I am organizing a Transition Fair for high school students with disabilities in Mon. County. I am doing this because I want to help the students get the services they will need after high school. Transitioning from high school to adult life is not easy for anyone. Students with disabilities may have an even harder time if they do not know what types of services may be avaliable to help them. I am planning to have many agencies at this event. The students and their parents can walk around and visit each table, and learn what what each agency has to offer. We hope to have agencies there that help with employment for people with disabilities, offer assistance in higher education, financial assistance, healthcare, personal care services, independent living skills, advocacy, and more. We will also have snacks, drinks and doorprizes.

I want these teenagers to know that they have options after highschool. I want them to realize that they do not have to be restricted by their disability. People with disabilities are people who can have careers, and families, and full lives..... just like people who do not have disabilities. So many young people with disabilities havent been told they have these choices! This event will help them learn how they can get what they need to live the life they choose to live.

Transition Fair
May 5th 6-8pm
Mountaineer Mall conference room
for more info contact Greg Bilonick :
gbilonick@yahoo.com
(304) 692-1722

We are PEOPLE FIRST

People First of West Virginia is part of a growing movement to develop self advocacy groups throughout the United States and the world for people with developmental disabilities. The mission of People First is ..........

"To promote self-advocacy by speaking and acting on behalf of the rights and responsibilities of all people with developmental disabilities."

I have decided to Start a People First group in Morgantown, WV. We will meet on the first Monday of every month at the WVU Center for Excellence in Disabilities, at 1pm, in the second floor conference room. We are always looling for new members. If you are a person with a disability and you would like more information on how to advocate for yourself then, People First is the group for you! The group is run by the members- not by staff or an agency. We want every person to know how to be their own advocate. We must stand up for our rights. We cannot expect anyone else to do it for us.

Once I get this group established, my goal is to get People First into the high schools in Mon. County. I think it would be great to teach students to be their own advocate. The students should not be afraid to be a self advocate! They will need these skills as they transition from high school to adulthood. I have recently met many kids who do not attend their own IEP meetings. Some do not even know what an IEP is. No child, or adult should have important life desicions made for them, without them.

NOTHING ABOUT US- WITHOUT US!