The Self-Advocacy Association of New York State will be presenting Self-Direction Listening Forums for individuals in the Long Island Region who are self-directing their services with a Broker and FI and who have an active plan and budget. These listening forums are for individuals, parents and family members to discuss best practices for Self-Direction. OPWDD note takers will be present and a final report will be compiled with responses from both the pre-surveys as well as the forums. We need your support to help get this information out to the individuals and families who are supported by or using Self-Directed services. I am attaching a flyer for you to share. The date of the first forum is Wednesday, January 24th at Bellmore Merrick School District 1260 Meadowbrook Rd. North Merrick, NY 11566. There will be two sessions held that day starting at 10:30AM – 1:30PM and 5:30pm – 8:30pm. We thank you in advance for your assistance in getting this information out to the people you serve and support. Please attend and share information regarding these forums widely. It is critical that we work together to safeguard true self-determination and continue to support a variety of services and supports. * This is an informal discussion based forum. Participants can bring written testimony to hand in to be reflected in the final reports. Respectfully Yours, Bridget Cariello Bridget Cariello Supervising Coordinator SANYS Management Team Self-Advocacy Association NYS Office: 631-434-6936 Mobile: 631-335-9142 bcariello@sanys.org