The Arc of Illinois advocates for the disabled at the White House

CHICAGO HEIGHTS | Nancy Webster, Terri Devine, Dorelia Rivera, Bob Okazaki, Dan Strick and Tony Paulauski joined 150 leaders of The Arc from across the country to attend a White House community leaders briefing on Feb. 10.

Over the course of the day, leaders of chapters of The Arc, including people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, were briefed by high level White House and administration officials on topics ranging from Medicaid to education to community living to family support and employment for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and had the chance to engage with and ask questions of these officials.

This daylong briefing is specifically for The Arc's network, and comes just weeks before Developmental Disabilities Awareness month, which is in March and will be marked with efforts across the country to raise awareness of issues facing people with disabilities.

"We are honored to be invited as members of The Arc to attend this White House briefing." said Orland Park resident Terri Devine, vice president of The Arc of Illinois.

Participants heard from senior White House officials including Jon Carson, the director of the Office of Public Engagement, and a surprise visit by President Barack Obama.

"The Arc is to be commended for their ability to bring together disability advocates from throughout the United States to meet with senior White House officials," said Dan Strick, president of the The Arc of Illinois' Executive Forum and SouthSTAR Services president/CEO. "It offers a unique opportunity to share our local perspective with policy makers. We want to make them understand how their decisions impacts someone in Chicago Heights or Dyer with a developmental disability."

Additionally, there were a series of policy breakout sessions that allowed for more detailed discussions on certain issue areas, like community living, education and Medicaid. The purpose of these briefings was to allow White House and administration officials to hear from leaders of The Arc about how government policies affect the lives of people with intellectual and developmental disabilties and impact their ability to live full, independent lives. This unique, face-to-face opportunity to speak directly to people in positions to make change from within the government allows leaders of The Arc to make the voices of the millions of people with disabilities heard at the White House.

As The Arc gears up to raise awareness during Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month in March, chapter leaders can take home new tools to help individuals in their communities utilize programs of the federal government.

"The Arc of Illinois is engaged with a major rebalancing of the disability system here in Illinois. These discussions at the White House will provide us with even more knowledge to advocate for the changes we need here in Illinois," said Tony Paulauski, executive director and resident of Tinley Park.

"The Arc, as one of the largest organizations working with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, brings a wealth of experience and insight to discuss today's most important concerns facing persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities. We're looking forward to having them here at the White House to deepen our partnership, and to discuss the issues we care about most," Carson said.

The Arc advocates for and serves people with intellectual and developmental disabiltiies, including Down syndrome, autism, fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, cerebral palsy and other diagnoses. The Arc has a network of more than 700 chapters across the country promoting and protecting the human rights of people with these disabilities and actively supporting their full inclusion and participation in the community throughout their lifetimes and without regard to diagnosis.