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By Grace Huerta, Vice President, The Arc of California Board of Directors and Chair, El Arc de California Advisory Committee
Attendees of El Arc de California’s Latino Disability Leadership Summit held on August 24, 2023 in Sacramento, CA described how they felt after the event as determined, empowered, inspired, equipped, energized, and informed.
The evening before the summit we hosted a welcome reception that included a variety of guests who are advocates for the Latino disability community, including several members of the California Latino Legislative Caucus, as well as statewide professionals and family members of individuals with developmental disabilities. All attendees share in the vision of creating a world where all Spanish-speaking individuals with disabilities and their families have full access to supports and services.
The Department of Developmental Services disparity data continues to show that we must identify and reduce barriers for Spanish-speaking families of children with disabilities. El Arc de California was established to give Spanish-speaking parent leaders, professionals, and individuals with disabilities an action-driven platform to get involved, exercise their leadership and shape policy.
We kicked off the Latino Leadership Summit at the California State Capitol, where I proudly accepted a Resolution by Assembly Speaker Emeritus Anthony Rendon and presented by Assemblymember Dr. Joaquin Arambula, recognizing El Arc de California and its coalition members for their outstanding work in leading the disability rights movement to advance inclusion and equity for all Latinos with developmental disabilities and their families.
A special thank you to Assemblymember Arambula, who has been a long-time champion of disability rights in California. As I stood on the Assembly Chamber floor to receive the Resolution, I “spiritually” brought with me the thousands of Spanish-speaking families and individuals with disabilities who are counting on us to keep leading the charge.
Following the presentation at the State Capitol, Ana Garcia-Ashley, Executive Director of Gamaliel, facilitated the first in a series of California Latino Disability Leadership Summits across the state, leading discussions on building a powerful coalition and taking action.
The Latino disability rights movement has begun, and we aim to eliminate the many barriers to access and equality for the Spanish-speaking community. I hope that being part of this extraordinary event has inspired everyone in attendance to continue to get more involved with our advocacy efforts.
The Latino Disability Leadership Summit in Sacramento was made possible by the California Equitable Recovery Initiative, a grant by the California Department of Public Health.
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