FLORIDA GRASSROOTS
SELF-ADVOCACY TOOL KIT

PART II:
HOW TO FORM A GROUP

Reasons Why People Join Self-Advocacy Groups

There may be different reasons why people want to join a self-advocacy group. As people learn more, they may find that they are interested in all parts of self-advocacy.
Successful groups focus on important areas:

1. Self-advocates enjoy social activities:To make friends, plan and participate in activities, to feel a part of something.
   1. To share stories and learn from other people who may have similar stories.
   Self-advocates are always learning and educating others. It is important for self-advocates to:
   • Help yourself and others
   • Learn to be a strong self-advocate
   • Speak up and speak out .
   • Solve problems as a group
   • Make decisions together
   • Learn about your rights and responsibilities
   • Learn about voting and how your government works
   • Learn how to help in your community
   • Learn to be proud of who you are
   3. Self-advocates work for human rights and equality:
   • To get better services and programs
   • To live in the community (not institutions, nursing homes, or other segregated places)
   • To improve human rights and to have dignity
   • To teach others to stop discriminating
   • To have justice
   • To have real jobs in the community with real wages
   • To have community integration
   • To make better laws
   • To be involved in decisions which effect our lives

Adapted from SABE Self-Advocacy Start-Up Toolkit

Steps For Starting A Self-Advocacy Group
1. Find a meeting place and time that is accessible and easy for as many members to get to as possible.
2. Make sure that all group members understand what self-advocacy is, and why people are meeting.
3. Have members choose at least one personal goal that is in line with ideas about self-advocacy.
4. Develop goals that people can work on as a team. Choose goals which are manageable for the group.
5. Create rules and responsibilities that members should learn and understand. These may include: officers, dues, voting, advisors, ways to treat one another.
6. Be sure to develop friendships, connections, and a supportive environment between group members.
7. Be sure that every member can participate to the best of their ability, and that every member is equally important.
8. Develop connections within your community
9. Evaluate your progress and decide what things are working well and what things can be changed.
Setting Your Goals
It is important for self-advocates to set realistic goals which they can achieve individually and as a group.
Here is a process that groups can use to come up with goals:

Evaluate Needs and Interests:
1. Identify needs: brainstorm what needs you and other group members have.
2. Identify interests: brainstorm what things you are interested in accomplishing as a self-advocacy group.
3. Discuss what goals can be accomplished early in the group development, and which may take more time. Circle and number in order which goals the group wants to work on first.
4. Write under each goal ways that these items can fit into the personal needs and interests of the group members.
5. Outline steps you will have to take to reach these goals. Identify what kinds of supports you will need to accomplish goals.

Tips For Keeping a Self-Advocacy Group
Together Over Time

1. Make sure that all members know when and where the meetings are. This can include calling people, sending out letters and calendars, hanging up notices, etc.
2. Have self-advocates make a contract with their advisors so everyone knows what their job is.
3. Have officers meetings. This is a good time to practice, get ready for meetings, and to discuss issues.
4. Find ways to get everyone involved in the group. Give everyone a job and a chance to communicate.
5. Use accessible materials in meetings. Include pictures, writing notes, and videotapes. This will help everyone to know what is going on.
6. Make sure that things people are discussing are important to their lives. This will help motivate members.
7. Every three months (especially for the first few years) evaluate the progress of the group and update goals.
8. Make sure meetings are fun. Self-advocacy can include both business and fun.
9. If any problems arise, face them head on. Part of self-advocacy is solving problems.

Self-Advocacy Groups Develop Leadership
in Their Members

Qualities of a Good Leader
• Has a positive attitude
• Helps others to become leaders and self-advocates
• Works hard to understand and learn about self-advocacy
• Encourages all the members to take part and speak during meetings.
• Finds a way for all members to have different jobs
• Is respectful to all members of the group and knows that what everyone has to say is important
• Uses simple language and helps to make meetings accessible for all participants
• Learns how to solve problems, set goals, and get things done
• Is always on time to meetings
• Meets with other officers to talk about how things are going and plan the agenda
• Isn’t afraid to ask questions, it is important that everyone understands what is going on
• Can make mistakes, and admit it when it happens
• Knows that leadership skills grow--it’s not automatic
• Gives others the chance to lead
Officers:
• It is important for self-advocacy groups to choose officers.
• When a group is being formed and at the beginning of each year, members should vote on who they think will be good leaders. The length of the terms for officers should be written down in the group’s by-laws.
• The group should select people who have many of the qualities discussed above.
• Most self-advocacy groups select a president, vice president, secretary and treasurer.
• Although there are certain roles that officers play, a self-advocate can still be voted an officer if they need support from other members or an advisor to complete duties.
• Learn about how to elect officers and the typical roles of the officers from the list below.

Electing Officers
When a group is formed, the members should elect officers. The entire group should decide who the officers are by voting. It is usually easier if nominations are taken at one meeting, and elections held at the next.

Nominations:
A nomination is a way to say that you would like to have a particular person be an officer.
1. The meeting is opened by saying “Nominations for president are now open.”
• The member who is nominating says: I nominate (name) for president.
• The person being nominated must accept the nomination
2. When there are no more nominees, a motion is made for that nomination to be closed.
• Someone must second the motion
• The results of the nominations are announced
3. The nominations for vice president, secretary, and treasurer are then carried out in the same way.
Voting for Officers:

1. Voting for officers should be done by a secret ballot. The secret ballot can be done by having someone’s name and picture on a box or envelope. Members can then select who they vote for.
2. Each person running for office should give a speech telling why they would make a good officer and why the members should vote for them. The process for each office is:
• Each person nominated gives a speech
• Vote by secret ballot
• Votes are counted
• The person who counted the votes announces the winner
• Winner gives a thank you speech

1. The president leads the meetings
2. In the meeting:
• The president opens the meeting
• The president asks the secretary to take roll call or have members introduce themselves
• The president asks the secretary to read last week’s minutes
• The president asks the treasurer to give the budget report
• The president leads the talk about old business
• The president leads the talk about new business
• The president introduces the program for the meeting
• The president closes the meeting
3. When there is voting the president guides the voting
4. The president goes to the officers meetings to help plan the agenda for the group meeting.
5. The president goes to the group meetings. If she or he is not able to attend he or she should let the vice president know before so the vice president can lead the meeting.
6. The president has the other officers help in the meeting.
7. The president sees that members stay involved in community and self-advocacy activities.

1. The vice president leads the meetings if the president cannot make it, or if asked to otherwise. The vice president does everything the president would do if he or she were present.
2. If the president is absent, the vice president needs to know about the president’s duties. The vice president should learn about the parts of the meeting and how to lead a vote.
3. The vice president helps the president with meetings when asked
4. The vice president attends officers meetings to help plan the agenda for the group meetings.
5. The vice president goes to the group meetings. If he or she is unable to attend, he or she should notify the president beforehand.

1. In the meeting:
• The secretary does the roll call and marks down if members are present or absent, or marks down names as members introduce themselves.
• The secretary reads the minutes of the last meeting.
• The secretary, with or without support, takes notes of the meeting.
2. If the president and vice president are absent, the secretary leads the meeting. The secretary needs to know the parts of the meeting and how to lead the vote.
3. The secretary attends the officers meeting and helps plan the agenda for the group meetings.
4. The secretary attends the group meetings. If he or she is unable to attend, he or she should notify the president before the meeting so someone can take the place of the secretary.
5. The secretary should keep a list of the group members, their addresses, and phone numbers.
6. The secretary helps in the meeting when needed or asked.

1. If the group collects dues, the treasurer collects this money, keeps track of who paid, and adds the money to the total amount for the group.
2. In the meeting, the treasurer gives a report on the group’s money. This is called the treasurer’s report.
3. The treasurer puts the group’s money into a bank.
4. The treasurer keeps track of all of the money that the group makes and that the group spends. This information is kept in a book.
5. The treasurer goes to the officers meetings and helps plan the agenda for the group meeting.
6. The treasurer goes to the group meetings. If she or he is not able to attend, he or she should let the president know before the meeting so that someone can take his or her place.
7. The treasurer helps out in meetings when asked or needed.
Adapted from: People First of Washington, Officer Handbook

Role of the Group Members
• It is important for members to attend meetings.
• Members should follow the meeting agenda.
• Members should speak up and share their ideas during the meetings.
• Members should vote--remember majority rules.
• Members should serve on committees that are formed by the group.
• Members should be active in the projects and issues the group is working on.

Voting
Anything that is the business of the whole group should be decided by the members by voting.
1. A Motion:
• A motion suggests a decision that the motioner wants the group to make. To make a motion a person says, “I move that…” followed by the statement of the idea.
2. Second the Motion:
• A member says, “I second the motion.” This means that the member would also like the idea to be considered by the group.
3. Discussion:
• The president says the motion again so that everyone knows what is being talked about.
• The president leads the talk about the motion. Discussion should be about the motion, not about other things.
4. Vote:
• The president says: “Are you ready to vote?”
• The president says the motion again so everyone knows what is being voted on.
• The president says “all in favor of (state the motion) say yes, or raise your hand.”
• The president says “all opposed say no, or raise your hand.”
5. Announce the Results:
• The president says “the motion carried” or “the motion failed” and lets people know what was voted on and what the results were.

More on Voting
Sometimes your group may want to vote on one of several ideas.
1. First lead a discussion and brainstorm about possible ideas
2. This may work best if the group puts all the ideas on a list on a large sheet of paper so everyone can see.
3. Lead the vote:
• The president will tell the group the ideas again so that everyone understands what is being voted on.
• The president will ask someone to count and mark down the votes.
• The president goes through the list of ideas and says, “all in favor of (says idea) raise your hand.”
• Someone will write down each response.
4. Announce the results:
• The president announces the idea which got the most votes.
• If there is a tie, the members will vote again on the ideas which tied.

Adapted from: People First of Washington, Officer Handbook

Agendas
An agenda is the order of business. It is a list of things that the group will discuss at the meeting.
Below is an agenda typical of a self-advocacy group. It can even be helpful to write approximate times so the president can be aware of how long to spend on each item.
AGENDA (PUT THE DATE, AND TIME)
1. Call Meeting to Order 7:00 pm
2. Roll Call, or Introductions 7:05 pm
3. Minutes from the last meeting 7:10 pm
4. Treasurer’s Report 7:20 pm
5. Old Business 7:30 pm
• There may be several items to discuss. These are items that had
been discussed in the past.
6. New Business 7:45 pm
• There also may be several items here that are just being brought
up to the group. It may be helpful to write the name of the person
introducing the item on the agenda.
7. Discussion 8:00 pm
• If there is time, the group may have a topic that they would like
to discuss at the meeting.
8. Announcements 8:20 pm
9. Adjourn Meeting 8:30 pm

Group Rules and Bylaws
Rules: Rules can help members organize in a positive way or they can be negative and prevent people from full participation. Rules can be simple guidelines for how people are expected to act during meetings. Some suggestions for meeting rules are:
1. What is said in the group stays in the group.
2. No name calling or labeling people.
3. If you have input, raise your hand. Assign someone to call on people who have their hands raised.
4. Do not interrupt the person speaking.
5. Allow everyone to have a say on all topics.
Bylaws: By-laws are a set of specific rules that describe how the group will operate. By-laws are often created if a group would like to be recognized for legal purposes. Many groups use by-laws of state organizations. All group members should collectively agree upon any established rules or by-laws. Some suggestions for group by-laws are:
• The role of advisors
• Voting procedures
• Length of terms for all officers
• Dues
• Nominations and electing officers
• Meeting schedule