Newsletter Apr 2023

Monthly News & Updates

April 2023

Mid-Year Training

Mark your calendars for the 2023 Mid-Year Training and Advisory Board Meeting. The meeting will be held at the East View Community Center located at 1655 Philippi Pike, Clarksburg WV 26301. The meeting will be in person and on Zoom from 9:30 am 2:30 pm. Lunch will be provided for people attending in person only.

During this meeting a final vote will be held on the color of the T-Shirts. Since we know not everyone can come to the meeting and their group may not be holding local People First meetings, below is a survey to let people voice their opinion. Registration forms will be available no later than April 1st.

This is an election year and training has been requested by self-advocates on officer roles for state office. It has also been several years since the by-laws have been reviewed. Those will also be discussed to determine if any changes need made.

National Library Week

“There’s more to the story.”

This year national library week is April 23-27, 2023. Throughout the week there will be different things to celebrate.

Monday, April 24: Right to Read Day, the State of America’s Libraries Report is released, including Top Ten Frequently Challenged Books of 2022.

Tuesday, April 25: National Library Workers Day, a day for library staff, users, administrators, and Friends groups to recognize the valuable contributions made by all library workers.

Wednesday, April 26: National Library Outreach Day (formerly National Bookmobile Day), a day to celebrate library outreach and the dedicated library professionals who are meeting their patrons where they are.

Thursday, April 27: Take Action for Libraries Day, a day to rally advocates to support libraries.

Libraries are a great way to get have access to mountains of information. For checking out books or movies to using their computers. All you need is a library card. Some libraries also offer audio books. All you have to do is go in and ask about them and they will give you paperwork to fill out. Once approved you can check out the audio versions of your favorite books. So go support your local libraries and see what they are doing for National Library Week.

Click Here for more information from the American Library Association.

Sexual Assault Awareness Month

Why is sexual assault awareness important? To raise awareness and spread information about sexual assault as well as to give people in the community resources on who to contact in the event of a sexual assault. There is one day in April that people will publicly protest and that is Denim Day.

What is Denim Day?

Denim Day is the last Wednesday in April. It was created because of a court ruling in Italy. A person was convicted of sexual assault and got it overturned because the woman assaulted was wearing tight jeans. It was argued that since her jeans were so tight, she had to help the assailant take the jeans off. In response to the conviction being overturned women put on their jeans and sat on the courthouse steps in protest.

Click Herefor more information on sexual assault.

Legislative Matters Now! with M&M!

Partners in Policymaking will be the feature of the March Legislative Matters NOW! with M&M. Brandy Beery, President of the WV Developmental Disabilities Council will speak on attending the training and it’s benefits. Registration is open now at the Council’s website. Click Here for more information. Brandy will then speak in the Advocate in Action segment about how she advocates for her family and others. New shows premier on the last Wednesday of each month at 10:00 am on the People First Facebook page or you can see an archive of past shows on the People First YouTube page that you will find HERE. If you would like to be a guest on the show or have a topic that should be discussed, contact Melissa or Morgan.

People First of WV Meetings and Events:

Meetings are held in person and on Zoom. Click Here for a list of meetings.

Check the People First Facebook page for last minute changes.

Opportunities to Give Back

You are invited to give back to your community through joining boards and committees or volunteering with a group. There is a list of different groups throughout West Virginia on the People First Web Page. For more information: Click Here