But I want to. I received a few emails yesterday from a coworker/friend. One such email concerns this CAN DO conference which sounds AMAZING. It is also held on a weekday from 9am – 3pm. Now, considering that I am allotted 80 hours of vacation per year, 64 of which are intended for use by my Partners in Policymaking training, I am left with a mere 16 hours of vacation that presumably needs to be saved for the inevitable childhood illness (excluding current chronic condition complications).
Participating in this amazing workshop is going to have to wait until next year. It breaks my heart, because I should be there, not here at this job which pays my bills (sufficiently important yes) yet does nothing to appease the mission my soul has endeavored to be on. As an alternative to attending this conference myself, I want to get the word out to other Minnesota families. According to the “Summary of Key Recommendations from Recent Reports and Work Groups on Disability Services” which was created to help inform CAN DO Action Conferences, there are at least 175,825 individuals in Minnesota who are receiving SSI and SSDI. There are countless other disabled adults and children who receive other services in the state of Minnesota. I’m hoping that if I help get the word out about these regional conferences (that just so happen to be FREE!), that it will draw some strong Minnesotan advocates to help create positive change in our state.
I, on the other hand, am planning upon attending a Forum hosted by Arc Central to share their 2008 legislative agenda with members and to reach out to policymakers concerning how their decisions impact the lives of individuals with disabilities. These are more time-friendly for me (6:30pm – 7pm on a weeknight) so are more workable with my schedule, and although I am a member of Arc Midstate, I’m sure they won’t turn me away. Please send a comment my way if you want more information on the dates and locations of these awesome opportunities to meet with your local legislators.
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1 comment:
Sarah, you do what you can, when you can. Just writing about the conference is important as you're letting others know what's available.
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