Please Support The Arc CT

It’s been a very busy time at the Arc, and we need your help. We hope you will support us as we advocate for you, your loved ones and the greater IDD community. We have been working nonstop to make sure that there is adequate funding for the programs so critical for our families and loved ones. 

Unfortunately, we need The Arc Connecticut more than ever. Despite massive, unprecedented budget surpluses, the Governor is actually talking about budget cuts—cuts that will devastate programs that are already struggling to hire and retain staff because of the State’s chronic underfunding. In fact, we have provided short videos on how the State’s refusal to mend its “fiscal guardrails” are destroying critical programs and services. You can see those videos here on our website.

Please click on the button below to make a tax-deductible donation and stand with The Arc Connecticut—the crucial voice of the IDD community—so that we can continue to stand and fight for those programs and services so vital for our loved ones.

This assignment is different. Of all my roles, this one holds a deeper, special, more personal meaning. Throughout my career, I've served nonprofits at all levels from youth advocacy and education to empowerment for women, children, and families. With an emphasis on serving marginalized communities, I've maintained the stance for almost three decades that I would be a voice for the voiceless. Unafraid to hold people accountable and show up wherever, and whenever needed, I'd always go the extra mile because I felt it my duty to see solutions wrought, justice served, integrity, faith, and hope enacted wherever possible.  

I consider myself fortunate to have been able to always connect my career to my passions, values, and ideals. When I became an official member of the disability community by way of the birth of my husband Vincent's and I's first-born daughter, Salome who has a congenital heart defect, and Trysonomy 21 aka Down Syndrome, I had no clue as to the world that would meet us. All I knew was I was committed to advocating for not only Salome's survival but, her ability to thrive. 

After all, by the time of her birth, I'd been doing 'the work' of advocacy for over twenty years. What I discovered in my journey as a new mother with a child with such conditions, is that having her has made me a bigger and better advocate for justice for all persons who face some form of marginalization and in this case, disabilities. 

The message and behaviors I am committed to fostering is that persons with disabilities deserve a chance to be fully seen as human, and to have compassion, patience, and love extended to them. They deserve a fighting chance to create and lead the kind of lives they can if offered the right resources for an improved quality of life. Persons with disabilities deserve improved health outcomes. They deserve access to quality healthcare and obtain the same basic human rights as anyone else without the threat to their livelihood or benefits being eliminated. 

Families of persons with disabilities deserve peace of mind, and the ease of knowing their loved one will be cared for in old age, or after life's transitions. Families deserve the right to know their loved one will be treated well in or out of their presence.

We have to do better as a society. It is my honor, to strive daily to ensure this happens.  To lead The Arc Connecticut, an organization with a seventy-year history of being a change agent for communities and persons with disabilities locally and nationally is not something that I take lightly. I vow to do everything possible to help leave a lasting legacy of change albeit in the community or with our legislators in ensuring a fair, just, and equitable society for persons of all disabilities. Renowned civil rights activist and theologian Howard Thurman once said, "There are two questions that we have to ask ourselves. The first is 'Where am I going?' and the second is 'Who will go with me?' I hope you will live into these questions and journey with me in striving for a better future for all persons with disabilities. 

Yours in Service,
Shivonne

Chapters

The Arc of Connecticut's local chapters are listed below. Please click on the logo to visit each chapter's webpage to review the specific services they offer and to contact the Chapter directly.

Fundraisers & Action Days

Check out our Calendar—a curated list of fundraisers and action days designed to raise awareness and inspire change. Click on any event for more details, and use the arrows at the top to browse through each month. Stay informed and get involved—don’t miss your chance to make a difference!