North Dakota Advocates for People with Disabilities

1346 Broadway N
Fargo, ND 58102

October 2, 2018

Ms. Emilia Adams

Fargo Forward
222 Broadway N. Suite 400
Fargo, ND 58102

Dear Ms. Adams:

North Dakota Advocates for People with Disabilities (NDAPD) is an organization that has been working
in the Fargo-Moorhead area for five years now. We believe that people with disabilities face more
challenges than the average person when it comes to transitioning into adulthood. Often times stigmas,
biases, or social disconnects can cause a divide in our community that is hard for people with disabilities
to overcome. We hope to eliminate stigma in our society by connecting individuals with disabilities with
the surrounding community. Our mission is to promote inclusion and diversity by illuminating a path for
friends, alike and different, to follow to in order to find friendly faces everywhere they go. Other
disability services in our area promote increased independence for people with disabilities through
programs that teach independent living skills or offer assisted living situations. Unlike the others, our
organization focuses on creating opportunities among the younger generation to connect and help
eachother grow. In other words, we work with students with disabilities in the transition into adulthood
navigate new challenges by connecting them with peers in the same situation. Much like Fargo Forward,
NDAPD wants to encourage individuals with disabilities to overcome barriers, biases, and systemic
inequalities that may inhibit them by creating opportunities in the Fargo area. We look to do this by
developing a program at North Dakota State University, called Friendly Faces, that will allow
upperclassmen to connect with incoming freshmen with disabilities in order to help them navigate social
interactions on campus and around the Fargo-Moorhead area.

On the NDSU campus, assistance is available for students who need/desire special accomodation to aid in
academic success. Eligible students are able to apply for services that provide support in the classroom.
However, the Disability Center lacks a program that allows students to gain support navigating the social
setting found at the university level. North Dakota State University’s Disability Services has a mission
statement that states the program works to “collaborate with the NDSU community to facilitate equal
access in academic pursuits, promote self-advocacy, and foster inclusion for students with disabilities”.
While this mission statement is certainly seen on the academic side, we believe that students are not given
the opportunity to apply for services that assist in gaining social skills for future success. Students who
come to university are often faced with academic challenges and social settings that are hard to navigate
in themselves. Students who enter university with underdeveloped social skills, disabilities, or learning
gaps have an even harder time adapting to the new environment. We at NDAPD look to create a program
called “Friendly Faces” that will help to make this transition easier on incoming students facing different
challenges while providing current NDSU students will practical application of classroom concepts.
The NDAPD’s plan intends to fill the gap between people with and without disabilities to increase
diversity and inclusion on campus, using a two phase design. In phase one, all incoming students will
attend a seminar that provides awareness of the more common disabilities along with how to work
towards eliminating the stigma and biases that surrounds those with a disability. This phase will teach
incoming students how to become ambassadors for change and inclusion. During phase two, upper class
psychology students would get real-world experience in the mental health profession by receiving class
credit by connecting classroom concepts to our Friendly Faces program. These students would hold
 2

monthly meetings for those in need to teach basic social skills. Later they would meet together at different
events and clubs on campus to use the learned skills. By doing such, students with disabilities would feel
more comfortable in a new environment and develop the ability to excel in social settings.

Our team consists of a variety of professions; all of which provide a wide array of qualifications for our
project. Included in our team is Holly Papineau, who is a school social worker with a Masters of Social
Work (MSW). Gracynn Young is a researcher with a PHD in Social Psychology. Ashley McCoy is a
communications professor at North Dakota State University, who specializes in inclusion programs.
Together, we are well-equipped in a variety of expertise to assist in the processes for our Friendly Faces
program.

The cost of this program will be roughly $20,000 to launch it. This cost will mostly be for phase one of
our Friendly Faces program. We need to initially make the seminar for the incoming NDSU students.
This seminar will need certified trainers to teach the new students about awareness of common
disabilities, and also about eliminating stigma and biases that surround those with a disability. These
certified leaders will have to do it each semester with new students, which requires their time and effort
and we will compensate the trainers for this. The leftover money, approximately $200-$400 will be
available for the second phase in our program. This money will be for unexpected costs and food/treats at
their monthly meetings.

The Friendly Faces program offers many benefits, not only to individuals with disabilities, but to all
students at NDSU as well as the surrounding community. Students at NDSU will be given the opportunity
to become ambassadors for changes and to fight against a stigma, hopefully taking this teaching beyond
their academic setting and into their social and professional lives. Students with disabilities will have the
opportunity to develop social skills that will immerse them into the community and open up endless
possibilities for growth. The program also works on a practical level by providing students with the
experience of mentoring and applying knowledge to different aspects of the class. Overall, we believe that
this program when adapted into the NDSU and Fargo community will have a much farther reach and
impact on a social and human level.

This letter of intent gives you an overview of our planned proposal we look forward to meeting with you
for further explanation of our program, Friendly Faces. Our task group at NDAPD really appreciates your
consideration for our program. For more information, feel free to contact the NDAPD at (406)-480-4558.
We look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Holly Papineau, Executive Director

North Dakota Advocates for People with Disabilities