Advocacy & Education

The Arc is the nation's largest disability organization, and as such, can be a powerful advocate for the rights of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

The Arc Davidson County & Greater Nashville advocates at both local and national levels, providing information, resources, and referrals to Tennesseans with disabilities and providing policy updates and action alerts regarding disability-related laws.  We provide resources for both community advocacy and individual advocacy, as well as offer resources for trainings to help families who have a member with disabilities better advocate for themselves. The best way to advocate for people with disabilities is to make sure they, and their caregivers and families, know how to best advocate for themselves.

The Arc works with other community agencies to provide educational workshops and webinars on a variety of disability topics, including special education, voting rights, estate planning, emergency preparedness, and more. By helping families understand their rights and responsibilities, The Arc teaches them to become their own best advocates.

We collaborate with Arc Tennessee to provide educational workshops for families of students in Special Education.

The Arc Davidson County & Greater Nashville partners with Metro Nashville Public Schools to teaching soft skills (i.e. social skills, self-advocacy, interviewing, resume development) in several community classrooms. We have learned if we teach students soft skills while still in school, they’re better prepared for life after school. Transition students are able to use those soft skills when preparing to enter the job market, allowing us to help expand employment opportunities in the community.

To learn more about Advocacy & Education visit our resources page.