Learn the System. Then Challenge It.
Systems don’t change on their own. They change when the people directly affected refuse to accept silence, denial, and dysfunction as “just how it works.”
Getting involved means moving from surviving the system to shaping it.
- You don’t need permission.
- You need clarity, community, and the willingness to act.
You should never have to apologize for advocating for what is right.
Why Unapologetic Advocacy Exists
Families and self-advocates are expected to already understand the system, navigate fragmented and conflicting information, stay quiet when decisions don’t make sense, and accept being included only after decisions are made, if at all.
Power is held by a narrow set of decision-makers operating behind layers of contracts and bureaucracy. Where people are faced with poorly explained roles, shifting rules, and inconsistent application of how things work. Action comes only after harm occurs, lawsuits, or faced with public scrutiny, and lived experience is rarely treated as credible evidence.
This confusion keeps people isolated, reactive, and easier to dismiss.
We exist to shift the system from power over people to power with people.
The Change We’re Here to Make
At Unapologetic Advocacy, we are dedicated to creating a Tennessee where adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) and their families have real power, real access, and see real accountability from the disability service systems that are suppose to be in place to help. We want decisions that are driven by lived experience, not bureaucracy.
