NC Partners in Policymaking (OC)
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0:01 - 0:11[music]
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0:11 - 0:13[male voice] They come one by one,
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0:13 - 0:15all seeking answers to puzzling questions
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0:15 - 0:17and ways of coping with the uncertainties
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0:17 - 0:19and challenges that life can bring.
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0:19 - 0:22Almost universally, they leave with new optimism
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0:22 - 0:24and new tools to help them deal with the issues
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0:24 - 0:27of concern. They are people with intellectual
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0:27 - 0:29and developmental disabilities
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0:29 - 0:31or the parents of children with disabilities
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0:31 - 0:33and most have felt the frustration and pain
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0:33 - 0:35of struggling to deal with the system.
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0:35 - 0:38These individuals have come to Partners
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0:38 - 0:39in Policymaking and their needs
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0:39 - 0:41and circumstances vary.
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0:41 - 0:44But all have sought ways to find new answers
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0:44 - 0:45and to bring about change.
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0:45 - 0:47They learn how to make their voices heard
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0:47 - 0:50to play a role in policy development.
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0:50 - 0:53Wanda Mills has lived with difficult disabilities
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0:53 - 0:55for much of her life, but persevered
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0:55 - 0:57and went on to employment
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0:57 - 0:58with the tax department in the town of Sylva
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0:58 - 1:01When her parents passed on, she moved to
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1:01 - 1:04her own residence, cooks all her own meals
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1:04 - 1:05and maintains the household.
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1:05 - 1:07She credits the Partners program
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1:07 - 1:10with helping her to interact in the community.
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1:10 - 1:16It has changed my life completely.
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1:16 - 1:26I have always wanted to be a public speaker.
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1:26 - 1:31and that was a crazy idea,
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1:31 - 1:40but Partners helped me realize that I could
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1:40 - 1:45be a public speaker.
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1:45 - 1:53That has always been a life dream of mine.
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1:53 - 2:01From my perspective, it is to help
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2:01 - 2:09parents of children with disabilities
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2:09 - 2:17to not put their child in a box,
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2:17 - 2:23but let them be all they can be,
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2:23 - 2:30however little though that may be.
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2:30 - 2:33That is so important.
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2:33 - 2:36[male voice] Wanda is increasingly speaking out
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2:36 - 2:38on issues of concern to people with disabilities
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2:38 - 2:40addressing groups in a number of North Carolina
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2:40 - 2:44communities. The Partners program director,
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2:44 - 2:46Deborah Whitfield, an attorney who herself
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2:46 - 2:48is a graduate of the program in Texas understands
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2:48 - 2:51the growth process and now keeps the proceedings
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2:51 - 2:55on track in North Carolina.
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2:55 - 2:58There are some challenges, people who believe, that
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2:58 - 3:00you know they can't do it because many of them
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3:00 - 3:02haven't left their own communities.
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3:02 - 3:04Many have never gotten on public transportation.
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3:04 - 3:08Many have not even lived in a hotel room.
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3:08 - 3:11So when you see those individuals
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3:11 - 3:13who come to this training for the first time,
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3:13 - 3:15get that experience and soar
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3:15 - 3:19it is a delight to be a part of that process.
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3:19 - 3:21[male voice] The creator of the Partners advocacy
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3:21 - 3:23program, Dr. Colleen Wieck, of Minnesota,
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3:23 - 3:25said it was prompted by a specific need
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3:25 - 3:27and then grew from there.
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3:28 - 3:32The last witness at the 3-hour hearing was
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3:32 - 3:34a young parent from International Falls,
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3:34 - 3:37Minnesota. And, everyone was giving her
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3:37 - 3:39mixed messages about what to do to testify
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3:39 - 3:42in front of U.S. Senator Dave Durenberger
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3:42 - 3:45And, after that hearing, two of us got together
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3:45 - 3:48and we realized, we could teach the skill
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3:48 - 3:51that was missing. And, we could do this
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3:51 - 3:53in a systematic way, as well as
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3:53 - 3:57teach best practices about disability services.
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3:57 - 4:00And, as a result, we created this
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4:00 - 4:03eight weekend program that's designed to teach
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4:03 - 4:05both- what is best practice
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4:05 - 4:08in education, assistive technology, living
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4:08 - 4:11and employment, as well as how to communicate
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4:11 - 4:14with local, state and federal officials.
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4:14 - 4:16[narrator voice] Because the need for people with
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4:16 - 4:17intellectual and developmental disabilities
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4:17 - 4:19to advocate for themselves
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4:19 - 4:21is not limited by boundaries, Partners programs
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4:21 - 4:24are being conducted in most states
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4:24 - 4:26in the U.S., and a number of foreign countries.
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4:26 - 4:28The individual needs vary, but there are
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4:28 - 4:30some common themes.
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4:30 - 4:32The desire for full inclusion often rises to the top.
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4:34 - 4:38I think that the tips and the tools that you learn
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4:38 - 4:43about advocating for yourself or for others
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4:43 - 4:49are great. You can use them for any disability
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4:49 - 4:52Being a blind person, I come against
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4:52 - 4:55things all the time as far as
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4:55 - 5:02what I can and can't do because
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5:02 - 5:05I'm blind. They don't know what I can and can't do
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5:05 - 5:07because they don't want to give you a chance.
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5:07 - 5:09You have to speak up for yourself,
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5:09 - 5:11so I learned to be more assertive.
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5:11 - 5:16speak up for myself and sell myself. I have
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5:16 - 5:18to do that.
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5:18 - 5:19[narrator voice] While many graduates
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5:19 - 5:21focus on issues of housing
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5:21 - 5:22and employment, Doug Hedrick
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5:22 - 5:24has zeroed in on respect, campaigning
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5:24 - 5:26for the use of language that sees individuals
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5:26 - 5:30with disabilities as people. The father of a son
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5:30 - 5:32with autism, Hedrick went before the board of his
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5:32 - 5:35local school district and got action.
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5:35 - 5:39The eight month program gives you a lot of tools in
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5:39 - 5:42your toolbelt, and I'm just starting to use
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5:42 - 5:44a few of them.
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5:44 - 5:47Some of the ones that I've used is being able to
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5:47 - 5:51speak to school boards and facilitating
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5:51 - 5:54a People First language policy.
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5:54 - 5:59What Partners asked me to do, in the course, was
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5:59 - 6:02to change or create policies, and I saw
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6:02 - 6:04an opportunity with my school board in Burke
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6:04 - 6:08County to say, let's use a People First
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6:08 - 6:11language policy let's adopt that.
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6:11 - 6:13And the interesting thing is ...
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6:14 - 6:16and this is what I've learned in Partners.
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6:16 - 6:20When you explain this to people.
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6:20 - 6:22people generally do the right thing.
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6:22 - 6:26People want to facilitate change
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6:26 - 6:29if it's the right thing, and using a People First
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6:29 - 6:34language policy is just a very good thing.
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6:34 - 6:38And they adopted this policy last year,
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6:38 - 6:43and they're using it today.
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6:43 - 6:45[male narrator] Others have joined Hedrick
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6:45 - 6:47as advocates of people first language
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6:47 - 6:49a movement that has been supported
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6:49 - 6:50and pressed by the North Carolina
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6:50 - 6:53Council on Developmental Disabilities
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6:53 - 6:55Together with other Partners graduates, Hedrick
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6:55 - 6:57has helped push for People First language
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6:57 - 6:59with webinars, telling supporters how they can
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6:59 - 7:01carry the message to their own communities.
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7:01 - 7:05They are demonstrating leadership in their
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7:05 - 7:07communities, as many Partners graduates do.
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7:07 - 7:09Debra Wilson completed the program
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7:09 - 7:11and later was named a member of the
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7:11 - 7:13North Carolina Council
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7:13 - 7:15on Developmental Disabilities. She came to
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7:15 - 7:18Partners when she was struggling to find ways
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7:18 - 7:20of opening up workable education pathways
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7:20 - 7:22for her daughter who has a visual impairment.
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7:22 - 7:26We were having difficulties with our Onslow County
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7:26 - 7:28school system where we live, and she was having
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7:28 - 7:34to travel about two hours on a weekly basis
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7:34 - 7:38just to be able to attend school and having
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7:38 - 7:40to live somewhere besides her home environment.
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7:40 - 7:45And, someone told me about Partners
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7:45 - 7:47and asked if I thought I would be interested. And I
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7:47 - 7:50didn't know anything about Partners at the time.
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7:50 - 7:54And what happened was ultimately learning
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7:54 - 7:58and being able to meet the people that Partners
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7:58 - 8:02[laughs] It's almost like they pull them out of a hat but
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8:02 - 8:04they're absolutely fantastic.
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8:04 - 8:07And those people were able to show us
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8:07 - 8:10not only knowledge but give us the power,
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8:10 - 8:13show us power that we actually had, that we
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8:13 - 8:16could change and make a difference to bring our
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8:16 - 8:18children either home, in our case,
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8:18 - 8:20or do what needed to be done so that
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8:20 - 8:23they could get education. In every situation
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8:23 - 8:27for us, and that's just being parents of our children
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8:27 - 8:29with a disability.
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8:29 - 8:30[male narrator] One young graduate
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8:30 - 8:33of the program, self-advocate David Chatterton
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8:33 - 8:34feels that the Partners program has been
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8:34 - 8:37a great experience, and helped in preparing
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8:37 - 8:39him for a career.
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8:39 - 8:43I went into Partners because I wanted to meet
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8:43 - 8:46new people, but also, I just kind of wanted to
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8:46 - 8:50make a change in my life and to kind of get
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8:50 - 8:54a strong sense of you know not letting people
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8:54 - 8:58put you down, and what not. It was
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8:58 - 9:00overwhelming, just because it goes deeper
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9:00 - 9:02into the whole disability area.
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9:02 - 9:10I love to educate myself. I love that others educate
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9:10 - 9:13me as well. So, going into Partners, you meet a lot
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9:13 - 9:15of people that share a lot of the same visions as you.
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9:15 - 9:19[male narrator] David is now looking to the future
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9:19 - 9:21to continue his education, pursue a career
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9:21 - 9:23and use his advocacy skills.
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9:23 - 9:26Nurturing leadership and advocacy, and providing
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9:26 - 9:28the voices of the future for people with
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9:28 - 9:30intellectual and developmental disabilities
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9:30 - 9:35is a primary purpose of Partners in Policymaking
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9:35 - 9:37Holly Riddle, the executive director of the
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9:37 - 9:40North Carolina Council, says it is a strong
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9:40 - 9:42supporter and funder of the program.
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9:42 - 9:46Many boards, commissions, committees, offices
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9:46 - 9:50are staffed or are joined by Partners in Policymaking
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9:50 - 9:53graduates. When people come to Partners, they
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9:53 - 9:58are the finest leaders that we get application from
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9:58 - 10:00and when they come out, they can't be beat.
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10:00 - 10:06It has always been the case that it is from individuals
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10:06 - 10:10with disabilities and families that innovations come.
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10:10 - 10:12When you're that close to the life of someone
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10:12 - 10:18or when it is your own life, you think on your feet
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10:18 - 10:23so many of the ideas that inform the field today
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10:23 - 10:26at a systems level began in someone's living room
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10:26 - 10:30in a classroom with an individual, or with a family
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10:30 - 10:35many of them Partners in Policymaking graduates.
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10:35 - 10:37[male narrator] There remains a challenging road
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10:37 - 10:40ahead for people with intellectual and developmental
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10:40 - 10:43disabilities, and the hope for change lies in improving
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10:43 - 10:45the policies and systems designed to support
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10:45 - 10:48and encourage these individuals and their families.
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10:48 - 10:50It is people, such as the graduates of the
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10:50 - 10:54Partners in Policymaking program who
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10:54 - 10:56will bring about that system change.
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10:56 - 10:59And after Partners, became empowered,
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10:59 - 11:02and knowledge is power.
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11:02 - 11:07And once that happened, the bitterness,
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11:07 - 11:14the anger- it left. And now you learn, you know
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11:14 - 11:17that people are people, and you learn how to deal
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11:17 - 11:20with every different person there is in every
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11:20 - 11:31situation. And those situations, they need to be
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11:31 - 11:34used to help benefit, not only my child
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11:34 - 11:37and my daughter, but they need to be used
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11:37 - 11:40to benefit all disabilities, all disabilities.
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11:40 - 11:44And everything that I can do and everything
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11:44 - 11:48I've learned is important so that I keep my anger
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11:48 - 11:51out of it, that it's not about the people
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11:51 - 11:55it's about situations that we need to resolve
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11:55 - 11:58and how we can go about doing those things,
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11:58 - 12:01and, there again, the more knowledge you have
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12:01 - 12:04the more power you have, which ultimately
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12:04 - 12:07can make a change, and that's what it's about.
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12:07 - 12:11[male narrator] Partners in Policymaking, a program
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12:11 - 12:14to educate and to motivate, a program of action
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12:14 - 12:17a program for the future.
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12:17 - 12:29[music]
- Title:
- NC Partners in Policymaking (OC)
- Description:
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A statewide program that develops leadership skills and trains advocates for people with disabilities to voice their views and influence policymakers is set to begin early in 2011. Partners in Policymaking is designed to better enable individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and the parents of young children with such disabilities to present their views on policies that affect them.
- Video Language:
- English
aaron edited English subtitles for NC Partners in Policymaking (OC) | ||
aaron edited English subtitles for NC Partners in Policymaking (OC) | ||
aaron edited English subtitles for NC Partners in Policymaking (OC) | ||
aaron added a translation |