mentors4sd about us

In the beginning self advocates and family members of the PA Waiting List Campaign were invited to sit on the PA Office of Mental Retardation, Planning Advisory Committee to increase the representation and the voice of people with disabilities and their families. It did not take long to realize that for real change to occur there needed to be a self advocate and family group educated on the Mental Retardation System.

In 1999 the Pennsylvania Self Determination Consumer and Family Group began with a small group of people that were known as Mentors. Mentors wanted to see change in the way the system responded to self advocates and their family’s need for support. The group envisioned a grassroots movement where information regarding the Pennsylvania Mental Retardation System would be shared statewide.

The PA Self Determination Consumer and Family Group set out to learn as much as possible about the Mental Retardation System so individual members could in turn share what they learned with more self advocates and families across Pennsylvania.

There was no set plan; however, there was support. The PA Self Determination Consumer and Family Group evolved from shared hopes, concerns, fears, stories, encouragement and funding from the Office of Mental Retardation.

The number of families was small in the beginning and most were not affiliated with any other organization. Conversations were informal, family to family. The direction of the group evolved by listening to everyone and inviting more and more people to participate. By 2003 there were 1457 members.

State wide training was offered to self advocates and families on Person Centered Planning, Waivers, and Priority of Urgency of Need of Service (PUNS) and others. Clinical workshops were also offered on issues pertaining to supporting people who have challenging behaviors and sexuality issues.

To become stronger, the Group found it necessary to reach out and enlist the support of the counties. Mentors wanted to disseminate system information and training events to self advocates and families. Problems arose in fulfilling this mission due to county confidentially laws. Since the Office of Mental Retardation supported these efforts, OMR requested counties work collaboratively with the Group in this endeavor. Mentors covered the printing and mailing costs of the brochures and training announcements, which were disseminated to over 55,000 families statewide.

The strength of the Group is attributed to the individualized support each self advocate and family member receives. Through Mentors answering questions and providing system assistance, parents begin to dream that their daughter or son can have an everyday life.

Providing training and sharing information with self advocates and families has been a mission for the PA Self Determination Consumer and Family Group. The Group has sponsored and spoken at a number of workshops regarding system information and Person Centered Planning. Families have been inspired to raise their expectations for creative, community support. PA Self Determination Consumer and Family Group gave families the power to maneuver through the human service system more effectively.

New levels of opportunities and experiences are constantly being created for families to learn and teach. An important goal is to train self advocates and families to become trainers themselves, which the Group referred to as “training the trainer”.

In 2005 the Pennsylvania Self Determination Consumer and Family Group joined the Pennsylvania Training Partnership for People with Disabilities and Families to strengthen our training efforts. The name has changed to Mentors for Self Determination.

Mentors for Self Determination is responsible for PA Training Partnership for People with Disabilities and Families (The Partnership) in the Central Region and Family Connections statewide.

The Family Connection is an informal information sharing, question and answer session for families and self advocates . Together, Mentors present information, brainstorm to assist self advocates and families to resolve problems and issues surrounding the Mental Retardation System in Pennsylvania. Unlike training, a Family Connection is a small personal session where people share their life experiences to promote understanding of the system and encourage families to network with each other and with the other agencies and resources in their counties.

“Today, Mentors for Self Determination are continuing to fulfill our Mission of providing current accurate information to self advocates and families by publishing a quarterly newsletter, the Mentor Memo, ownership of a Listserv, being available to families for one on one mentoring and group information sharing sessions, Mentor trainers attend train the trainer provided by the Institute on Disabilities, Temple University to receive current accurate information to share at Partnership trainings or Family Connections, membership on the Planning and Advisory Committee (PAC), several state committees sponsored by the Office of Mental Retardation, and a web site www.mentors4sd.org.”



Mentoring is helping people help themselves by listening to questions, problems, and concerns of self advocates and families, brainstorming solutions, connecting people to the appropriate resources, and following through to resolution. Mentors are committed to fostering self-sufficiency. In the beginning self advocates and family members of the PA Waiting List Campaign were invited to sit on the PA Office of Mental Retardation, Planning Advisory Committee to increase the representation and the voice of people with disabilities and their families. It did not take long to realize that for real change to occur there needed to be a self advocate and family group educated on the Mental Retardation System. In 1999 the Pennsylvania Self Determination Consumer and Family Group began with a small group of people that were known as Mentors. Mentors wanted to see change in the way the system responded to self advocates and their family’s need for support. The group envisioned a grassroots movement where information regarding the Pennsylvania Mental Retardation System would be shared statewide. The PA Self Determination Consumer and Family Group set out to learn as much as possible about the Mental Retardation System so individual members could in turn share what they learned with more self advocates and families across Pennsylvania. There was no set plan; however, there was support. The PA Self Determination Consumer and Family Group evolved from shared hopes, concerns, fears, stories, encouragement and funding from the Office of Mental Retardation. The number of families was small in the beginning and most were not affiliated with any other organization. Conversations were informal, family to family. The direction of the group evolved by listening to everyone and inviting more and more people to participate. By 2003 there were 1457 members. State wide training was offered to self advocates and families on Person Centered Planning, Waivers, and Priority of Urgency of Need of Service (PUNS) and others. Clinical workshops were also offered on issues pertaining to supporting people who have challenging behaviors and sexuality issues. To become stronger, the Group found it necessary to reach out and enlist the support of the counties. Mentors wanted to disseminate system information and training events to self advocates and families. Problems arose in fulfilling this mission due to county confidentially laws. Since the Office of Mental Retardation supported these efforts, OMR requested counties work collaboratively with the Group in this endeavor. Mentors covered the printing and mailing costs of the brochures and training announcements, which were disseminated to over 55,000 families statewide. The strength of the Group is attributed to the individualized support each self advocate and family member receives. Through Mentors answering questions and providing system assistance, parents begin to dream that their daughter or son can have an everyday life. Providing training and sharing information with self advocates and families has been a mission for the PA Self Determination Consumer and Family Group. The Group has sponsored and spoken at a number of workshops regarding system information and Person Centered Planning. Families have been inspired to raise their expectations for creative, community support. PA Self Determination Consumer and Family Group gave families the power to maneuver through the human service system more effectively. New levels of opportunities and experiences are constantly being created for families to learn and teach. An important goal is to train self advocates and families to become trainers themselves, which the Group referred to as “training the trainer”. In 2005 the Pennsylvania Self Determination Consumer and Family Group joined the Pennsylvania Training Partnership for People with Disabilities and Families to strengthen our training efforts. The name has changed to Mentors for Self Determination. Mentors for Self Determination is responsible for PA Training Partnership for People with Disabilities and Families (The Partnership) in the Central Region and Family Connections statewide. The Family Connection is an informal information sharing, question and answer session for families and self advocates . Together, Mentors present information, brainstorm to assist self advocates and families to resolve problems and issues surrounding the Mental Retardation System in Pennsylvania. Unlike training, a Family Connection is a small personal session where people share their life experiences to promote understanding of the system and encourage families to network with each other and with the other agencies and resources in their counties. “Today, Mentors for Self Determination are continuing to fulfill our Mission of providing current accurate information to self advocates and families by publishing a quarterly newsletter, the Mentor Memo, ownership of a Listserv, being available to families for one on one mentoring and group information sharing sessions, Mentor trainers attend train the trainer provided by the Institute on Disabilities, Temple University to receive current accurate information to share at Partnership trainings or Family Connections, membership on the Planning and Advisory Committee (PAC), several state committees sponsored by the Office of Mental Retardation, and a web site www.mentors4sd.org.”