Testimonials

It's about having a vision and then finding ways to enact that vision in tangible outcomes.

Partners includes civics, confidence building, grassroots radicalism.

My participation in the Partners program was a positive experience. This experience has raised the level of my involvement in both the legislative and community development arenas. The leadership training I received improved my ability to address the issues that people with disabilities face from the standpoint of an informed advocate.

Being a member of Partners in Policymaking has taught me that we who "know" can make a positive difference in the policies that affect us or our children. It turns the helpless, powerless feelings into knowledge, influence and change.

Izhtak Perlman, noted international violinist:

One has to separate one's abilities from one's disabilities. Some people looked on me as sweet, a human interest story, that's what I had to work to overcome. Even with all the regulations, accessibility at concert halls is still a crap shot.

Excerpted from Breaking Ground, a newsletter of the Tennessee Developmental Disabilities Council.