Where Rivers Meet, Families Connect.
Families from Northern BC will gather in Prince George for two days of learning and connecting. You will learn ways to strengthen your advocacy and access resources to help build a good life for your loved one with a disability. You will join other families in sharing knowledge and developing community support.
Cost: FREE and scholarships are available for travel, child care or other expenses (see details and application after the program description)
When: October 2 & 3, 2024
Where: AiMHi 950 Kerry St., Prince George, B.C.
Who: Families and caregivers living in Northern BC who support loved ones with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Save the date!
Registration will open in August 2024.
PROGRAM
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2024
| Time | Topic/Activity |
|---|---|
| 10:30 – 11:00 am | Registration |
| 11:00 – 11:15 am | Welcome |
| 11:15 am – 12:15 pm | Session 1 – Self-determination panel – Making life choices |
| 12:15 – 1:00 pm | Lunch |
| 1:00 – 2:30 pm | Session 2 – Advocacy |
| 2:30 – 2:45 pm | Break |
| 2:45 – 4:15 pm | Session 3 – Autonomy, hopes, dreams, and planning |
| 4:30 – 6:30 pm | Families connect – social gathering |
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2024
| Time | Topic/Activity |
|---|---|
| 10:00 – 11:30 am | Session 4 – Advance care planning |
| 11:30-11:45 am | Break |
| 11:45 am – 1:00 pm | Session 5 – Services by Community Living BC |
| 1:00 – 1:30 pm | Lunch |
| 1:30 – 3:00 pm | Session 6 – Thriving in your community and closing circle |
SESSION DESCRIPTIONS
Session 1 – Self-determination panel – Making life choices
Self advocates and family members will share their stories of life, bumps, and successes. Learn from self-advocates about how they are making choices and managing their own lives and from a family member on how to support self-determination.
Session 2 – Advocacy
Learn about your rights, how to exercise them, and how to advocate for yourself and your family members. We will review some of the systems that serve children, youth, and adults and share some tips on how to navigate them to advocate for support and services.
Session 3 – Autonomy, hopes, dreams and planning
There are many techniques and strategies for planning for an inclusive future. You will learn about different planning tools that will help support your vision for life in community and how to support the autonomy of your loved one by centering their voice. You will learn the basics of representation agreements and some financial planning tools as well.
Session 4 – Advance care planning
You will hear about the importance of having meaningful conversations with your family, friends, and team to plan for different aspects of life for the time when you might need more help than you do now. Planning for health advance care planning is for everyone – no matter where you find yourself on your healthcare journey.
Session 5 – Services by Community Living BC
Learn about the services available to adults from Community Living BC and how to access them in helpful ways for your family member.
Session 6 – Thriving in your community
With the knowledge and tools acquired in past sessions, we will discuss ways to take the next steps to support your family member to thrive in your community. We will talk about home, long-life learning, employment and being part of the community.
Scholarships and Childcare
We can offer some scholarships for travel costs, childcare and other types of support to facilitate families’ participation.
We’ll have forms for childcare and scholarships available soon.
If you need support to fill in any of these forms or to register for the event, please contact:
Jay Sandhu
1-844-488-4321
Organized in partnership with:
