COMMUNITY LIFE & ADVOCACY

Discover Community Life & Advocacy

The Community Life & Advocacy Program at The Arc Eastern Connecticut provides opportunities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to independently and actively engage in the community in ways that serve personal choices and goals and demonstrate the measurable contributions to the community that each one of us is capable of making.

CL&A is unique in the region. We offer a wide range of activities that include outings, dances, leisure activities, and our own Special Olympics contingent!

Choose from our many social, fitness, or support/enrichment activities, held at The Arc ECT’s Norwich location or offsite at various locations.

· Computer classes

· Training for a 5k race

· Films at local libraries

· Bingo

· Outdoor festivals and fairs

· Concerts

· Holiday parties

· Snow tubing

· Parades and musters

· Picnics at Camp Harkness

· Bowling

· Scrapbooking

· Museum trips

· Dining out

· Volunteer activities

Our Empowerment/Enrichment component offers a variety of support groups, activities and workshops that introduce people to the concept of viewing themselves as part of a broader community in which they have a voice, an interest, and a right of inclusion. View our list of programs here.

Transportation: CL&A is one of the only programs that provides door to door transportation for a small fee to its participants throughout New London County. Transportation fees are just $4.00 each way.

All activities are supported by our caring and well-trained staff and drivers.

Signing up is easy!

Contact CL&A at (860) 889-4435, x 108. All participants fill out an Intake form so we can find out the activities that interest you and determine how best to support you during our activities.

Participants receive a monthly calendar of events and a signup sheet and can sign up for as many activities as they wish.

The goal of CL&A is to provide fun and safe activities for everyone who attends, and always maintains an appropriate participant to staff ratio.

To download a brochure click here.

Program Costs: Program fees are $2.00 per program hour for each activity. These fees are reduced to $1 per program hour for anyone who attends with their own staff supports. Participants also pay the cost of admission to events and activities, as well as the cost of their meals.

Since 1952, The Arc Eastern Connecticut has advocated at the local, state and federal level for equal participation and community inclusion for everyone with IDD. More importantly, though, we are committed to helping people with IDD advocate for themselves.

Self Advocacy

The Self-Advocacy movement is one of the fastest growing civil rights movements in the country. This self-governing organization of people with disabilities encourages and teaches people with IDD both individually and in groups to speak up for themselves.

Self-advocacy means that although someone with a disability may call upon the support of others, that person is entitled to be in control of his/her own resources and how they are directed. Self-advocacy is about having the right to make life decisions without undue influence or control by others.

Within advocacy groups, members can learn about their rights and responsibilities, develop confidence about their abilities, practice the skills of speaking in public and studying an issue, learn about voting and group decision-making, exercise problem-solving techniques, and develop assertiveness skills.

For many people, involvement in the self-advocacy movements has built self- confidence, supported self-determination, and provided opportunities for learning about and contributing to their communities and their countries.

For more information, please contact:

Debbie Densmore, CL&A Coordinator

Phone: (860) 889-4435 x 108

Email: ddensmore@thearcect.org