Southwest Washington Disability Alliance
The Southwest Washington Disability Alliance formed in January 2015 as a collaboration of nonprofit organizations, self-advocates, families, agencies, support groups, and businesses within Southwest Washington and the Portland Metro area. Although our work focuses on serving individuals and families in Southwest Washington, we are dedicated to collaborating with regional and national groups interested in promoting positive health outcomes for all individuals living with disabilities from birth throughout the lifespan.
Through a generous grant from the Northwest Health Foundation’s Healthy Beginnings + Healthy Communities (HB+HC) initiative, members of SWWADA facilitated connections with community members throughout 2015 to assess resources, assets, needs and priority issues for our community. We devoted ourselves to including youth and adults who identify with disabilities as an integral part of conversation, decision-making and leadership.
Our work was part of the Healthy Beginnings + Healthy Communities initiative and had a particular focus and commitment on healthy births, kids ready for kindergarten, teenagers prepared for high school, and young adults prepared for the transition to higher education and employment.
We also sought to expand relationships with self-advocates, parents, educators, service providers as well as members of regional groups that connect with faith, mental health, recreation, and overall wellness. This is work that Autism Empowerment and many other former SWWADA members continue to do today.
As we continued into the future, we aim to continue collaborating to build a more positive and inclusive community together!
Our disability alliance aims to build the capacity of our members and our community to support individuals who identify with any disability, including physical disability, developmental disability, intellectual disability and mental health related conditions. We respect the right of people with disabilities to identify and describe their disability with the language they choose. For many people, this includes identity-first language, for others it includes people-first and for quite a few, it is a combination of both, depending on the circumstances.
Who were the member organizations of SWWADA?
Here is a list of Southwest Washington Disability Alliance members that were active in 2015-2016. You can click the organization name to take you to their website or Facebook page if they currently have one. Although the alliance is no longer meeting in person in 2021, Autism Empowerment does maintain a SWWADA Facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/southwestwashingtondisabilityalliance
Autism Social Club of Vancouver (inactive)
Clark County Developmental Disabilities Program
Hydrocephalus Association
Mtn Peaks Therapy Llamas and Alpacas
Pasitos Gigantes (now Hispanic Disability Support / Pasitos Gigantes)
PAVE – Partnership for Action – Voices for Empowerment
RAFFA – Raising Awareness for Friedreich’s Ataxia
SEPTSA – Special Education Parent Teacher Student Association (inactive)
The Arc of Southwest Washington
Tween and Teen Autism Social Club (inactive)
Who can become a member of SWWADA?
Although SWWADA is not currently an active alliance, Autism Empowerment is always looking for allies within the community. If you are a self-advocate (person identifying with a disability), parent advocate, nonprofit, agency or business within Southwest Washington or the Portland Metro area that supports individuals with a developmental, physical or mental disability that has a positive and accepting attitude, we welcome you. We aim to uplift our community and make it a stronger and healthier place to live, play and pray.