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Mark Becomes a Leader in Provincial Self Advocacy Movement

In early 2010, Mark, a long-time service recipient of the Delta Community Living Society (DCLS), was nominated and elected by his peers to represent the Lower Mainland-East Region at the British Columbia Association for Community Living (BCACL) Self Advocacy Caucus.

Self Advocacy is a growing civil rights movement for people with developmental disabilities that began in the mid-1980’s. Self Advocates like Mark are committed to reducing the isolation of their peers and helping them take greater control over decisions which affect their lives.

The BCACL Self Advocacy Caucus, which is made up of 14 Self Advocates from across the Province of British Columbia, lobbies for public policy changes that will benefit the developmentally disabled. They are also responsible for developing a range of training and educational resources and opportunities. Participants in the BCACL Self Advocacy Caucus are elected every year by other Self Advocates.

In addition to his responsibilities with the Self Advocacy Caucus, Mark continues to play an important role in the Delta Advocates, a group of 10 community-minded individuals who access services from DCLS. Like the BCACL Self Advocacy Caucus, the Delta Advocates pursue issues that are important to people with developmental disabilities. They also create new educational opportunities, with a particular focus on the areas of personal and community development.

DCLS provides support to the Delta Advocates group and guides them in their efforts to strengthen their collective voice. Valerie the DCLS staff member who supports the work of the Self Advocates, describes her role as one of ‘standing back’ and providing the structure and guidance that will enable participants to independently set and manage their own agenda.

In 2009, for example, the Delta Advocates were successful in applying for funding from the BCACL Self Advocates Seeding Innovation (SASI) project. SASI provided $1,000 towards the development of a series of workshops and resources focused on anti-bullying and anti-gossiping and entitled, ‘How We Treat Each Other’.

Valerie reports that Mark’s ambition and strong desire to help others has led to him taking on increasingly greater challenges with both groups. She adds that Mark gets particular satisfaction from making decisions and providing guidance that will positively affect the lives of others and notes that his self-confidence, ability to listen to others and willingness to speak in public, have all grown tremendously as a result of his participation in both organizations.