We offer many other services for youth with disabilities in Kansas. One of our core values is awareness; therefore, the majority of our other services and programs relate to awareness for our youth, their parents, employers, teachers, professionals, and the general community. These other services and programs are listed below:
Do you want the "youth voice" to be heard at your next conference or meeting? Then contact us and we've got a team of speakers to add to your agenda. Our youth have the experience, knowledge, and passion to speak on a variety of topics relating to youth empowerment and disability awareness. Our speakers are available to do presentations on the following topics:
We realize, at KYEA, that we do not have all of the answers. Our state and nation is full of resources and organizations who can assist people with disabilities in a variety of ways and answer any questions that may arise. We are here to connect our youth and their parents, siblings, teachers, etc. to the appropriate organization in any given situation. We provide information on resources in two main ways:
No matter what information that you need, we will either answer your question or provide a connection to an organization who can answer your question. We can answer general questions or provide a resource on the following topics: independent living, community resources, mentoring opportunities, transition issues, state and national disability initiatives, and much more.
The disability community in our nation is comprised of many organizations. We make it a priority to not only introduce youth with disabilities in Kansas to these resources, but also provide frequent updates and opportunities from these organizations. KYEA is a member of many national organizations, such as the National Council on Independent Living (NCIL) and the Association of Programs for Rural Independent Living (APRIL). We also maintain contacts with other national organizations such as the National Youth Leadership Network (NYLN), Kids As Self Advocates (KASA), the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), and more. Our goal is to maintain involvement with these organizations throughout the year by attending national conferences and subscribing to list serves. We then take this information back to our state and pass it onto our youth. We also try to take other Kansas youth to national conferences and encourage them to get involved in a variety of ways. KYEA is also connected to many state organizations as well. We maintain a strong connection to inependent living centers throughout the state, as well as the Statewide Independent Living Council of Kansas (SILCK) and the Kansas Association of Centers for Independent Living (KACIL). Our staff works to represent the youth voice in Kansas by attending local meetings, conferences, and events. KYEA is represented at the Big Tent Coalition, the Kansas Disability Caucus committee, the Kansas Council for Exceptional Children, the Kansas Mentors committee, and much more. We have a partnership with Vocational Rehabilitation, and recently decided to be a partner in Disability Mentoring Day. We make a point of attending local disability events and representing young adults with disabilities in state initiatives. We encourage all of our youth to do the same. We disseminate information on local and national initiatives to youth and their supporters in two ways:
This program was carried out in January of 2006 thanks to a grant from the Sunflower Foundation. It was a health-related initiative encouraging youth to become their own advocates for healthcare. The initiative took the form of a YLF reunion where the attendees identified health-related issues that concerned them, including issues related to health insurance, employment, education, and transition from school to community life. The purpose of the study was to provide a basis for developing advocacy strategies that put youth with disabilities in the driver's seat for promoting health-related change. As a result of this program, a health report was published and YLF alumni were able to have their long-awaited reunion! WARNING! A new window will appear after clicking on the files below. Also, see NOTE: at the bottom of the page for further instructions.
View the Health Report Press Release
KYEA has facilitated two different conference calls that focused on different topics. The two topics covered were Transition and Higher Education. These calls were facilitated in order to share information on important topics and allow Kansas youth to hear from speakers who could answer any questions related to the topics. Although we have not continued with these conference calls due to lack of participation, we are open to facilitating a call as important topics arise in the future. View the Higher Education Conference Call transcript
NOTE: Some of the files under "Creating Youth..." are in PDF format. You must have Adobe Acrobat to read PDF files. Download the free version by clicking on the logo below.
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Our Programs Community Awareness 
