BUFFALO, N.Y. — For our Most Buffalo Story of the Day, we are introducing you to a local children's book author who is also an advocate for herself and others as she speaks out against bullying.
Advocate and author Engelic Everett just published her second children's book, "Olivia & The Flying Meatballs!"
"She's a troublemaker a little bit, except this time she has a friend that's also a troublemaker like she is," Everett said.
Olivia is also one of the main characters in her first book, which tackles bullying.
"I usually say, stand up for yourself. Report it when it's happening," Everett said.
And the message isn't just for kids. Everett wants adults to know how to deal with bullies too.
"A really good friend of mine, she was actually bullied on the job. That's why she had left her job. Because she was being bullied by her job, including when she had her interview that she wanted to work at. She had told me what happened, why they didn't want to hire her is because of her disability, and I'm like, that's discrimination," Everett said.
Everett says through it all, People Inc. has been there advocating for her.
"They've actually been helping me a lot. My book and stuff like that, and more than just my book. I'm going through the Self-direction Department with People Inc., and I've been doing self direction for many, many, many, many years," Everett said.
"I've had the pleasure of knowing her for about thirty years, and worked with her in a lot of different capacities. She helped us do person-centered training for our management program for about ten years, so we've worked together doing that, and currently, I work as a self-directed assistant which means that I am really her personal assistant to help her meet goals, work on fitness, do shopping, banking, whatever she needs," said Noel Schmitt, Self-Directed Assistant at People Inc.
In addition to writing, Everett also has a big social media presence, including her own YouTube Channel.
"It's called the Engelic Everett show, but it's 2.0. The reason why I wanted to start my own show is because I wanted to empower women, but also men as well, too, on different topics that they can relate to," Everett said.
And that's another space where she's able to talk about important topics, like what it's like to navigate through the world as a woman of color with a developmental disability, empowerment, and bullying.
"I am an anti-bullying advocate. I advocate for anyone and everyone, so, and I advocate for myself. I'm trying to learn how to do that for myself a little bit more," Everett said.
You can find Everett's books at several local bookstores including Alice, Ever After Books and Dog Ears.