I recently attended a national conference of professionals in the field of Independent Living. I showed up in my mask and wore it most of the time, but I still felt the unspoken peer pressure of, hey, most are NOT
System Advocacy or System Change?
Advocacy is defined in our regulations, in 45 CFR 1329.4: Advocacy means pleading an individual’s cause or speaking or writing in support of an individual. To the extent permitted by State law or the rules of the agency before which
Staff training clips from archives
You might find it helpful to utilize some of the on-line resources for your staff meetings and staff training. Some center approach training by doing a short segment during each staff meeting. I suggest up to 30 minutes each. Here
Getting out the vote
You already know that, as a recipient of federal funds, you can lobby, but can’t use those federal dollars to lobby. You know that your CIL or SILC can’t support or oppose any candidate for office because of your tax-free
11 Warning Signs of Gaslighting
Recent events have raised a national conversation about “gaslighting”, and I don’t know about you, but much of what is being said resonated with me, not just as a woman, but as a woman with a disability. I found this
Personal reflection on chronic pain
Usually this blog focuses on regulations that impact Centers and Councils. I am going to have a completely different conversation today. If you aren’t comfortable with where this goes, that is okay. I will resume the more typical posts next
Allowable costs for federal grants — about lobbying
Over the next few weeks we are going to address the costs that are NOT allowed with federal money, or that are allowed in some cases and not others. The first topic we should discuss is lobbying. First, a CIL
Advocacy Skill Building Toolkit – Teaching Advocacy to Youth
You may have heard that, when Ed Roberts (the father of Independent Living) was asked to name the core services for Centers, he replied, “Advocacy, Advocacy, Advocacy”. While we know there are other core services, advocacy is the foundation. At
Systems change advocacy – six effective strategies
I was readying an article in Non-Profit Quarterly recently, an article about how to change an established system. I was reminded of a few important principles around system change. We are not the only group in the world working for
Are you ready for that emergency?
It’s that time of year again. There are floods, landslide, road washouts and more in California. Weather events happen all across the country. Blizzards. Earthquakes. Tornadoes. Ice storms. Recent fires in the Tennessee towns of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge burned