Individual Advocacy Support
Do you or a family member in Aurora have an intellectual or developmental disability (IDD) and need help navigating a challenge? Our individual advocates work alongside people with IDD and their families to understand options, protect rights, and connect to supports. If you are feeling stuck, unheard, or unsure where to turn, you do not have to figure it out alone. Complete our Advocacy Interest Form and we will explore how we may be able to support you.
What is Individual Advocacy?
Individual advocacy means one on one support focused on your goals, needs, and choices. Our advocates partner with individuals and families to:
• Understand rights, options, and systems
• Navigate education, services, and benefits
• Problem solve challenges
• Connect to community and professional supports
• Strengthen self advocacy and decision making
We work in a collaborative, respectful, and least intrusive way, centered on what matters most to you.
What You Can Expect
When you work with an Arc of Aurora advocate, you can expect:
- Honest communication
- Respect for your voice and lived experience
- Partnership in identifying solutions
- Support without pressure or judgment
- Advocacy that centers your choices
Who We Serve
We provide individual advocacy for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities who live in the City of Aurora. That includes people who live in the City of Aurora (Arapahoe, Adams, and Douglas Counties) including in Colorado Judicial Districts 17 and 18, and Aurora Public and Cherry Creek School Districts.
What if I don’t live in the geographic area that The Arc of Aurora serves?
There are 15 chapters of The Arc located throughout Colorado that provide individual advocacy services for children and adults with intellectual developmental disabilities who live in their service areas. Find your local chapter here.
Who can receive individual advocacy from The Arc of Aurora?
The Arc of Aurora only provides individual advocacy to those individuals who meet Colorado’s definition of a person with an intellectual or developmental disability (IDD) {C.R.S. 25.5-6-403 (3.3)(a) and who live in Aurora, CO. Colorado defines a developmental disability as a “disability that is manifested before the person reaches twenty-two years of age, which constitutes a substantial disability to the affected individual, and is attributable to mental retardation or related conditions which include cerebral palsy, epilepsy, autism, or other neurological conditions when such conditions result in impairment of general intellectual functioning or adaptive behavior similar to that of a person with mental retardation.”
How long does an individual advocacy relationship last?
For The Arc of Aurora, individual advocacy is a term-limited relationship formalized through an advocacy agreement to act with and/or on behalf of a person in the least intrusive manner to resolve an issue or to find needed support and/or service.