2020 LIFESHARING VIRTUAL CONFERENCE
Join us for our 8th Annual Conference
Join us for this two-day virtual event with the very best in lifesharing practices, interactive activities, keynote and breakout sessions by leading lifesharing experts, a dynamic exhibit hall, and opportunities for networking. There will be sessions for support professionals as well as family members. A certificate of attendance will be provided to document training hours.
All registrants will have a box mailed to them with handouts, the conference program, and goodies from the Coalition and sponsors. Please register by October 15 to ensure you receive your box prior to the conference. Registrations will be accepted after October 15 but your box may not arrive prior to the conference.
Keynote Speakers
Al Condeluci, PhD
Consultant and Trainer
Dr. Al Condeluci has been a leader in community building, human services and inclusive advocacy work for the past 50 years. Holding a PhD and MSW from the University of Pittsburgh, Dr. Condeluci has been the CEO of CLASS (Community Living and Support Services) a major nonprofit, community building organization in Pittsburgh, PA from 1973 to 2019. He holds faculty status at the University of Pittsburgh in the Schools of Social Work, and Health, Rehab Sciences and is author of 7 books including the acclaimed, Interdependence: The Route to Community (1995) and more recently, Social Capital: The Key to Macro Change (2014). In 2018, he received the “Key to the City of Pittsburgh,” the highest civilian honor that can be given to a community member. He serves as a consultant, advisor, and human service coach and is on a number of nonprofit boards and government commissions on state, local and national levels. He helped found, and convenes the Interdependence Network, an international coalition of professionals, family members, and consumers interested in community engagement and macro change. He can be reached at www.alcondeluci.com, or @acondeluci on Twitter.
Dave Hingsburger
Author and Trainer
Dave Hingsburger began his career more than 40 years ago as a direct support professional, and since that time has always included direct support as part of his practice no matter the position he has held. He is a well-known consultant, author, trainer, speaker, and daily blogger in the disability field. He travels North America and the United Kingdom to train people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) and the people who support them to honor and teach self-determination, relationships, and healthy boundaries, as well as other workshops ranging from self-esteem, communication, spirituality, teasing and bullying, and making a community. Mr. Hingsburger designs and delivers abuse prevention workshops for those in care-giving roles as well as for children and adults with disabilities. He has authored more than 30 books, chapters and articles in both peer reviewed journals and in newspapers and on-line media outlets. He has appeared on radio several times and produced an award-winning radio documentary.
Schedule
Monday, October 26, 2020
11:00 am: Opening Session
11:15 am: Keynote Speaker, Al Condeluci, PhD
Addressing Loneliness and Social Isolation: The Key to a Better Life
The notions of loneliness and social isolation have been clearly identified as vexing issues in our culture today. We know that when people are rendered isolated, bad things can follow including adverse health issues, unhappiness/depression, challenges with life success, and even shortened life expectancy. We also know that marginalized groups, folks with disabilities, seniors, those in poverty, and other minorities are at greater risk of being lonely, isolated, or disconnected. This session will do a deep-dive into understanding social isolation. Not only will we look at the research and data related to this concept, but we will explore strategies, and actions that can be employed in addressing loneliness by having social capital principles work for the people in your community. We will examine ways and means to building more effective relationships and combat social isolation.
12:00 – 12:15: Break
12:15 – 1 pm: Awards Ceremony
1:00 pm – 1:45 pm: Breakout Sessions
1:45 – 2:00 pm: Break
2:00 – 2:45 pm: Breakout Sessions
2:45 – 3:00 pm: Closing Comments
3:30 – 5:00 pm: Dedicated Exhibit Hall Time
Tuesday, October 27, 2020
11:00 am: Opening Session
11:15 am: Keynote Speaker, Dave Hingsburger
Past and Present
This session will look at what this pandemic is teaching us about service provision, about attitudes towards disability and about ourselves. People call us heroes but that doesn't actually capture what it is that we do and why it is that we do it. So behind the hero rhetoric is something much deeper. The goal of this lecture is to remind people who provide service what their service means as a historical event.
12:15 pm – 1:00 pm: Break
1:00 – 1:45 pm: Breakout Sessions
1:45 – 2:00 pm: Break
2:00 – 2:45 pm: Keynote Speaker, Ron Melusky, ODP
Lifesharing – Facts and Figures
Department of Human Services, Office of Developmental Programs
All of you know what it’s like to share your lives with individuals with an intellectual disability or autism through personal experience, and how rewarding Lifesharing can be for everyone in your households…but have you ever wondered what Lifesharing looks like across the state? What are the ages of Lifesharing participants? How do individuals self-identify their genders and races? What kind of incidents are reported from Lifesharing agencies? This presentation will answer these questions (and more) using information from a variety of sources.
2:45 – 3:00 pm: Conference Close
Registration Information
The registration fee is $60 per person for the two-day event.
Click here to register online.
Click here to download a hard copy registration form
Prior to the conference, you will receive a link to the virtual conference site. You will not need to download any software to link to the virtual conference site. You will need to use the same email address to access the virtual conference site as you used on your registration form.
$60/person
Exhibit Hall & Sponsorships
For more information about the benefits of being a conference sponsor or exhibitor, contact Mary Rhodes, mrhodes@skillsgroup.org
THE MISSION OF THE PENNSYLVANIA LIFESHARING COALITION IS TO PROMOTE, SUPPORT AND EMBRACE THE CONCEPT OF LIFESHARING AND THE PHILOSOPHIES OF SELF-DETERMINATION AND EVERYDAY LIVES.