My name is Tom M. and I want to share my journey of becoming an advocate for individuals with disabilities and the challenges I’ve faced along the way.
Before joining MARC, Inc., I spent 23 years with the state, but since joining MARC, I truly feel at home. Over the past 40 years, I’ve found a second family here, through both staff and peers, and I’ve been given amazing opportunities that I could not have experienced anywhere else.
One of my proudest achievements is being the host of MARC Matters, a talk show I started in 1999. In the show, I interview people about why they chose to work at MARC and what they love most about their roles. Thanks to the support of CPTV15, President & CEO Kevin Zingler, and many MARC staff, I’ve been able to make my dream of hosting a television show come true.
My journey as a self-advocate began in 1979, and after 17 to 18 years of hard work, I was the President of Voices For Change, a self-advocacy group at MARC. Voices For Change focuses on understanding how the state of Connecticut can introduce more legislation to support individuals with disabilities.
I became a self-advocate due to the adversity I, along with my community, face due to being labeled because of our disabilities. Too often, people focus on the disability instead of recognizing the strengths and abilities of the individual. There’s an old saying, “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me,” but in reality, words do hurt, especially when individuals are unfairly labeled.
I recall a time when I conducted sensitivity training for fire care workers to teach them about the experiences people with disabilities face. One of the exercises involved participants wearing labels on their shirts, helping them understand how uncomfortable and frustrating it feels to be labeled. Despite my abilities and personality, being labeled is something I continue to face, and it’s frustrating.
My mom always told me to be myself and never try to be someone else, and I’ve taken that advice to heart. I strive to be myself, and that’s what defines who I am. This belief is why I became an advocate for the IDD community—because our voices matter, and we deserve to be heard.
