East Suburban Citizen Advocacy (ESCA) has been a small non-profit organization since 1988, dedicated to enhancing the lives of people with developmental disabilities. ESCA grew out of the cares and concerns of parents who had young adult children with developmental disabilities; chronic conditions caused by physical, learning, language, or behavior impairments. Conditions such as intellectual disability, autism, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy generally begin during childhood, typically last a lifetime, and cause substantial functional limitations in major life activities. These parents wanted to make sure that their adult children would be familiar with their community and be safe when they were no longer able to care for them. Currently, our advocates serve people in every age group diagnosed with a developmental disability in Westmoreland County and the Eastern part of Allegheny County in Pennsylvania.
We focus on serving the unique needs of each individual, and each individual requires advocacy in a different way. After spending time with a person and getting to know his or her needs, barriers, etc., we are able to build a team of resources around the individual and work on specific goals. Goals or barriers are related to many different systems including school, housing, employment, mental health, development services, legal, or financial. We will work on any area of life that the individuals and families feel is necessary. It is important to ensure that vulnerable individuals are heard and understood, and vital that we work to help them to achieve their goals.
Examples of advocacy situations we encounter include the Individual Education Plan (IEP) process, IDD/Autism Waiver system processes and eligibility, new diagnosis of young children and Early Intervention, abuse and neglect situations, Legal Guardian and Rep-payee questions, and transitional age resources and difficulties. Our advocacy is always FREE.
To learn more about developmental disabilities please click here
**Volunteering as a citizen advocate focuses on building relationships to enhance the lives of those in need. How you can make a difference and help people with disabilities feel welcome in your community.
- I will treat others how I would like to be treated
- I will speak directly to the person and give the individual time to process and respond if needed.
- I will offer to shake hands when introduced to a person with a disability.
- I will place myself at eye level when talking to someone who used a wheelchair, crutches, or a walker when possible.
- I will include the person with a developmental in conversations when with a group.
- I will treat adults with developmental disabilities as adults and the age that they are.
- I will get the attention of someone who is hearing impaired by lightly tapping their elbow or shoulder.
- I will look directly at people while speaking clearly, slowly, and expressively incase the person can read my lips.
- I will carefully guide a person with visual impairments with verbal cues to help them navigate steps, curbs, escalators, or doors.
If you are interested in becoming citizen advocate, please fill out the form attached here Click here for link or email us at escadvocacy@gmail.com
Source of Citizen Advocacy definition: Pathways Awareness Foundation www.pathwaysawareness.org.
