You have to know where you have been in order to know where you are going.
In AdvocacyDenver History Part I we said that the Denver County Chapter of the National Association for Retarded Children was established May 12, 1954, by parents to address the lack of access for children with disabilities to public education and in-home supports. With time the capitol C stood for citizen. The Denver association moved to an acronym ARC and eventually our articles of incorporation were modified to Arc of Denver. Officially we are Arc of Denver doing business as AdvocacyDenver. Why the name change; why did we rebrand?
Truth be told, participants in People First and Arc Junior were the first to champion a name change. Last month we provided an overview of the important work of youth and adults with disabilities. Some of the more contentious work centered around the campaign to eliminate the “r” word.
Certainly, there was agreement that the word should be eliminated in policy and rules, but more important, everyday vocabulary. Where there was disagreement was in the name of not only our Denver chapter, but the state and national organization.
In Colorado there was, and is, the Arc of Colorado, The Association for Community Living (which is a chapter of the Arc), a growing list of Arc chapters and arc Thrift Stores. Clients were cheered as they initiated letter writing campaigns, testified in public arenas and at the capitol, but Arc disability staff cautioned youth and adults in their letter writing campaign to eliminate the “r” in Arc; having said that, youth and adults were not convinced that Arc is not an acronym.
January 2009, the Arc of Denver embarked on strategic planning. Staff, Board members and other chapter members including youth and adults met and agreed that the name of the agency must pay homage to the “A” in the Arc, no not Association, rather ADVOCACY. This is a tribute to the parents, adults, and community before us that stood firm advocating for the human rights of children and adults with disabilities. We are Denver and so on September 15, 2009 we became known as ADVOCACYDENVER.
