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Projects

Building an Effective Peer Support Program

July 14-16, 2009
Baltimore, MD

For further information, contact Eleanor Canter at NCIL, 202-207-0334 (voice) 202-207-0340 (TTY) 202-207-0341 (fax) or eleanor@ncil.org. 
Register on the NCIL website at this URL: http://secure.xo.com/ncil.org/store/catalog.php?p_category=2

Peer Support is one of the four core services of Centers for Independent Living.  How well is your Center providing this valuable service?  If the peer support program at your Center hasn’t reached its full potential, maybe your program could use some peer support itself!  This training will provide you with a comprehensive framework to expand or improve your existing peer support program.  Our training team is comprised entirely of CIL staff members who operate highly effective peer support programs at two very different Centers for Independent Living. 

Join Us In Baltimore to Learn How to:  

• Identify a framework design that includes a level of commitment to peer support programming within your existing Center structure;
• Establish an administrative infrastructure that will provide the framework for an effective peer support program, including peer recruitment, training, supervision; and program coordination and evaluation.
• Build awareness, skills, and commitment among mentors to cultivate positive, effective relationships to increase their ability to support, coach and guide their mentees.
• Understand the far-reaching benefits of a successful program for the CIL, the mentors and mentees, and the community.

Register on the NCIL website at this URL: http://secure.xo.com/ncil.org/store/catalog.php?p_category=2

Hotel Information:

Marriott Baltimore Inner Harbor at Camden Yards
110 South Eutaw Street
Baltimore, MD  21201
410-962-0202
Low Nightly Rates! $139/night (plus 13.5% tax) for single or double occupancy

Your Presenters:

Tom Osborn is the Executive Director of North Central Independent Living Services, Inc. (NCILS) Black Eagle, Montana and has been within NCILS' employment for over 20 years.  Tom is a consumer of services and served as an officer on the National Association of Programs for Rural Independent Living Board of Directors for 10 years. Tom was an original founding member of the Montana Transportation Partnership and also serves on other community boards and committees.  NCILS is a Part C & B Center for Independent Living which provides the core independent living services in the highly rural State of Montana.  NCILS geographic service delivery area contains approximately 50 thousand square miles, and represents about 22% of the State’s overall population.

Amina Donna Kruck is The Director of Advocacy Programs at Arizona Bridge to Independent Living (ABIL) in Phoenix, Arizona. Kruck is a Professional Licensed Counselor with a Master’s of Counseling from Arizona State University.   Kruck has been the Project Director for the statewide AZ Freedom to Work - Social Security Work Incentives Planning Assistance Program since the Ticket legislation first rolled out in Arizona in 2001.  She successfully initiated the community effort to establish Arizona’s Medicaid Buy-in.  Kruck is the designated lobbyist for ABIL and has oversight for ABIL’s volunteer program which includes general volunteers a 35-member peer mentor volunteer team, the This Is My Life self-determination program for persons with developmental disabilities, ABIL’s  Bridge monthly newsletter, and ABIL’s Advocacy Program, which address individual issues, provides monthly advocacy workshops and community/ system’s change.  Kruck has been an activist in the Independent Living movement with ABIL for 18 years and worked in the disability field for 24 years. She has 24 years of peer counseling experience and has worked in the correctional and mental health field prior to joining the ABIL team. Kruck has taught a university multi-disciplinary course “Perspectives on Disability,” and facilitated Women Wellness Group and Attitudinal Barriers workshops through ABIL. Kruck is the recipient of the 2008 AZ Capitol Times Leadership Unsung Hero award, the 2004 National Council on Independent Living Region IX Advocate of the Year award and the 2001 Paralyzed Veterans of America Arizona Chapter Dick Sloviaczek Barrier Buster Award.

Ms. April Reed is the Volunteer Coordinator at Arizona Bridge to Independent Living (ABIL) in Phoenix.  She coordinates the ABIL Peer Mentor and General Administrative Volunteer programs, which includes recruiting, training, and matching mentors with consumers working on independent living goals.  Reed facilitates disability presentations to schools, the monthly mentoring and discussion group for mentors, mentees, and consumers and coordinates volunteer activities, including a monthly volunteer group and staffing of community information tables.  Previously she was ABIL’s Information and Referral Specialist.  Reed is a Licensed Masters Social Worker, receiving her Masters degree in Social Work from Arizona State University in May 2005.  She is a member of the planning committee for the Arizona Disability Expo, and Vice-Chair of the Arizona State Rehabilitation Council (SRC).