMUNITYDECEMBER 14, 2018

The ACT Olmstead Academy is a program of the ACT Center for Disability Leadership

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ACT Olmstead Academy, Class of 2018

Advocating Change Together (ACT)is a grass-roots disability rightsorganization run by and for peoplewith developmental disabilities. ACT’smission is help people acrossdisabilities see themselves as part oflarger disability rights moment andmake connections to other civil andhuman rights struggles.

ACT Center for Disability Leadership(on Intellectual and DevelopmentalDisabilities) incorporates a number ofACT’s longstanding programs, as wellas new ones, into a structuredframework for equipping groups tounderstand disability equality, make ithappen, and inform others. In additionto the Olmstead Academy, ACTCenter for Disability Leadershipincludes the Self-AdvocatesMinnesota (SAM) network, andACT’s new, multi-level DisabilityEquality Training Series.

ACT Olmstead Academy is a programof the ACT Center. The 2018 class wasfunded with the generous support ofthe Minnesota Department of HumanServices. Thanks also to the MinnesotaDepartment of Employment andEconomic Development for programsupports as well as providing a meetingspace for the Academy.

Event Program ...............................................3

Executive Summary........................................4

Team Project SummariesSAM Northwest (East Grand Forks) ......................6SAM Metro (Twin Cities) ...................................8SAM Central (Monticello/Elk River) ....................10Ally People Solutions (St. Paul) .......................12SAM Northwest (Bemidji/Fosston) .....................14SAM South (Fairmont/Albert Lea) ........................16

Note from the Director .................................18Olmstead Academy Leaders..........................19Methods.......................................................20Statewide Impact Map..................................22

CONTENTS

EVENT PROGRAM

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ACT Olmstead Academy Class of 2018

Report to the CommunityHosted by Judge Donovan Frank

December 14, 2018

Devitt Ceremonial CourtroomWarren E. Burger Federal Building & United States Courthouse316 North Robert Street, St. Paul, MN

-------------------------------------------1:00 p.m. Program

Opening procession: Academy participantsAcademy overview: Mary Kay KennedyWelcome: Judge Donovan Frank Presentations of project results: Six regional teams Comments by Judge FrankPresentation of CertificatesClosing song

2:00 p.m. ReceptionGuests are invited to join Academy participants for project exhibits and light refreshments in the Jury Assembly Room (also on the 1st floor)

This is a place where everybody's welcome. I know it's true 'cause I got through the door. We are a dazzling bouquet of every kind of flower. Jump in the vase, 'cause we've got space for more.

Come here, all you six-foot gladiolas.Come all you purple lilacs shining bright.Come let us all bloom together in one garden:A carnival of fragrance and delight.

Dazzling Bouquet

by B

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Building self advocate leaders by working on projects toadvance community integration.

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

TIMELINEJanuary 2018 through December2018

ACADEMY GOALCreate a culture within Minnesotawhere self-advocacy is afoundational piece in the state'sOlmstead Plan to increasecommunity integration, and positionself-advocates to play meaningfulroles in its implementation.

ACADEMY STRUCTUREThe ACT Olmstead Academy is a12- month program featuring eightdays of classroom sessions, and 9months of required field work onDisability Integration Projects.

Participants enroll as teams of three(two self-advocates, one ally) fromaround the state. Teams first learnleadership skills and organizingtools for creating change to advancecommunity integration. Each teamthen develops and implements aproject in their home community.

2018 PROGRAM FEATURESTeam-based participation – two•self-advocates and one ally.Participatory, innovative,•proven methods based onPopular Education theory.Mentors assist each team to•create and complete project.Each team receives funds to•implement a project in theircommunity.

Participants build relationships•with key state allies during“Dinner With Leaders.”

DISABILITY INTEGRATIONPROJECTSEach team chooses and leads alocal project to advance integrationfor real people in their community. See pp. 6-17 for results of each ofthese seven projects.

LONG-TERM IMPACTOf projects launched by the firstthree classes, over half of theOlmstead Academy teams havefound ways to continue theirsuccessful efforts, including usingUber, community gardening, eventplanning and volunteering in thecommunity.

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARYStacy has a lot to say, but will not say it

if he is in an environment where he does not feel wonderfully comfortable.

The Olmstead Academy is a super accepting and non-judging zone.

Stacy was volunteering left and right to lead our team during the sessions.

He met new friends, and the Academy gave him so much

acceptance to just be Stacy.Carla Tice, Ally

SAM Northwest Team

Plan and host an End-of-the-Summer Party for thetown, to build relationships.

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SAM NORTHWEST TEAM

WHERE WE LIVE:East Grand Forks

WHO WE ARE:Charley BaumerStacy OlsonCarla Tice

WHAT WE DIDWe have a long-standing self-advocacy group in East GrandForks; our members feel supercomfortable in our group and thecomradery and acceptance we'vebuilt among each other is thecentral biggest key to the success ofour various efforts over the years.This is our third year in theOlmstead Academy, and our project,like the others, is hoping to increaseour community connections. We

planned and hosted an End ofthe Summer Party and Mealfor the whole community.

WHAT HAPPENEDOur planning and publicizing was asummer-long effort of meetings,cups of coffee, and networking. Wemet with the Mayor, Chief of Police,and Transportation Head: they wereexcited to be a part of the event.We spread the word over thesummer during our various otheractivities, with flyers and word ofmouth. We held an informalbackyard BBQ to plan the event:over 75 people came! We playedyard games, ate good food, andtalked about how we could geteveryone in the community havingfun side-by-side with everyone else.We chose the Eagles club as theparty venue, which gave us theadded benefit of making new

Publicizing the party at Catfish Days I stopped in to the mayor’s office and got him onboard with our plan.

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SAM NORTHWEST TEAM

connections with their members. Asmall group of us met with theEagles manager to plan eventdetails. We publicized the dinnerwith fliers at a community paradeand on social media.The End-of-Summer Party was abig success. Besides our 25 groupmembers,about 150 people came:160 hamburgers, 95 hotdogs,games, prizes, chatting, laughing,Vikings game on the TV, Skolcheers. What's not to love?

WHAT WE LEARNEDThe most new inclusion was notcreated at the party, but ratherduring the process of planning andpreparation. Our team membersand other self-advocates met withcity officials, met with the Eagles,

handed out flyers in the parade, etc.If they had only attended the party,while one or two allies did all theprep and pre-meetings, very littlereal inclusion would havehappened. Our team and otherpeople with disabilities were actingside-by-side throughout, buildingnew and now ongoing relationshipswith key community leaders. Our role as party planners andhosts turned the usual experienceupside down. Rather than receivingservice, receiving hospitality,receiving kindness and help frompeople without disabilities, we'regiving all these things to ourcommunity. Our members loved theexperience of being the generous,welcoming party hosts. Thecommunity members loved it too.

NEXT STEPSOnce we start something, we tendto keep it going. We have decidedthat this End-Of-Summer Party willbe an annual event. The EaglesClub is also looking forward tocontinuing this partnership.Likewise, our past OlmsteadAcademy teams, which creatednew ways for people withdisabilities to play important roles inon-going community events, havekept these efforts going each year.Thanks to our projects as part ofthe ACT Olmstead Academy, we'remore and more hardwired into ourcommunity's social life. We belongin the community, and everybody inEast Grand Forks knows it andcelebrates it.

The planning work itself really created the bulk ofour new integration.

“It should be the goal of every community to include all of the pieces of the picture

and make sure that everyone feels like they belong.” Mike Hedlund. Chief of Police. East Grand Forks, MN.

New connections at theEnd-of-the-Summer Party

SAM METRO TEAMHelp peers engage in the political process to becomeactive in hands-on systems change organizing.

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WHERE WE LIVE:Twin Cities

WHO WE ARE:Thomas RobinsonNicole NobletPatrick MitchellMentor: Les Bauer

WHAT WE DIDAfter learning about our rights at theOlmstead Academy, we felt thatpeople with disabilities needed to bemore involved in fighting for thoserights at the systems level. We didthis by starting an “Active CitizensClub.” The club would meet monthlyto discuss and share information onissues important to the disabilitycommunity and identify ways for ourmembers to get involved.

WHAT HAPPENEDAfter a couple months of outreachwith flyers and announcements atACT events, we recruited sixmembers for our club. The club thenmet throughout the project. Afterspending some time building ourgroup, we spent time discussingwhere our interests lie and how toproceed.We focused our work aroundtransportation and support staff forpeople with disabilities. We identifiedthe “Best Life Alliance” and“Transportation Forward” coalitions asgroups that share our values andbecame involved with both. We firstreached out to the Best Life Alliance.There we joined with several otherdisability rights activists in organizinga Governors Debate on DisabilityIssues for the 2018 election. We

Our classroom learning on integration rights helped us make the connection between transportation andintegration at a Metro-Mobility meeting.

SAM METRO TEAM

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attended several planning meetings,arranged for sign languageinterpreters, reviewed and editeddebate questions, and marketed theevent. We were planning to use thisdebate as a club kickoff to both getinvolved as active citizens and recruitothers to join our groupUnfortunately, neither candidateresponded to the numerous outreachattempts. We then shifted our focus totransportation and attended aTransportation Forward event at theBlack Dog Café in St. Paul. There welearned about the legislative battle topreserve funding for metro mobilityservices and alternativetransportation options. At thatmeeting, we also voiced ourexperiences and opinions. Later, weattended a Metro Mobility

“Community Conversation,” wherecommunity members and MetroTransit officials discussed what’sworking and what’s not.

WHAT WE LEARNEDWe learned that system changeisn’t easy; often being an activecitizen doesn’t produce instantresults. We contributed time andenergy alongside many skilledorganizers only to see theGovernors Debate on DisabilityIssues not happen. We also learnedthe importance of working togetherand the power of a group. Disabilityequity issues are complicated andpairing up with existing advocacyefforts is a great way to maximizeyour impact. For example, we wereable to combine our newfoundknowledge (what we learned at our

Transportation Forward meeting)with our real-life experiences tocontribute meaningful comments atthe Metro Mobility CommunityConversation event.

NEXT STEPSWe all were energized by the workof matching our real-lifeexperiences to specific policy. Wehave decided to keep our clubactive throughout the upcomingMinnesota legislative session andhave multiple meetings set up withlegislators and Met Councilmembers.

“I was surprised to see how interested people were in what wehad to say.”

Joel Fox, participant

We met with Met Council Member Steve Elkin to discuss our goals. He said, “Transportation is an issue I’m going to stay on top of.”

WHAT HAPPENED, CONT.

SAM CENTRAL TEAMTrain five people to use existing transportation options,giving them more control over their own spontaneoustransportation needs.

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WHERE WE LIVE:Monticello & Elk River

WHO WE ARE:Carly MellottKevin KoenigMaggie TreichelMentor: Beth Fondell

THE PLANGetting to places we want to go isalways an issue here in CentralMinnesota. And these days, aspeople with disabilities have beenmoving into less restrictive housing,often this means moving from onecommunity to another. How canyou get together with friends andfamily if many of them now live afew miles away? Fortunately, somelocal transportation options have

recently improved. Bus serviceis better now in both Elk Riverand Monticello than it was acouple of years ago. Our planwas to help five (5) peoplelearn the availabletransportation systems and

use them to get where they want,when they want.

WHAT HAPPENEDAfter we researched and trainedourselves (2 people), we spent twohalf-days training our participants (5people).

Bus: The participants practiced•how to get bus tokens, how toorder the bus, and where theycould go. We found that Uberis now an option in Elk River,but not in Monticello. All fivepracticed riding the bus, andthree have used the bus morethan once since. Uber: Two people used Uber•

Using the light rail was new to us, and has been fun to continue to use since we first tried it together.

SAM CENTRAL TEAM

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for the first time, and have used itseveral times since. Light Rail: Four participants also•used the Northstar Commutertrain for the first time, travelling toa Twins game.

WHAT WE LEARNEDThe barrier for our participants wasnot lack of bus service, or lack ofpublic transportation. The barrierwas not knowing how to use theexisting bus, train, or Uber options.Now that these participants canspontaneously decide to visit ormeet up with friends and family,they're doing it. For example, aperson who moved from Monticelloto Becker is now continuing to usethe bus to visit friends and to shop.Another person who moved fromMonticello to Montrose is now usingthe bus to get back to Monticello forself-advocacy meetings. And thistrip involves a transfer! Everyonewho participated in this project hasa feeling of accomplishment andincreased independence.

NEXT STEPSThe team plans to check in with allwho participated in this project andmake sure people continue usingthe transportation options theylearned. We are prepared toprovide assistance to people if theyneed additional help.

When we practice with our peers-- using these existing transit options --itjust seems more doable going forward.


“Looks like I don’t need to be the driver anymore. Since the bustraining, he’s got the confidence to use the bus. He just went and

visited his sister. That’s just wonderful.”Participant’s mother

Assist eight people who are lacking a basic right totake one concrete step to get it: get a job, make a dateor set their own schedule

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ALLY PEOPLE SOLUTIONS TEAM

WHERE WE LIVE:St. Paul

WHO WE ARE:Amanda HansonRichard SchultzJennifer WaltonMentor: Pat Salmi

WHAT WE PLANNEDAfter the classroom portion of theOlmstead Academy, our team wasenergized and motivated about ourown rights and how to exercise them.We wanted our peers to learn andhave a similar transformation. So forour project, we decided to help 6 to 8people with Human Rights issues:overcome a specific barrier to getsomething they want in their life.

WHAT HAPPENEDAfter meetings to explore whatkeeps us down, six people eachidentified one barrier they wereexperiencing and wanted tobreak through. Each wasassigned a “Barrier Buster”

assistant (one of our team) tostrategize and plan for how to bestbreak through the barrier. The goalwas to get a quick win behind eachperson in order to start building theidea that they could have morecontrol of their lives. At the front end of this project, thesix participants felt they could justcomplain about what was wrong. Bythe end of the project, they were alltaking action to get what theywanted instead of justcomplaining. Results:

Richard does not like where he•lives: the rules, thehousemates. He scheduled ameeting with his case manager

Learning about the two women who started the whole Olmstead movement had a big impact on us. Maybewe have the power to make change, too.

ALLY PEOPLE SOLUTIONS TEAM

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to find out what his options arefor movingAmanda met some women at•Ferrell’s gym. She is nowsetting up yoga classes forherself and 10 peers. Bill has wanted to work and•earn money for years. He wasable to arrange working atBusiness Solutions. Lindsay wanted to be more•independent with her healthmanagement. She contacted aDiabetic Educator and haslearned to manage her ownblood sugar and give herselfshots. Kristine wanted to make her•own lunch, and is now able to

do it.Vince is still interested in•meeting other people inexploring options for a longer-term relationship. He has takenaction and invited someone ona few dates.

WHAT WE LEARNEDRights issues are not a project but aprocess. We quickly realized ourpeers did know what rights theyhad, and had fears andmisconceptions about makingchanges in their lives. Peoplebelieve that if they move, all theirsupports will disappear, and theywill be “kind of like homeless.” “Notable to get to my doctor.” “No one

to help me.” They coped by givingin to whatever a staff person orauthority figure told them.

We also learned that thesesmall "quick win" changes in theirlives made them feel proud,relieved, and over-the-moon happy.

NEXT STEPSLack of correct information hasnarrowed all of our ideas of whatmight be possible. We would like tocontinue this project. We hope tofind another batch of 6 peers, getgood information to them and helpthem overcome a small barrier tothe life they want.


“The participants were shy at the beginning, but now have madenew friends. Some of us are breaking out of our comfort zone.”

Amanda Hanson, Ally team

We helped each other look at something we wanted, and think of a way to overcome a barrier and make it happen.

SAM NORTHWEST TEAMHelp six peers overcome barriers and be included insome new way in the community.

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WHERE WE LIVE:Bemidji, Fosston & East GrandForks

WHO WE ARE:Sean HoaglundGail LarsenWayne Wolfgram

Mentor: Mary Fenske

THE PLANAt the start of the year, one of ourteam members had a transportationissue in her life and other membersof the team were able to help herresolve it fairly easily. This triggeredan insight for us: peers can helpeach other with personal barriers toinclusion. With success under ourbelts, we made a plan to help six (6)people in northern Minnesotaachieve goals that would give them

more choice andindependence and feel

more included in their communities.

WHAT HAPPENEDWe met with six people from Bemidji andFosston and started with a question,“What's getting in the way of your living anindependent or inclusive life?” Usinghelium balloons to signify a soaring life,people identified a goal they wereinterested in achieving, why it wasimportant to them, and what barriers weregetting in the way of achieving that goal.We then worked with each person to makeand implement a plan to achieve their goal.The issues were:

Susan wanted more control over•checkbook. By learning how tomonitor her expenses and balanceonline, she now has the control andindependence she wanted.

“1, 2, 3 ... Release your barriers! Let your goalrise up and actually happen.”

I want to go out to eat more.

SAM NORTHWEST TEAM

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WHAT WE LEARNEDThe desire to be included is a powerfulengine necessary for change tohappen. The six participants werecruited for this project all arrived witha new-found desire for inclusion,based on a recent 12-week rightstraining they had all experiencedtogether. This desire for inclusionpowered their success with us; theycould quickly imagine several personalgoals, and they had the drive to pressforward. It may well be that in somecases, this project was the first theirsupport staff had heard of theirwishes.We also learned that peers really cansupport and assist each other. Inseveral cases, once the staffunderstood what the people served

Darren wanted to see more of•his family. Still working on this.Daniel wanted to go out to eat•with friends. After meeting withus and staff, staff immediatelyarranged for weekly dinnersout. Carl wanted to work more than•his current part time job. Headded another seasonal job tohis week, but as the weathergot colder, that job ended.Tatiana wanted to make money•by selling hats and scarfs sheknits. Still working on this.Shelly wanted to go to more•community activities. Stillworking on this.

were asking for, they were verywilling to be part of the solution. Itseemed to us that this success wasdeeper than simply, "Oh, youwanted that? Sure, here you go."We suspect that having someoutside allies in on the conversation--our team--helped give leverage togetting a good result.

NEXT STEPSTwo of the six people served by thisintegration project were motivatedby the person-centeredness andinclusion they experienced. Theynow want to learn and expand theOlmstead message in their lives andin the lives of their peers, so theyhave applied and been accepted tothe 2019 Class of the ACTOlmstead Academy.

"This team projected a ‘can do’ attitude and encouraged others todo more and be more. That’s what makes them great leaders."

Mary Fenske, project mentor

I want to learn QuickBooks. Let’s zero in on one of your goals that we canhelp with.



SAM SOUTHEAST/SOUTHWEST TEAM

WHERE WE LIVE:Albert Lea / Fairmont

WHO WE ARE:Richard OlsonJonathon WolnerPat KietzerMentor: Mary Goetz

WHAT WE DIDSocial isolation is pretty big in oursmall southern Minnesota towns.People with disabilities have fewways to connect as friends andequals with people withoutdisabilities. We planned,publicized and hosted a booth attwo county fairs, using a simplehuman rights game to create fun,easy ways for people with andwithout disabilities to connect. Wefollowed this up with an ice cream

social to foster even morenew connections.

WHAT HAPPENEDFirst we prepared. We devised a “spin thewheel” game for use at the Freeborn andthe Martin county fairs, where fair visitorswould answer questions on disability issuesand win prizes. Sample question: Name thejudge who presided over the Jenson lawsuitin Minnesota: A. Judge Judy, B. JudgePage, or C. Judge Frank. We worked with fair officials to get boothspace. Then we recruited and trained 20self-advocates (not including the two on ourteam) and 19 allies to staff the booth. The booths were a hit at the fairs. Lots offun, and new interactions were had. Ourprizes were mostly small: about 2500people played and won a small prizebetween the 2 fairs. The larger prize, harderto win, was an invitation to an ice cream

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Host county fair booths to create new socialconnections between people with and withoutdisabilities in our small towns.

Community leaders show support for our fair-booth project by creating a ribbon cutting ceremony.

EVERYONE BENEFITS WHEN EVERYONE IS INCLUDED!

SAM SOUTHEAST/SOUTHWEST TEAM

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social a few days after the fair. Finally, we planned and hosted theIce Cream Social. Forty-one peoplewon the big prize and attended thefollow-up ice cream social.

WHAT WE LEARNEDThe hard work of planning andpreparing for the project created asmany or more new inclusionopportunities as the project itself.We had a hard time at first findingallies to staff the booth along withthe self-advocates. But after a littlemore networking, a case manager,parents, community volunteers, clubmembers, and service providersstepped up to participate. And the

interactions of these allies with the self-advocates staffing the booth led to somenew friendships. Two of them havegotten together twice since the projectended for coffee and a chat. We also learned that once you get upthe courage to ask, you often get strongsupport. Once we made the ask, wewere surprised and delighted by thecommunity support and publicity wereceived. The local Chamber ofCommerce was a great booster-providing both support and publicity.Also, the local newspaper and TV bothresponded to our request and didstories.

NEXT STEPSThe momentum started with this simpleOlmstead Academy project will continue.

Since our booths at the fairs lastsummer, one of our team membershas been featured in the newspaper,on local TV and radio focusing ondisability rights. He has also given apresentation to county human servicespersonnel on the importance ofcommunity inclusion. And he isplanning another ice cream celebrationwith multiple Kiwanis groups to furtherthe message. He is becoming the go-to person for what ACT OlmsteadAcademy success looks like inFreeborn County.We would love to do this project againif we can find the funds. We all reallyenjoyed the multiple ways ofinteracting with and meeting othersfrom our communities.

The Academy is structured in such a unique way as to gently bringout a person’s inner voice to stand up and say, “This is what’s

important to me.”Mary Goetz, SAM South team mentor

Our booth at the fair: spin the wheel, win aprize, make a new connection. We all win.

Our local media helped get out the word: we gotcomfortable being in the limelight to move our message.



NOTE FROM THE DIRECTOR

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The Class of 2018 is the fourth class of the ACT Olmstead Academy. In all, twenty-six integration projects have nowbeen launched since we started in 2015. These projects continue to set the stage for hundreds of people with andwithout disabilities to work and play side-by-side, building more inclusive and stronger communities across the state. This year's class included people with a wide mix of life experiences. A few of the class members strongly identified asdisability rights activists; they arrived ready to step up their role as community leaders. For others, the very idea ofhaving rights was a new concept. As one participant said, “I didn’t even know I had rights. I knew I had the right tovote, but that’s about it.” That insight does not lead to change, however; it's just the starting point. The process of theAcademy's classroom work is designed to help participants create a desire and an expectation to be included,supported and respected. Many in this class spoke about how their life experiences directly contradict the promise ofintegration described in the Minnesota Olmstead Plan. While there is no Magic Olmstead Wand to erase theoppression they experience, this year’s Olmstead Academy cohort was brilliant at identifying integration projects thatmoved them and their peers toward increased liberation and inclusion. The design of the Disability Integration Projects—six months of field work as a team, resulting in a small but tangiblewin—helped people see that they do, indeed, have power when they work together: power to make change in theirlives, and power to help others do the same. The photos in this report communicate the sense of belonging thatpeople experience when they take part in their communities in new ways. More importantly, the Class of 2018members know that the new ways they were included in their communities were directly related to the work they did asa team to make that inclusion happen. This insight—that teamwork and effort leads to real change—makes peoplewant to do more! They are now eager to continue their projects and figure out more ways to get more of what theywant out of life. The Minnesota Olmstead Plan asks for disability leaders to show us all how to move from segregation to inclusion. TheACT Olmstead Academy is building these leaders, using a long arc of hands-on training to build the desire forintegration and experience a way to get it. Congratulations to the Class of 2018 for your project successes, and thankyou for the leadership you've given to Minnesota.Mary Kay Kennedy

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Program Design and FacilitationMary Kay Kennedy, ACT CenterBret Hesla, Consultant

Session LeadersJohn Anderson: Photography Deni Berigan-Pirro: Catering Linda Breitag: Professional ArtistEileen Buringrud: Leadership Skills AssessmentLarry Dittberner: Professional Musician Mary Fenske: Self-Advocates MinnesotaClarabel Gross: Hamline Univ. Social Justice Theater Lynne Lindholm: CateringLaura Mann Hill: Hamline Univ. Social Justice TheaterPatrick Mitchell: ACT Center Paul Rogers: PhotographyAida Shahghasemi: Hamline Univ. Social Justice TheaterKatie Thune: Yoga Calm Carla Tice: Self-Advocates MinnesotaMaggie Treichel: Self-Advocates Minnesota

Team Project Mentors Les Bauer, MN Quality CouncilMary Fenske, Advocating Change TogetherBeth Fondell, Institute on Community IntegrationMary Goetz, Arc Freeborn CountyPat Salmi, Access Design Consultant

Dinner HostsJohn Anderson: MN Dept. of Human ServicesAlex Bartolic: MN Dept. of Human ServicesRick Cardenas: Independent consultantThomas Delaney: MN Dept. of EducationJo Erbes: Minnesota Consortium for Citizens with DisabilitiesKathryn Finlayson: Home & Community Based ServicesJason Flint: MN Dept. of Human ServicesLori Lippert: Olmstead Project Manager, Disability Services DivisionPat Siebert: Disability Law CenterAnni Simons: Fredrickson & Byron PA

OLMSTEAD ACADEMY LEADERS

DIVERSE METHODS

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DIVERSE METHODS

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STATEWIDE IMPACT

ACT Olmstead Academy: Disability Leadership to

Advance Integration In Minnesota

26 Integration Projectssince 2015

STATEWIDE IMPACT

Insertedourselves into 3longstandingcommunity events.

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Hosted county fair booths tocreate new social connectionsbetween people with andwithout disabilities.

Helped six peerschoose a goal andovercome barriersand be included insome new way in thecommunity.

Helped six peerslearn aboutrights, choose agoal and overcomebarriers to get aquick-win intheir life.

Planned andhosted an End-of-the-Summer Partyfor the town, tobuildrelationships.

Hosted twodinners, at ourgroup homes, tobuild connectionsbetween 7 peersand 15 next doorneighbors.

Trained five people touse existingtransportationoptions, giving themmore control overtheir own spontaneoustransportation needs.

Helped 6 peopleget active insystems changeorganizingefforts

Assisted eightpeople who arelacking a basicright to take oneconcrete step toget it--bust abarrier

Hosted twodinners to build

workingrelationshipsbetween 8 self-advocates and 6community leader

s

Tried a plan touse newtechnology toallow ourselvesand our peersmore alone time.

Set up a bus tour ofliving optionsshowing how otherswith disabilities areliving independently,to expand the senseof what’s possible

Worked with eightpeople who alreadyhad a community joband helped themsocially connect atwork, if needed

Partnered withnon-profit tostart a drop-incenter for 12self-advocates,to create deepersocial lives

Reached out to 12peers who werenonvoters andsupported them tovote.

Started a coffeeclub to buildrelationships withlocal cops and helpself-advocates feelconfident going outin the community.

Created a volunteerforce of 17 self-advocates givingback to theircommunity on amonthly basis

Planned and ledworkshop to help 9peers have astronger say intheir person-centered-plan

One-on-one peermentoring to helped5 people get theirplans actuallyimplemented

Taught the publicand peers aboutthe importance ofintegration usingtheater, audienceof 800

Led job preptrainings for 26peers --what do Ineed to know topursue acommunity job? Gave 27 peers taxi vouchersto allow spontaneous

transportation around town

The first four classes of the ACT Olmstead Academy have now completed 26 integration projects in communities acrossthe state, putting more people with intellectual disabilities side-by-side with everybody else.

Offered a tour ofhomes to inspirepeople in grouphomes-- andguardians --byseeing how otherswith disabilitieslive independently

Taught 8 peershow to ride thebus to get wherethey want to go.

Trained 6 peersto use Uber andMetro MobilitySame Day Ride forspontaneoustransportation.Created a program

to offersubsidized taxivouchers to help15 peers getaround town,wherever andwhenever theywant.

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©2018 Advocating Change Together

ACT Center for Disability Leadership1821 University Avenue, Suite 306–S St. Paul, MN 55104651-641-0297800-641-0059www.selfadvocacy.org

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