See calendar for comments from Bentley and Sparks concerning disability items.
Try to keep your words sweet. You may have to eat them someday!
Alabama Department of Mental Health
The Arc of Alabama, Inc.
Montgomery, AL
The Arc of Alabama, Inc. is a volunteer-based membership organization made up of individuals with intellectual (such as mental retardation, an old and outdated term seldom used anymore), developmental and other disabilities, their families, friends, interested citizens, and professionals in the disability field. The Arc also advocates for people with other disabilities who need similar supports and services in order to be as productive and independent as possible. Since 1957, The Arc of Alabama, Inc. has represented the interests of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families on local, state and national issues. The Arc of Alabama is affiliated with Community Health Charities of Alabama and with The Arc of the United States, the largest organization in the United States devoted solely to working on behalf of this constituency. For over 60 years, state and local chapters of The Arc have worked throughout the nation to ensure that their constituents have the supports and services they need, are accepted in their communities, have a voice in policies that affect them, and have control of their own lives.
Mission
The Arc of Alabama, Inc. is committed:
- To secure for all individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities the opportunity to choose and realize their goals of where and how they learn, live, work, play, and worship.
- To reduce the incidence and to limit the consequences of intellectual and developmental disabilities through education, research, advocacy, and the support of families, friends and community.
- To provide, through the pursuit of equality and justice, leadership in the field of intellectual and developmental disabilities and to develop necessary human and financial resources to attain its goals.
Membership
Membership in The Arc is open to any person who subscribes to the mission and purposes of The Arc. Membership is secured by joining a local chapter in good standing of The Arc. Members of local chapters are members of The Arc of Alabama, Inc. and The Arc of the United States and are entitled to all the rights and privileges of membership. Individuals residing in the State of Alabama, who live in a county not served by a local chapter, may join The Arc of Alabama, Inc. as a member-at-large by making application and paying annual dues. Members-at-large are entitled to all the same rights and privileges of membership in The Arc. There are currently over 4,000 members serving in twenty-nine (29) local chapters in Alabama.
Governance
The Arc of Alabama, Inc. is a 501 © (3) non-profit corporation which is governed by a volunteer Board of thirty-two (32) Directors. These directors include twenty-nine (29) chapter presidents or representatives of each local chapter of The Arc in good standing, the past president, one (1) representative of the Alabama Conference of Executives of The Arc (ACE/Arc), and one (1) representative of People First of Alabama.