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Areva
Martin |
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Areva Martin
46 - Los Angeles, CA
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"I am amazed by the courage of parents who are raising children with disabilities, but are passionate about getting the best services for their children. When I meet these heroes, I know my work is not in vain."
As the mother of an autistic child, Areva wanted to help parents with limited resources to find services for their disabled children. In 2004, she co-founded the Special Needs Network (SNN), a grassroots organization providing skills training, advocacy training, and support to low-income families in South Los Angeles. SNN links underserved communities with disability organizations and governmental agencies, which often don’t address issues specific to these communities.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, one in 150 children is born with autism. In addition, children in the African-American and Latino communities are diagnosed an average of one to two years later than most, due to lack of access to consistent health care. Poor and minority children with parents who don't know how, or whom to pressure, get fewer services, and receive them later, than middle-class and wealthy kids.
For example, by law special-needs children should receive free and suitable public education, but many families don't know how to advocate for this. The Special Needs Network sponsors community forums to educate parents about their rights, and legislators about the concerns of special needs families in minority communities. SNN also develops workshops and trainings that help parents better communicate and work with their special needs children.
During April's National Autism Awareness Month, SNN held an all-day conference featuring top experts from various fields, such as of medicine, behavioral sciences, occupational and speech therapy, psychology. The event, attended by 600 families, was free and offered complimentary breakfast, lunch and child care. In May, Areva hosted a legislative conference for constituents of South Los Angeles to bring their concerns about funding and services directly to legislators.
For the first time ever, underprivileged families in South Los Angeles, are receiving the same services as their more affluent counterparts. SNN is one of the few advocacy and service organizations doing this important work.
That's why Areva is a 2008
Woman Of Worth. |
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"I am amazed by parents with children who have disabilities."
Hear Areva discuss her work
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ORGANIZATION
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