There were many amazing speakers at this year’s NARPA Conference. The NARPA (National Association on Rights Protection and Advocacy) Conference took place in Baltimore, MD and occurred over three full days at the end of September.
It was an honor to witness Torry Bernard, Advocacy Unlimited Team Member and Join Rise Be Warmline Coordinator, share her experience and insight moving through the foster care system in Maine. Torry’s courage, grace, and purpose shone through as she reflected on the meaning in her experiences with subtle oppression. Specifically noting the experience of being given a trash bag to grab her belongings, not being given information about next steps, being moved between strangers without discussion, and even being pulled out of a home, put with strangers, and given a trash bag to retrieve belongings may seem like the needs are being addressed – shelter, care, and belongings – however, Torry spoke to a deeper desire of belonging and value. Follow Join Rise Be on Facebook to join the movement, rise above circumstance, and be the voice of recovery in Connecticut.
https://www.facebook.com/JoinRiseBe/
The second Keynote speaker during Thursday’s afternoon plenary was Nyamuon “Moon” Nguany Machar, an activist with Youth Move Maine. Moon shared about the intersectionality between culture, identity, and family systems within the context of foster care. Specifically naming systemic oppressions she experienced across child and youth serving agencies, Moon drew attention to the need for a person to be seen as an individual with unique experiences and approaches to navigate circumstances. Too often young people experience limitations imposed upon them by people who think they are acting with their best interest in mind instead of asking the young person what they think about their situation. Follow Moon on
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/moon.nguany
Consistent with Torry and Moon’s keynote, the topic of foster care was a theme highlighted by speakers. Noted as a more vulnerable group, foster-care youth are highly susceptible to rights violations. For example, a portion of young people in residential treatment facilities are placed in these restrictive congregate care settings because there is no availability of kinship or foster care placements. While, young people have limited access to education, quality relationships, and freedom of movement at facilities. Even more concerning is the fact that youth within foster care are 4X more likely to be medicated with poly pharmaceutical off label prescribing practices. On average, the rate of prescriptions among adolescents is increasing annually. With the most common diagnosis is attention related. The use of anti-psychotics to treat children as young as 4 years old for behaviors deemed disruptive is also on the rise.
Connecticut is not blameless, as we have recently witness the loss of life within a Connecticut Department of Children and Families (DCF) operated facility. There are many organizations working to protect the rights of children and youth. To learn more, please check out our partner Disability Rights Connecticut, previously known as the Office of Protection and Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities,
https://www.disrightsct.org/
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- Michaela I. Fissel, Assistant Executive Director
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Corrine Taylor, Dana Smith and I went to Burlington, Vermont for the three day Advanced Intentional Peer Support training at the beginning of October. During these three days we were able to connect with other people who practice IPS in their personal lives and also their organizations. We had the opportunity to spend time digging in deep about peer support, co- reflection and the four tasks of IPS.
-Torry Bernard
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New Britain Couple Facing Deportation Will Leave Sanctuary While ICE Considers Request To Stay In U.S.
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Malik Naveed bin Rehman, center, and his wife, Zahida Altaf, right, were facing deportation to their native Pakistan in March when they sought refuge in The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme. The couple's 5-year-old daughter, Roniya is a U.S. citizen. (Patrick Raycraft / Hartford Courant)
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By Ruth Bruno
rbruno@courant.com
After living in the basement of an Old Lyme church for nearly seven months, a
New Britain
couple facing deportation to Pakistan has decided to leave their sanctuary.
Malik Naveed bin Rehman, 50, and his wife, Zahida Altaf, 42, have learned that
Immigration and Customs Enforcement
officials are not denying their pending request to stay in the country.
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Thursday November 8th
9:30 am - 12:30 pm
114 W. Main Street
New Britain CT 06051
Suite 201
Free parking is available in our overflow lot on Court Street.
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Approaches to Wellness: Boxing to Break through Vulnerability
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Stephanie Swantek’ s work focuses on community organizing and intersectionality. She will share alternative ways in building community, relationships and inner strength through the sport of boxing. Her experience ranges from human trafficking, immigration, mental health and addiction, access to education and advocacy. Breaking down stigma, stereotypes and myths along the way, she will focus on resiliency factors, empowerment and peer support. This seminar can benefit community members, practitioners, service providers, and those interested in wellness.
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Please RSVP to Jennifer Henry at (860) 505-7581 or jhenry@advocacyunlimited.org
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WEBINAR: Recovery During The Transition To Adulthood
Thursday, November 29, 2018
9:30AM—11:00AM
LOG IN:
Computer, tablet or smartphone:
CALL IN:
+1 (408) 650-3123
ACCESS CODE:
863-392-029
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Hello Readers,
It is with sadness I announce this will be the final newsletter I design for Advocacy Unlimited. It has been a pleasure to create for you each month and I wanted to take a moment to thank you for reading.
This isn’t goodbye, I will be working out of our Toivo office in Hartford. I hope to see you soon.
Kindly,
Nichole Colquitt
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Advocacy Unlimited | 114 W. Main St., New Britain, CT 06051
860-505-7581 | ncolquitt@advocacyunlimited.org
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