History of People First of Nevada & the Nevada Center
for Excellence in Disabilities (NCED)
People First is the world's oldest and best known
self-advocacy organization that is run by and for people
with developmental disabilities. People First began in
Oregon in 1974 and has since spread to many US states and
other countries. Self Advocates Becoming Empowered (SABE)
is the parent organization for People First. SABE is a
national organization made up of board members and
delegates from eight regions throughout the United States.
SABE sponsors national conferences where grassroots members
from all 50 states and Canada come together to learn and
encourage one another on self-advocacy and
self-determination.
The
self-advocacy movement in Nevada began when a group of
people with developmental disabilities decided to meet
together to discuss self-advocacy and self-determination.
There were many challenges to getting a statewide group
together including the rural nature of Nevada and not
having funds to pay self advocates to work on the project.
Self-advocates joined forces with the Nevada Center for
Excellence in Disabilities (NCED) in 2003. The NCED wrote a
grant to the Corporation for National & Community
Service to fund five self-advocates to serve as VISTA
(Volunteers In Service To America) members to organize
local People First chapters around the state and to help
create a statewide People First organization with chapters
throughout the state. Through these efforts, People First
of Nevada officially started in May,
2003.
People First of Nevada received its 501(c)3 designation in
2005. There are currently active chapters in Reno / Sparks,
Las Vegas, Fernley, Fallon, Elko, Carson City, Minden, and
Winnemucca as well as a statewide board. Members are
involved in local issues in their communities and offer
testimony and legislative advocacy to create positive
systemic changes for people with disabilities in Nevada.
People First of Nevada remains a project of the NCED, with
additional funding from the Nevada Governor’s Council on
Developmental Disabilities and the Matley Foundation. The
VISTA project has grown to become a Youth Transition
Project (YTP), which the NCED operates in collaboration
with Family TIES of Nevada. Currently, with the addition of
the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
(ARRA),
the project has 15 VISTA members, with and without
disabilities, working on self-advocacy and transition
issues throughout the state.
