VOICES

(Values, Opportunities, Independence, Choices, Empowerment, and Self-Determination)

VOICES was created to empower more self-advocates and along with People First of Dane County, Wisconsin work together to help those with disabilities become more independent and more integrated into their communities.  A major goal is to help consumers have their opinions heard by agencies supporting them and the community at large.  We want people to understand that having a disability doesn’t change the fact that we all want to be loved, respected and to make decisions about our own lives.

VOICES and People First work to help people of all abilities understand they have rights and they have a say about their own lives.  This is done through group meetings, speaking engagements, political affairs, and training sessions.  At VOICES, we try to give people with disabilities more tools to use to create the lives that they want. We conduct trainings about making choices in different areas of life.  We also try to help support staff understand the people they support have their own opinions and they can make choices about their own lives. 

Some specific issues being addressed at this time are:  

• helping people have better job opportunities and better pay,
• better transportation services,
• opportunities to purchase their own homes,
• opportunities to have the kinds of relationships that they want to have and the freedom to be themselves.

In addition to groups and trainings, VOICES also assists with a quarterly newsletter in Dane County called CHOICES that helps to keep people informed and share personal stories of self-advocates in Dane County.  We are involved in a few different groups to talk about issues like fair pay for people with disabilities at their jobs and addressing issues with transportation services.  We also work with other self-advocates in Dane County to help with conference planning and quality assurance surveys.

It is not easy to get people out and involved – even for causes that they believe in. Both VOICES and People First want to grow in numbers, but this process has been slow.  Together, we know that self-advocates and their allies can make a difference in peoples’ lives!

View our flyers for the Empowerment Course and other Courses we teach!

Want to get involved and build connections? Check out this FLYER!