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One of our day programs was excited to host Self Advocates United as 1 (SAU1) for a training session with those we serve. The SAU1’s mission is to support the self advocacy of people with disabilities for positive impact in our communities and in people’s lives. The speakers or Power Coaches presented the training “Let’s Speak Up”. In this training session, the group talked about their rights, how to speak up for their rights and what they want and need, and even how to form or join a group. The two speakers presenting to the group were Mr. Oscar Drummond and Mr. Chris Moore.
Oscar Drummond is a founding member of SAU1, and was the Board president for the first 10 years. Since 2018, he has worked as the lead Power Coach and Ambassador for SAU1. Oscar shared on his profile,
“It is important to me to be a self-advocate because I am able to speak up for myself and for others and also help people reach certain goals. I became part of SAU1 because I wanted to keep making sure people learn about speaking up and that others will listen to folks. My favorite thing about SAU1 is teaching people and letting people know about the services they can get. As part of SAU1, I hope that I can use my voice and my knowledge.”
Chris Moore is a Power Coach, Ambassador, and SAPNA Liaison for SAU1. He is also part of the Technical Assistance for Real Participation (TARP) project and a liaison for Community of Practice and other groups SAU1 works with. Chris shared on his profile,
“It is important to me to be a self-advocate because I want to make sure that services are right for me so that I can have the things I need to achieve my life goals. I started at SAU1 to try to gain work experience and have something to fill my day. But as I went along, I was intrigued by the things that could actually relate to my experience and needs.”
A few of the day program participants shared after the session. They learned that “knowledge is power”. Others shared that they learned it’s important to speak up, take responsibility and advocate for themselves. One of our day program staff shared how important it was to learn from those they serve. We are grateful to SAU1 for coming out and presenting this important information for those we serve.
