Jason Belicove, Class of '02

Jason lives in the Fingerlakes Region of NYS and agreed to interview with me yesterday.

Partners in Policymaking was valuable for me because I learned a lot of interesting stuff. I learned about public speaking--that the 'microphone is my friend!' I learned about it and I got to practice it. A lot!

I met new people that I didn't know from around the state and I keep in touch with local people and people from Buffalo. Sometimes I get to see people from other areas at conferences or meetings.

I recommend Partners because it teaches you a lot and makes you grow. It made me grow.

After Partners I became a member of Self Advocacy Americorps and then was hired by them Then I worked as part of the Speakers Bureau and went places to teach people about disability awareness. I did it as a job for my term, and now as a volunteer.

I also volunteer at the Jewish Home. I had a contact there because my mother works there and I am a transporter for dental services.

I am active in the Self-Advocacy Association of NYS and I have advocated in many ways: with our regional transit authority about transportation, about Tropic Thunder, and more.

I am active in SOAR--the self-advocacy association through the Arc and I helped another agency set up their SA group as well. I have attended conferences in Batavia and Albany and SALT (Self-Advocacy Leadership Training) as well.

I am very interested in photography, I have recently joined a photography club and I want to take some courses and find a job using photography in the future.

(You will see many of his pictures on this blog!)

Colleen Brown, Class of '02

Before being a partners graduate, I thought I was pretty good at facilitating and leading support groups. I thought I could pretty much start anything that was a passion and follow through on it. Now as time has passed and maturity has begun to set in, I realize how much Partners helped me become the person I am today. The broad span of knowledge and speakers we experienced has never been met again by any conference or workshop I have attended. The ability to practice our public speaking skills on topics we felt compassionate about in a supportive atmosphere was something each partner needed.

I was not employed when I graduated from Partners. For the last 5 years I have been employed by The Advocacy Center as the Public Education Coordinator, providing presentations to the community on disability awareness along with the speakers bureau I coordinate. I would not have had the skill base needed for this job if not for the Partners program. Through my current position with the support of the speakers bureau, we are able to reach approximately 3,000 people a year in our community, hopefully promoting change in attitudes toward people with disabilities.

I thank the DDPC for having such a wonderful program that reaches far and wide in many ways I am sure they are not aware of.



Colleen Brown,

Parent of a child with a disability

About Partners in Policymaking

Partners in Policymaking, an advocacy training program for adults with developmental disabilities and family members of people with developmental disabilities was started in 1987 by Colleen Wieck and the folks she worked with in Minnesota. This extraordinary group of people felt that if parents and self advocates had the appropriate skills and information, they could improve the lives of people with disabilities in their communities, in their states and the nation.

In the US Partners in Policymaking is federally funded through the Developmental Disability Act and administered through each states DD Council. In NY it is funded byt the Developmental Disability Planning Council and directed by Joyce Steel of The Advocacy Center.

I applied to be in Partners in 2002 and was accepted so one weekend a month for 8 months I made the 4 hour trek to the state capitol (Albany) to take my course. There were lessons on public speaking (“the microphone is your friend!”), person-first language, building life-visions, inclusive education, housing, community-building, the legislative process, rights, advocacy skills and more. We learned to speak publicly, to present testimony and to be attentive to each others strengths as well as accommodate each others' needs.

Partners in Policymaking is a leadership program and the presenters on each topic are top-of-the-line. My class heard Deborah Whitfield on person-first language and disability history, Al Condeluci on community inclusion, Lou Brown on transition and employment, Tom Harmon from the NYS Commission on Quality Care spoke about Willowbrook and taught us how to give public testimony, Pat Johnson from NYS CQC as well spoke about New York’s legislature, Jean Tellier spoke about housing issues, Curt Decker from NDRN taught us how a bill becomes a law and about working with legislators. And the list goes on: Rob Davies then at OMRDD spoke about housing issues and rights, Carol Blessing spoke about transitioning to adulthood and Sue Cullen presented on self-determination.

Cutting-edge ideas and principles are taught every year. Some classes have the opportunity to hear different speakers.

Being away once a month wasn't terrible either! It was always hard to disengage from my home life, but they were fine and so was I!

And as good as the presentations were, the relationship that was built between my classmates was by far the best part! I shared my Partners class with and extraordinary group of people. We were a diverse group—many races and religions were represented, there were people who came from the largest city in the country and from towns so small you can’t mapquest them, and we had a vast variety of ability levels.

At the first session, like most people, we circulated the room looking for people just like us to hang with, but as the sessions went on common ground was built and all of us expanded our definition of “just like us” to include everyone else. That diverse group of folks became a support system—-I can’t tell you how many times an issue would come up at home that I would tag to discuss when I got to Albany (and I can’t tell you how much I missed that when it was over!)

We learned to talk so that all of us could understand and we supported each other so we all shone—I helped one of my Partners remember to take his meds and he kept me on time schedules (He still does today. Thank you Jason!)

And those relationships continue today—with our own class and with the other graduates from across the state. In NY we have a graduate website and list-serv and when I am taking up a new project the phone line from here practically burns up with calls to the Partners I know who have experience with my situation in their town. We frequently unite on common issues as well. Among other things we have rallied for IDEA, in support of a family who lost their son who had autism to abuse, and we took part in a phone/fax campaign on burden of proof last year.

Let’s see, have I said it all? Great speakers, awesome content, leadership skill practice, full-immersion diversity training, ongoing friendships and a dynamic statewide network…

And do I have to say that all of this experience is an asset in your whole life?

The only thing left to say is: Find the program in your state, apply, attend, and learn to conquer the world!

I invite other Partners grads to share additional information and thoughts--just click on the comments button below!