My name is Amy Silverman. I was born and raised here in Arizona and my husband and I raised our daughters here. Our younger daughter, Sophie, is 19 and she has Down syndrome. I work as a journalist and you can see and listen to some of my stories on my website, amy-silverman.com.
I'm working right now on stories about abuse and neglect of people in Arizona who have intellectual and developmental disabilities. This includes people who live alone, with family or in group homes. The stories are for the radio (KJZZ, the NPR member station in Phoenix) and the Arizona Daily Star in Tucson.
These stories often do not get told, and that can be dangerous.
I understand these are very sensitive issues and I promise we will work together to make sure people are comfortable with sharing their stories. I am also looking for caregivers, family members, teachers, medical professionals, lawyers and others who might have insight into these issues.
To learn more or have a background conversation, please email me at asilverman@kjzz.org or call/text me at 480-205-1687. I do need to hear from people before the end of October. Thank you!
