My guess is that for most of you college was the time when you had to start learning to be self-reliant. And now that you’re in the middle of your first job search, the whole process has been propelled forward at a much faster rate. If you’re not speaking up for yourself, taking care of yourself, and building a support system for yourself now, when will you? People with intellectual and related developmental disabilities go through the same exact process when they move from group homes to their own homes. The Self Advocacy Association of New York State is a Schenectady, NY based non-profit “grassroots organization run by and for people with developmental disabilities” that helps its constituents learn self-reliance skills, while also giving them a support network to fall back on. They run self-advocacy groups across New York State and offer a variety of projects and services that make self-determination an easier process.

Advocate for Yourself

The Self Advocacy Association of New York State website is a little hard to navigate at first–especially if you’re looking for a brief overview of what they’re all about. The two most helpful documents that I came across were their About page (which I only found through Google) and this brochure. Both will give you a better sense of how the organization works and what they aim to accomplish. You’ll also want to check out SANYS’s Resources page so that you can dig a little into the topics of self-advocacy and self-determination. If you like what SANYS is doing, then you should take a look at their jobs on Idealist. Right now they’re looking for a Regional Organizer in their New York City office–it looks like an interesting position, so give it a look.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

• SANYS.org
• Jobs at Self Advocacy Association of New York State (Idealist)
• About Self Advocacy Association of New York State
• SANYS Resources

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