Category: News

October 27 & 28 in Vernon
GENERAL INFORMATION
This conference is being put on by Interior Regional Self Advocates in BC. This year’s theme is about Living Successfully with Diverse Abilities. There will be workshops about employment, bullying and internet safety, relationships, and cooking healthy meals.

On Tuesday evening there will be a dinner and dance. There will be a local band, Feet First, and the theme for this year’s dance is a Halloween/Harvest theme. Prizes will be given out for best dancer and best Halloween costume. Prepare to Party!!
InCommon.TV will also be at the conference. INCOMMON.TV is a web-based story-sharing channel. There will be an opportunity for self advocates to share their experiences and be video recorded if they would like.
LOCATION AND HOTEL INFORMATION
Prestige Hotel & Conference Centre
4411 32 St
Parking is available at the hotel.
REGISTRATION
Conference cost is $25 and must be paid before the conference date. No payment at the door. Registration will be on a first come, first served basis so register now to avoid disappointment.
Conference Agenda:

Day One – Tuesday, October 27, 2015

11:00- 12:30
Conference Registration and Lunch. Lunch to begin at 11:30AM

12:30-1:00
Welcome speeches from Tom Christensen, Chair of CLBC Board of Directors and Vernon’s Mayor Akbal Mund

1:00 PM to 2:15PM – Keynote Presentation

Key Note: Dr. Rachelle Hole, UBC Okanagan professor and Co-Director for the Centre for Inclusion and Citizenship, along with the Centre for Inclusion and Citizenship Self Advocates Dale and Leanne Froese present:
“Claiming Full Citizenship and Living Successfully with Diverse Abilities”
October is Community Living Month and this year we are exploring what it means to be “Full Citizens”. Based on learning from the “Claiming Full Citizenship Conference” hosted by the Centre for Inclusion and Citizenship in Vancouver on October 15 – 17, this keynote will explore what citizenship means, why it is important and how we can achieve it.  They will talk about how self-advocates in other countries like Australia and New Zealand are living successful lives as full citizens and engage the audience to ask, “What can we do to promote full citizenship in our own lives?”
2:15 to 2:30
Coffee, tea and cookie break
2:30-3:00
Self-Advocates from Salmon Arm College
3:00-4:00- Choose Workshop A or B
Workshop A:
Kayla is here to help bridge the gap between disability and diverse ability; let’s build a bigger, brighter future one step at a time and be open to new opportunities.” If we are given the chance, people with diverse abilities can show our skills and work as a team with an employer; we can bring new ideas to make a business stronger and go through the challenges together. I am here to help employers and individuals see that our weaknesses are not a barrier; they are an opportunity to build a better future.”
Workshop B: Chelsea Muskens CLBC Regional Advisor and Lindsay Lorraine Project Coordinator from In Common Storytelling Society of British Columbia team up for a fun interactive workshop. They will help you create an impactful story as a group that can be shared with the global community. The story/ video will inspire and empower the viewer to consider how they could make changes in their daily lives to be more inclusive and promote change within their communities.
Use your voice to share with the global community what a good Quality of Life means to you!

4:00-6:00
Free time or do an interview with InCommon TV
6:00-10:00
Dinner and Halloween Dance
Day Two – Wednesday, October 28
7:00-8:30AM

Breakfast

8:30-10:00 – Keynote Presentation
Sheila Adcock is the Program Coordinator of Career Development Service, an agency governed by the Trail Association for Community Living. CDS is dedicated to providing holistic respective employment & community inclusion supports to individuals living independently in the community.
Sheila will be providing an overview of all of the programs offered at CDS which include employment services and so much more eg: “Getting to Home” homelessness project, Outreach Services provided to specialized populations living independently in the community and various Social Enterprise businesses that provide employment opportunities as well as generate revenue for the agency.

10:30-11:00
Coffee and tea break, and checkout
11:00-12:00-Choose Workshop A or B
Workshop A: 11:00 to 11:30AM – Self Advocates, Rose Vair from Vernon and Krystian Shaw from Kamloops would like to share with you information and tips about bullying and Internet safety. 11:30 to 12:00PM – Angel Nelson and Aaron Basarowick are a happy couple from Penticton.  Aaron and Angel met 3 years ago and have recently just moved into together.  They are now excited to be planning a wedding for 2017!  They invite you to come listen to tips and advice for a healthy relationship and the steps they took to move in together.

Workshop B: Mary Hicks is a Clinical Dietitian working for Health Services for Community Living. She has developed and presented courses on healthy eating, diabetes, celiac disease, and heart health, and has experience teaching to a diverse group of people. In this 1 hour session you will learn some ideas to improve your health through diet while maintaining your budget, tips to reduce your risk of obesity, and some ideas to promote weight loss. This session should be attended by anyone interested to reduce their risk of chronic disease. Prior to wrap-up you will be asked to challenge yourself to make a commitment to change 1 thing to improve your health.

12:00-1:00
Lunch
1:00-2:00
Closing speeches by Jennifer Love and Elizabeth Hamilton
REGISTRATION FORM
DEADLINE: October 1, 2015
Name________________________________________________________________________
Mailing Address______________________________________________________________
City/Province/postal Code______________________________________________________
Telephone Number/E mail______________________________________________________
Please inform us of any special dietary requirements._______________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Please inform us of any mobility requirements.____________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Support staff can attend for free but will need to share a room with the individual they are supporting. Will you be bringing a support person? ____Yes or ____ No
CONFERENCE FEES:
The registration fee is $25 and includes meals and hotel. (No payment at the door!)
To keep costs down most people will need to share a room.
Can you share a room? ______Yes ______No
Who would you like to share a room with? _______________________________________
I don’t need a hotel room______
Please make your cheque out to: Community Living BC
And mail or drop off your cheque and registration form to:
Attention: Elizabeth Hamilton
Community Living BC
#201, 2802 – 30th Street
Vernon, BC V1T 8G7

CONFERENCE CHOICES (Please circle)
1. Registration for Full conference: Cost is $25

2. Choice of Workshops on Tuesday & Wednesday:

First Session: 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM on Tuesday. Please choose one:
Workshop A – Helping Bridge the gap between disability and diverse ability or Workshop B- Your Quality of Life, Your Voice – Let us help you tell your story and share your vision with the global community
Second Session: 11:00 AM to Noon on Wednesday. Please choose one
Workshop A- Our journey as a couple and Bullying and Staying Safe Online or Workshop B – Eat Better – Feel Better “Tips and Tricks to Eat Well on a Tight Budget”

Questions? Call the Vernon CLBC office 1-250-549-5490 or the CLBC office closest to you.

Hello everyone:

Please consider completing the survey below. Sherry and the group at the MS Society have put together this survey to inform this city of Kelowna and the local transit Authority about issues people experience using Handy Dart.

The paper surveys here: handydart survey final-2

If you’d like to fill it out online, here is the link:   https://surveyplanet.com/55085abed724cdf11e50585e

Make sure your voice is heard!