The North Carolina Council on Developmental Disabilities and Meet the Need NC are organizing advocates to attend a Listening Session at the NC Legislative I/DD Caucus meeting on Tuesday, May 14.
The I/DD Caucus is working to educate legislators about the needs of the I/DD community, in particular the 17,500+ waiting list for Innovations waivers and the Direct Support Professionals crisis, as well as other issues affecting those with I/DD including those on the autism spectrum. You can join in the listening session as well as advocate with your General Assembly members that day.
The Listening Session at the I/DD Caucus meeting will be held Tuesday, May 14, from 12-2 p.m. in the NC Legislative Building at 16 W. Jones Street in the 3rd floor auditorium. There will be 20 self-advocates, family members, and advocates speaking and there is room for up to 100 audience members in the auditorium space.Ā Ā
Things to know if you plan to attend in person on May 14:
- Sign up to attend here.
- Speaking slots are filled already and space in the room is limited, so if you attend, be prepared to spend time stopping into your legislatorsā offices if you cannot get a seat for the whole Listening Session.
- Please make an appointment with your NCGA members ahead of time. You can find information about who represents you and where their offices are located here.Ā
- Not every one of your legislators will have time available that day, so if you cannot set up a meeting, consider bringing a written statement about your concerns that you can drop off at their offices.
- Please review our Advocacy 101 Toolkit and tips sheet for guidance on what to say and/or what to write in your statement.
- If you are not familiar with the NCGA, please look at their visitor guide, including locations of paid parking and accessibility.
- The NCGA and the Legislative Office building both require visitors to go through security screenings: be prepared to wait and note the list of prohibited items, including signs on sticks.