Welcome to Minute Man Arc SELF ADVOCACY 

Our Mission
We, the advocacy groups of Minute Man Arc, believe in standing strong to advocate for our rights as well as our peers so we can gain more knowledge to achieve a better tomorrow. 

Who We Are
We have two self advocacy groups for people receiving services at Minute Man Arc. We meet every month at different times and places so everyone has a group that fits their needs.

Minute Man Self Advocates (MSA), formerly known as the Blue Team, has about 25 members who attend adult day programs at Minute Man. Meetings are held on the fourth Thursday from 1:30-2:30 pm at Baker.

Self Advocates for Everyone (SAFE) has about 15 members who meet in the evening because they work during the day. Meetings are held on the fourth Tuesday from 5:45-6:45 pm at Carter. 

We also have a Self Advocacy Steering Committee with members chosen from each of the group to share ideas and plan all activities at Minute Man Arc. 
What we do…
At our monthly group meetings we
• Learn and talk about advocacy
• Talk and learn about voting
• Take our stress out
• Talk and say what we feel

We also schedule Trainings to increase our independence. Some of our topics have included: 
• American sign language
• Nutrition
• Fire Safety
• Emergency preparedness

We advocate for ourselves in the community and educate others by being involved. 
• We attend town meetings to hear about issues in the local community
• We vote in elections and visit our legislators at the state house
• We sit on advisory boards and board of directors to have a say in other organizations

We like to help others who are less fortunate in our community
• We volunteer delivering meals on wheels
• We are working with another self advocacy group from GWARC on “Operation Soldier”
• We set up tables and chairs for a group offering free meals in the local community 

We are proud of the good work we do. Keep checking our website or sit in our meetings to learn what we are all about! 
 

Links: Please visit the Arc MA and Arc US websites for self-advocacy and legislative advocacy information.