by Jonah Berger

It’s one thing to talk about self-advocacy, it really is quite another to practice it. To put yourself into the middle of it. To own it. And that is exactly what happened this week when our own Two-Way Street Project descended upon the Colorado State Capitol to learn the lay of the land and find out how our rights and issues are being handled there.

“The Two-Way Street Project” is a collaborative effort between The Arc Arapahoe & Douglas Counties and Tall Tales Ranch. This group of young adults will be meeting monthly to promote self-advocacy and volunteer to serve other non-profits in our area.

The day at the Capitol was a glowing success. We spent the morning on the senate floor observing legislation in action. Several senators came over to meet us and help explain what we were watching. We then toured the Capitol and were taken up to the newly renovated dome to get a “million dollar view” of our fair city.

Then we attended The Arc Legislative Luncheon and got to celebrate all of the amazing work going on at the capitol to make our futures bright.

Lastly, we had the opportunity to meet Senator John Kefalas at his office for a private chat about our rights and our concerns. We spent over an hour with this amazing man and talked about our desires to be supported in advanced education, gainfully employed, and allowed options as to where we choose to live. The Senator taught us a few Greek phrases and we spoke about music and movies as well.

The name of our group, The Two-Way Street Project, was born from the belief that when the match is made between our amazing adults and members of the general community, the benefits are truly a Two-Way Street.   And it happened yesterday as our group was inspired and educated in the same moment as we were inspiring and educating the legislators we met.

It was an amazing day and this group is just getting started. Next month, we will partner with the S.A.M.E. Café (So All May Eat), to learn about hunger and roll up our sleeves to help them out.   For more information about the Two-Way Street Project, contact Kim Tenure at [email protected] or call (720) 457-1032.