Leading By Example: Meet Citizens’ Dedicated Self-Advocates
This Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month, Citizens is recognizing the self-advocates whose voices help shape stronger, more responsive supports every day.
Self-advocates advance Citizens’ mission by sharing their experiences and perspectives, helping ensure that services reflect the needs and goals of the people they support.
Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month, said Colleen Tapia, Quality Improvement Administrator, is a good time to celebrate each person for “who they are and what they bring.”
Among our community of self-advocates are Steven Barsh, a Quality Assurance (QA) Trainer and Secretary of the Citizens Residential Council; Michelle Rudoff, a QA Trainer and Music Director for Virtual Connections; and Matt Hofele, Office Clerk, Personal Outcomes Measure Interviewer; and Citizens Residential Council President.
As self-advocates, Steven, Michelle, and Matt advance belonging and awareness about the issues important to people supported across agency programs.
Steven and Michelle are both on the QA team and provide representation on committees, hiring processes, and other actions. Steven and Michelle also assist with developing agendas for Executive, Residential, Day Hab, and Workforce Councils and working on special projects relating to voter registration, safe driving, and other topics.
The most important part about awareness, Steven said, is teaching people. Not everybody knows about Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month.
Steven frequently travels to forums, conferences, and rallies, including in Albany, to advocate for more funding for disability services in the New York State budget.
“Hopefully the governor will be hearing us,” Steven said.
Michelle encourages people who receive services, families, and staff to sign on to one-click campaigns, including federal and state-focused campaigns available at Citizens’ Advocacy Center, because without adequate funding, “We won’t be able to have the services or the staff we need to live the life that we want and the life we deserve,” Michelle said.
Matt, like Michelle and Steven, helps to advance these goals, but he emphasized the importance of being an advocate every day and everywhere.
“If I see something, I say something,” Matt said. “I make it known that we need to be treated equal wherever we are.”
A crucial part of self-advocacy work is encouraging others to become advocates by being a role model.
“There’s different disabilities out there, and I have one too,” Steven said. “I like to listen and learn.”
Join our community of self-advocates, families, and staff in advocating for a Targeted Inflationary Increase; Careforce Affordability Initiative; and infrastructure investments in the FY27 Budget by visiting our Advocacy Center.