Imperial Valley People First

Imperial Valley People First had their first conference in 1993 and not long after that a group formed and began meeting in the community on a monthly basis. Currently 25- 35 people attend and participate in the monthly meetings. Imperial Valley People First not only works on planning their conference but they also work on a community project. Similar to San Diego they collect personal care items and arrange them in gift baskets to be given to a local women's shelter during the holiday season.

The mission of Imperial Valley People First is be full participating community members. We will make our community a better place to live by fulfilling our commitment to: teaching ourselves about self-advocacy, discussing then creating action plans to address issues that affect our lives, and encourage helping and sharing with our neighbors.

Imperial Valley People First Meeting Schedule for 2007

Saturday, January 20, 2007
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Saturday, March 3, 2007 Imperial Valley Conference
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Saturday, August 18,2007
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Saturday, December 15, 2007

The 2007 conference was held March 3, 2007 at the Holiday Inn Express. The theme of this one-day event was "Imperial Valley People First Rocks with the 50's." Over a 130 self-advocates attended. Besides the health and resource fair, Self-advocates participated in workshops on fire prevention, self-directed services, abuse prevention, and leadership development. There was an awards dinner, a dance, and a raffle for door prizes. The grand prize winner received a bicycle.

All meetings are held at the Catholic Charities Building
250 West Orange Ave., El Centro
10:00 AM to 12:00 NN