New York City Voices Winter 2005 Page 1 Lending My Voice to Help Others By, Zefa “Doodle Dandy” Dedic My name is Zefa Dedic and I served as a Self-Advocacy AmeriCorps member for 2003 and 2004. As part of my AmeriCorps agreement I did volunteer work in the community. This was like second nature to me, because I had been doing so for five years prior to joining Self-Advocacy AmeriCorps. I translate for the Rose F. Kennedy Center’s Children Evaluation and Rehabilitation Clinic. I speak two other languages (Italian and Albanian.) I started to translate at the Rose F. Kennedy Center for Albanian families on October 21, 1998. An Albanian family that received services for their six-year-old child could not speak any English, so the doctors asked around the hospital for anyone who could speak Albanian. I was the only person throughout the hospital who could speak Albanian. I was then approached and asked to translate for another Albanian family that needed services for a teenage child. I soon became known as the “Albanian Translator” at the Kennedy Center. What started as a good deed turned out to be a good thing for me and the families that I’ve been able to help. I now work at the Rose F. Kennedy Center part-time and receive a stipend for my services. My duties include filing, assorting paperwork for the OMRDD Council and translating as needed. I am still involved with the Self-Advocacy Association, assisting with keeping track of all the Self- Advocacy groups in the five boroughs and Long Island. I enjoy my work and interacting with my colleagues and the various organizations and agencies we present to. Join A Self-Advocacy Group!!! Self-Advocacy is speaking and acting on behalf of your own rights. Usually, successful self-advocacy begins with the formation of a self-advocacy group. The group provides a supportive environment where individuals can develop confidence and independence. Selfadvocacy groups are involved in many different kinds of activities, from social functions and community education to political involvement. What makes them self-advocacy groups is that their activities reflect the wishes and decisions of the group, which is the key to greater independence. If you would like information on joining a self-advocacy group, please visit the New York City regional webpage by going to www.sanys.org and clicking on New York City on the big map (it’s color is yellow.) Scroll down to the bottom for a list of groups. You can also call us at (212) 627-2104 to request information about groups or for a list of groups by email or regular mail. Contact us and join! Page 2 My Life Begins by Karema J. Varner PART I Christina L. Varner gave birth to me at the age of 18, on the day of December 26, 1978. I was born premature and at that time it was kind of hard for her because the doctors told her I weighed only two pounds. She reacted strangely because she could not believe that her first-born child was a premature baby. She panicked instantly, so they took me away from her because she was too upset and her hands were trembling. They were afraid that she would drop me. One day later I stopped breathing but the doctors did not notice. When they finally noticed they told my mother that they would have to put me on a respirator. They told her without it I would not be able to live. Well, I managed to survive and when I reached six pounds I was able to go home with my mother and begin a new life. PART II Now I am twenty-six years old. I am the oldest of three children and an aunt of three. I am fully educated and am currently working for the Self-Advocacy Association of New York State. I advocate for people with disabilities and I also do a lot of different training for support staff. My office is located in the New York City region. Having the job has really helped me in my own personal struggles as a selfadvocate. These include getting my own apartment and fighting to keep my health care facility open. These have been some really tough battles, but I manage to keep fighting. This is with the help of God and my family and my fellow team-members in AmeriCorps, which I am also a member of. I hope that you enjoyed this story and that it will be an inspiration to all New Yorkers. My Life and Acting By, Robert Cardona My name is Robert Cardona and I am currently working with the AmeriCorps program at the Self-Advocacy Association. My future goal is to someday become a full-fledged working actor. Hopefully, as luck would have it, one day I’d love to get a job working on my favorite daytime drama, “All My Children.” I would like to work alongside Michael B. Jordan, probably the best daytime actor on television right now. The reason I want to enter the competitive entertainment world is so that I can someday be noticed by either an entertainment organization or a Hollywood honcho. Page 3 Memorial for Ethel Pacht By Harvey Pacht This memorial was read at Ethel’s funeral. On Wednesday November 2nd, 2005 the world lost a very special person. Her name was Ethel Pacht, she was my wife for over 23 years. She was very instrumental in advocating for a better quality of life for people with disabilities. For example she helped to start our self-advocacy organization. Ethel was a true friend and champion to people with disabilities. Ethel and I, her husband Harvey Pacht, were pioneers in pursuing adoption at a time when it was not common for people with disabilities to adopt children. It was something incredible because, whoever thought people with disabilities could raise children? We had to overcome many obstacles before we could reach our goal. Ethel was a very loving and caring person. I fell in love with her because she was a very nice person and I wanted to have a relationship with her. She made me feel happy. I remember our first Thanksgiving after we met. I introduced Ethel to my mother and sister. We drove from the Bronx to Brooklyn to attend a dinner. It was the first Thanksgiving of our relationship. I got to meet one of Ethel’s brothers and his family. It felt very good. I met her other brother later on. As in every marriage, life was not always easy for us. Like all couples we went through our good times and bad times. But nevertheless we still stuck together because of our love and devotion towards each other. Today we are here to celebrate her life and honor her achievements. She will be missed by all of us. I, Harvey, her surviving spouse and our daughter Samantha, are going to continue to live our lives to the fullest extent possible. This is what Ethel would have wanted us to do. In loving memory. Ethel Pacht 1951-2005 Page 4 The Self-Advocacy Speakers Bureau The NYC region has a great team of trained public speakers can be requested to lead a discussion for your group or organization. Presentations focus on including people with disabilities in community life and also discuss issues relevant to your group. Presentations can vary in length and are provided at no cost. Contact information is listed at the left of this article—call us today! The Self-Advocacy Speakers Bureau Presentations: • Deliver a message of tolerance and inclusion • Demonstrate the gifts that people with disabilities can give to their community • Promote dialog, using humor, personal stories, and thought-provoking activities • Help identify barriers that limit people’s participation in their community • Assist in developing local solutions to create a more inclusive environment We Present To: • Faith Communities • Civic Organizations • School Groups • Government Agencies • Boards of Directors • Community Groups • Service Provider Agencies S A V E T H E D A T E ! ! ! NEW YORK CITY REGIONAL LEADERSHIP MEETINGS for SA Group Officers and Advisors to attend HELD ON THE FIRST TUESDAY OF EVERY MONTH 1:00 to 4:00 pm. at 75 Morton between Greenwhich and Hudson in Manhattan Self-Advocacy Assn. of New York State, Inc. Address: 75 Morton Ave., 1st Floor New York, NY 10014 Phone: (212) 627-2104 Fax: (212) 229-3183 www.SANYS.org SELF-ADVOCACY ASSN. 75 Morton St., First Floor New York, NY 10014