Written by Ruth Lee
February 2023
Jenna Lee, member of the DSAWM Self-Advocacy Board, has spent the past year training as a Youth Ambassador through the Center on Youth Voice, Youth Choice. CYVYC is a nationwide resource center for youth with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (IDD). It promotes alternatives to guardianship for youths with IDD who are entering that transitional age.
As part of her training on CYVYC’s Michigan Team, Jenna had to choose and implement a project to teach others about supported decision making, whereby those with disabilities may retain their independence through such means as trusts, Power of Attorneys, and the help of a Circle of Support.
At age 17, Jenna is beginning her transition into adulthood. She has chosen as her CYVYC project to make a year-long series of short one-minute videos, one per month, chronicling this transition and advocating for supported decision making. These videos can be found on her Facebook (Jenna Lee), on Instagram @ JennaLee792, or on YouTube by searching Jenna Lee Youth Ambassador. Check her out!
