Hanover Arc
Hanover County-home of the Annual Strawberry Faire, Patrick Henry, Kings Dominion-and the incredibly energetic Board of The Arc of Hanover.
Around 5:30pm, I pulled in to the town of Ashland. I was greeted by Lucy Cantrell, Executive Director of The Arc of Hanover. Lucy’s smile and warmth are felt immediately upon walking in to The Arc of Hanover’s’ office-which is located on the main street in the town. We walked across the street to grab a quick bit to eat (my dinner thus far had solely been a Slim Jim)- and then went to the Ashland Library for The Arc of Hanover’s Board Meeting.
Lucy and her Board first shared that one of their most recent accomplishments in promoting “A Life Like Yours” in their community was the implementation of an after-school program for high school students with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities in the county schools. In 2006, Butch Price received the “A Life Like Yours” award from The Arc of Virginia for his leadership with this effort. Patrick, a volunteer with the after-school program reported to the Board the program is enjoying tremendous success.
In other advocacy news, The Arc of Hanover’s members have been working hard to obtain local funding for adult day services for the many individuals who have no support while they wait for state services. They have invited County Supervisors and their challengers during the election season to roundtable discussions to ask what candidates will do to promote “A Life Like Yours” in Hanover County. Members have also engaged in letter-writing campaigns to the county administrator and visits with the appointed School Board members.
Hanover’s Board Members shared that in order to capitalize on their advocacy efforts-building relationships with local media resources has been essential. Several reporters in the area have shared their stories through various media outlets.
For a statewide media campaign, Board Member Butch Price suggested building a message around benchmarks. Butch suggested conveying the point that we’re not asking for handouts, but to allocate funding to make community access equitable for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Board Members agreed that the message of “A Life Like Yours” is what should be used across the state-highlighting the many everyday activities that individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities can participate in when funding is allocated to make these activities accessible through support-such as child care, finding a job, etc. “We need to send the message that everyone deserves access to their community”, said one Board Member.
Kim, a mother of two children who have disabilities. pointed out the frustration that the MR Waiver slots have been funded haphazardly, resulting in a waiting list that is grown significantly with time.. Kim emphasized that there must be quality and access when it comes to services. Butch added that our numbers must be precise and quantifiable to explain what it takes to achieve “quality”.
Several board members expressed a hope for The Arc to build “a united voice” within the developmental disability community. For this to happen, they encouraged opening the lines of communication between chapters. The message should be “No one with an urgent need should be waiting”, said one member. “We need to make this a political endeavor”, another member said in agreement.
Thanks Hanover for the lively and thought provoking visit! I’m looking forward to returning for the Taste of the Tracks-which sounds like it will be a great time!
