Dear editor:
Starting in January of 2019, the Arkansas People First Hot Springs Chapter is planning to change the meeting time from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and we are continuing to have the meetings on the third Thursday of each month at 621 Albert Pike.
Arkansas People First, formerly known as People First of Arkansas, is a statewide self-advocacy organization that was established in 1997 as a northwest Arkansas chapter and board and 12 local chapters and a state board were formed in 1998 with support from Lifestyles Inc., and, later, University of Arkansas CURRENTS and Arkansas Support Network and they have hosted state conferences from 1998 until 2010 in various cities including Springdale, Little Rock and Hot Springs.
Self-advocacy can be defined as “Speaking up for yourself; standing up for yourself and learning to make decisions as a self-determined person.”
The APF Hot Springs Chapter currently has nine members and only two or three people have attended the monthly meetings but there are other people who are unable to come due to lack of transportation and don’t have a vehicle or a way to get to the meeting place.
Darren Morris, Self Advocacy Coordinator with Disability Rights Arkansas, scheduled a training this past summer and only the people from Disability Rights Arkansas and Partners for Inclusive Communities were there but everyone else didn’t show up due to this important issue: transportation.
During the monthly chapter meetings, the group discusses disability issues, have trainings such as Reaching My Own Greatness (RMOG) and Project Vote and provide updates from Self Advocates Becoming Empowered (SABE) and other self-advocacy organizations/People First chapters across the USA.
If you would like more information about Arkansas People First and the Hot Springs Chapter, please feel free to contact me at 501-624-7710 or 501-693-9693.
Shannon Rivas
Committee coordinator, Arkansas People First