On October 18th, Tri-Valley Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA) hosted the SELPA resource fair at Amador Valley High School. Located in front of Amador’s library, the event featured a variety of vendors, informational booths, and community organizers. Each of whom fostered an engaging and welcoming atmosphere for families, educators, and students alike.
“The fair is primarily for parents of high school students and adults with disabilities to help them find resources as they transition out of high school and into adult life. There are resources to help them find jobs, have supportive work, resources for recreation, camps and fun social activities, resources for higher education, and college programs for people with disabilities…so anything having to do with that transition into adult life,” said SELPA planning committee member Janeen Rubino Brumm.
SELPA has been running for decades in collaboration with Amador. Vendor booths from a variety of disability-focused organizations circle around the plaza, providing a variety of resources for all attendees.
“Once everything was set up and out, it was a wonderful event. Everybody on the Tri-Valley SELPA team was absolutely wonderful to work with. We felt really supported and welcomed to work with SELPA,” said Family Resource Navigator program manager Amelia Ott.
Behind The Scenes
Behind the scenes, organizers, vendors, and volunteers worked closely together to ensure the fair ran smoothly. Event staff dedicated their time and efforts to making the fair both accessible and well-organized. They coordinated vendor accommodations and meals to provide inclusive materials for the visually impaired attendees during the presentations.
“All of our organizations are kind of connected because we all work in the same industry for helping students and adults with all disabilities. We have all been connected over the years and we know how to reach everyone and let them know that this fair is coming up,” said Brumm.
The SELPA Resource fair also featured a morning workshop from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. It informed attendees about a new California state law, AB 1663. This law allows alternatives to conservatorship and enhances the independent rights of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities
“We want to make sure that disabled students are informed about other opportunities or options other than conservatorship. This really strengthens the muscles of the folks with disabilities so that they can live a long life, and it also prevents abuse by giving them the ability to have a team of supporters where they can talk about anything that is concerning them,” said event organizer Stacey Kimmons.
Unaccounted Factors
Organizing the SELPA Resource fair came with its share of challenges along the way. Nonetheless, the fair maintained its ongoing successes in raising awareness about empowering individuals with disabilities. They encouraged them to live more independent lives.
“I think there’s always challenges — expectation of turnout, unaware of other events that may be going on in the same area that may take away some of the participants that show up — but the good part is that we’ve always got vendors here. We get to meet with each other, we get to collaborate, and we get to share information that we can take back and share with the people in our community,” said Kimmons.
The SELPA resource fair was a fun and informative event that provided valuable resources for students and adults with disabilities.
“We’ve always attended as a resource vendor with our organization, so we will absolutely be back as a resource vendor,” said Ott.
