Advo Grrl Meets World
Marilyn Martinez - Author * Disability Advocate * Public Speaker * TV Talk Show Host
Disabilty Advocate, Author, Consultant, TV Host, Marilyn Martinez
Albuquerque, NM 87110
ph: 505-293-7030
admin
Home
Battling The Basemen
t
The Trials and Triumphs of
Marilyn A. Martinez
Click Here to Enter Drawing
to Win a Signed Copy of
Marilyn's New Book!
Achieving accomplishments in life is an ongoing endeavor we all strive towards in the United States. Imagine going through life going after all the same things we all want with road blocks in the way at every turn. We all want our own home, our own job, our own car, our own things and more often than not, a family we can call our own. Imagine wanting all those things and trying to achieve them with the ongoing challenge of being a person with developmental disabilities and everyone including your parents telling you no at
most every turn. That description just given is the real life circumstance of author, TV talk show host, disability advocate, and public speaker Marilyn Martinez. The beauty about Marilyn Martinez is that for the most part she has achieved all those things and more in life. Her ongoing goal and mission is to break down the barriers that people with developmental disabilities encounter, while providing a level playing field for them in life, work and family, plus acheive all the goals she has set down for herself, including being able to get married, without losing the benefits received and needed to maintain her life and home.
To read an excerpt from the book click the image ---->
An Advocate's World - What's It All About, Who's Who and What's What
Being a person with a developmental disability herself gives Marilyn perspective and first hand experience in being an advocate and a self-adovcate at the same time. The bottom line for a person with a developmental disability is if you want to have independence, freedom, flexability, and some of the better things life has to offer you have to be willing to step up, get involved with a variety of helpers, agencies, and organizations, or have a family member or friend at your side helping you navigate the various steps and agencies that will help gain your own independence.
Here's a list of the people and organizations that Marilyn has developed, learned about, and added to over the years, to gain her own independence. To a large degree Marilyn is her own pioneer in this area. Talk about an extraordinary self-advocate. Marilyn is definitely her own best coach and supporter. On the flip side she also has developed a great group of supporters, a thorough knowledge of the organizations and agencies that exist to help her, and a tremendous set of skills that help her lead a happy productive life. The list is as follows:
- Arc of the United States: A national advocacy organization for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (known at different times in the past as the Association for Retarded Children and the Association for Retarded Citizens). The state chapter is The Arc of New Mexico, and the Albuquerque chapter is called ARCA.
- Assisted living person: Someone employed by a service agency to help a person with disabilities in her or his home.
- Case management agency: An independent, private agency that monitors implementation of an Individual Support Plan (ISP).
- Career Services: A state-funded service agency that aids in job placement
- Centralized service team: An agency that made eligibility determinations for state assistance
- Developmental Disability Planning Council: A governmentally created organization that works to increase the independence, productivity, and inclusion of people with developmental disabilities, largely through their own participation.
- Developmental Disability Waiver: A state program to provide residential, employment, therapeutic, and family support services for people with developmental disabilities.
- Disability Rights New Mexico: The agency formerly known as the New Mexico Protection and Advocacy System. It investigates allegations of abuse, neglect, and/or exploitation of people with developmental disabilities.
- Educare: A service agency that provides assisted living support to people with disabilities.
- Home New Mexico: A federally funded agency that helps people with developmental disabilities buy their own homes.
- IndependentLivingResourceCenter: A service agency that helps people with disabilities become more independent.
- Individual Support Plan, or ISP: A plan for how a person with disabilities can accomplish her or his goals.
- Marilyn’s Dream Team: A group of friends who support Marilyn in meeting some of her personal and professional goals.
- Merrymakers: ARCA-sponsored social gatherings for people with disabilities.
- Mi Via: The New Mexico self-directed waiver program.
- New Mexico Partners in Policymaking: A training program to educate people with disabilities in lobbying and advocacy.
- People First: An organization through which people with disabilities can learn to advocate for themselves and others.
- Project Succeed: A federally funded program through the N.M. Division of Vocational Rehabilitation to help people with disabilities find jobs.
- Protection and Advocacy System: The state agency (known informally as P&A) that advocates for people with developmental disabilities and investigates violations of their rights. It is now calledDisability Rights New Mexico.
- Res-Care: A service agency that helped with assisted living and other types of residential care.
- Self-Determination Institute: A training program organized by The Arc of New Mexico to teach people with developmental disabilities how to advocate for themselves.
- Self-directed waiver: A federally funded program through which people with disabilities can direct their own services. Under the program, they choose and manage the services as well as the people who provide them, rather than having this done by governmental or private service agencies.
- Service providers: Local agencies in the community that supply services for the disabled such as home and job assistance.
- Sun Van: An Albuquerque program of city-operated vans that can be reserved for transportation of people with disabilities.
- Section 8: A federally funded program of financial assistance for low-income housing.
- Supplemental Security Income, or SSI: A federal program to help low-income recipients meet basic needs for food, shelter, and clothing.
Disabilty Advocate, Author, Consultant, TV Host, Marilyn Martinez
Albuquerque, NM 87110
ph: 505-293-7030
admin
