APRIL Logo with the words, "The United Voice of Independent Living in Rural America."

 APRIL Conference 2022:The Power of Peer Support

Youth Conference Theme: Every Body Every Mind

APRIL Conference October 10th-14th, 2022

 

2022 Keynote Speakers

 

Jill Jacobs, Commissioner of the Administration on Disabilities: Welcome Speaker on Tuesday, October 11.

Jill Jacobs was appointed to serve as the Commissioner of ACL’s Administration on Disabilities on Feb. 14, 2022. Ms. Jacobs has more than two decades of professional experience managing disability services organizations, analyzing policy, and working toward improved health and disability programs and services at local, state, and federal levels. She also has been an active grassroots organizer, leading campaigns to depict President Franklin D. Roosevelt seated in his wheelchair in the national monument in Washington, D.C. and to ensure the inclusion of disabled children in schools, and organizing disaster response efforts for people with disabilities following Hurricanes Harvey and Maria, to name just a few of her accomplishments.

 

Amy Ballinger of Independence, Inc.: Keynote Speaker on Thursday, October 14.

Amy discussed “Living in the Long-Covid Era: Diagnosis to Disability and Everything in Between”.

Amy is a lifelong Kansan with a Degree in Marketing and Broadcast Journalism from the University of Kansas and worked in educational settings, including Baker University, before moving into self-employment and finally transitioning to Non-profit disability services in 2016. Amy is the Community Engagement Manager and Social Support and Resource Specialist for Independence, Inc. and she and her husband currently reside in Olathe, KS with their children and grandchildren nearby.

When asked "what does peer support mean to you?", Amy had this to say:

“A person in a peer support role can listen, encourage, inform and assist someone navigate life in light of a newly acquired disability or other significant change to health or life circumstances.  Through the sharing of similar lived experience, identifying coping mechanisms and assisting in skill-building strategies, a peer is an essential piece of the puzzle in helping another person to regain a sense of equilibrium, find stability, regain confidence and independence, and to maintain a vibrant, active and healthy life."

 

Pre-Conference Sessions: Monday, October 10, 2022

 

Building a Movement Peers and Volunteers Session 1: What is Peer Support in Independent Living?

In this first session, we  will explore why peer support is important, what does peer support in Independent Living mean, and encourage you to participate from the audience so we can all learn from each other by answering the following questions:

  • What does your Center do around peer support currently?
  • Are you doing individual peer support? Group Peer Support? Both?
  • What sort of training or support do you have in building your peer support programs so far?
  • How has COVID changed how you interact or think of peer support?

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Building a Movement Peers and Volunteers Session 2: Nuts and Bolts of Building a Volunteer and a Peer Support Program

During this session, we will cover some of the logistics of building a volunteer program or a peer program such as:

  • Where do I start?
  • What’s your goal? What are your needs? What's your intention of building the program
  • Recruiting (finding them, connecting them in, Incentives/ways of appreciation)
  • Training and vetting
  • Connecting those who want to give back to those who need support

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Building a Movement Peers and Volunteers Session 3: Wrap up, Take Home, and Peer Sharing

 

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Conference Sessions: Tuesday, October 11, 2022

 

Opening Welcome Session:

 

Breakout Sessions:

 

Centene Sharing Session: Discussing Ways to Advance Disability Community Priorities through Managed Care

ADAPT’s multi-pronged strategy, also known as the “Pitchfork Approach to Advocacy” as coined by Bob Kafka, leverages direct action, policy, legal, administrative, and media approaches to achieve social change. Another lever that can be pulled to advance key disability community priorities on a widescale basis is the infrastructure in managed care. Come join a former CIL Director who works at Centene, the Executive Director of Progressive Independence in Oklahoma, and a member of Centene’s National Disability Advisory Council and CEO of Liberty Resources in Pennsylvania to learn more about the main structures in managed care (procurement, contracting, quality, care management, HR, and health plan policy) that can be used to free our people. After a brief overview of these MCO structures, the majority of the time will be used for an open discussion with attendees on concrete ways CILs can leverage that MCO infrastructure to find common ground and address disability community priorities on a massive scale.

 

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Diversity and Inclusion Peer Support Meeting

This session was a chance to hear from the APRIL's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee members on their experiences within the Independent Living movement.  

 

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Realizing Rural Relationships: Peer Support for Rural Outreach and Organizing

Attendees of this workshop learned key tips and tricks for effectively doing rural community outreach and organizing to reach rural consumers, partner with rural organizations, and address the needs of rural people with disabilities from current CIL staff from across the country who have helped develop and implement a Rural Community Living Development peer mentoring program in partnership with APRIL and the Research and Training Center on Disability in Rural Communities (RTC:Rural).

 

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The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation's Rural Unserved & Underserved Populations Quality of Life Grants Program

Learn about the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation's Rural Unserved & Underserved Populations newly launched Quality of Life Grants Program. This new grants program aims to fund projects that explicitly benefit people living with paralysis in unserved and underserved rural communities. Building upon the strengths and resiliency of rural communities the program's overarching goal is to mitigate the effects of geography, environment, lack of services, and systems on rural Americans.

 

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Healthy Cooking for $25 a Week: Tips on grocery shopping, meal prep to prepare breakfast, lunch, and dinner for around $25 a week. Live cooking demonstration.

Beat inflation, and eat healthier for less! Tips on grocery shopping and meal prep to make breakfast, lunch and dinner for a week. Live cooking demonstration and a free cookbook to take home.

 

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The ADA, Addiction, and Recovery

The pandemic has led to sharp increases in alcohol and substance abuse in the U.S. and an increase in behavioral health disorders. More than 70% of individuals with alcohol or drug use continue to maintain employment. Over 22 million Americans are currently in recovery from alcohol and other drug use disorders. (Source: Working on addiction in the workplace, Harvard Health Blog [link: https://health.harvard.edu/blog/working-on-addiction-in-the-workplace-2017063011941 . Although addiction affects all demographic groups, drug and alcohol abuse among African American communities is higher than the general population and African Americans have poorer treatment outcomes. According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), 20.4% of adult African Americans reported illicit drug use in the past year. (Source: https://americanaddictioncenters.org/rehabguide/ addiction-statistics/african-americans) American Indian and Alaska Natives have some of the highest rates of substance abuse. Twenty-two percent abuse illicit drugs, and 5% report heavy alcohol use. (Source: https://pro.psycom.net/special_reports/bipoc-mental-health-awareness-racism-in-psychiatry/race-and-addiction-treatmentoutcomes)

Individuals in recovery are often unaware of their civil rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The ADA ensures that people with disabilities, including those with alcohol use disorder and substance use disorders, have the same rights and opportunities in the workplace. This session will discuss how the ADA applies to addiction in three phases of employment: preoffer, post-offer, and employment and use scenarios to apply the ADA as it relates to alcohol, opioids, cocaine, and marijuana.

 

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How CILs can Promote Competitive, Integrated Employment by Developing Strategic Partnerships

 

 

Conference Sessions: Wednesday, October 12, 2022

 

Breakout Sessions:


Reaching and Engaging Farm Worker Populations

This interactive workshop focuses on building the capacity of service providers and programs to conduct outreach and engagement with farm worker populations. Participants will learn about culturally specific needs and approaches to engage farm worker and low-wage immigrant worker populations. Participants will increase their knowledge about farm workers and their families. Participants will learn specific tools for engagement and activity development.

 

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Youth Coordinator Connect Peer Support Group

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Expanding, Engaging and Energizing Peer Support Groups

The workshop dives into the process explaining how the Wyoming Independent Living IL program used remote access, technology, and education to grow and energize their peer group programs and events. Attendees will see and learn how the plan developed and see how plans going forward are being put into place to keep this momentum going. Many consumer and specialist success stories will be shared.

 

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Better Together: Enhanced Self-Directed Services Provided through CILs

Since the advent of the pandemic in 2020, the number of Americans participating in self-directed services through Medicaid and other funding sources has skyrocketed. However, self-directed services are not yet equally accessible to everyone. People who self-direct are expected to become employers, recruit staff amidst a nationwide workforce shortage, navigate confusing paperwork, and manage a complex budget—often with limited help along the way.

This session will introduce a potential framework for offering robust support for people who self-direct their services. Designed to be provided through centers for independent living, this model Will connect those participating in self-directed services to all core services and other services offered through CILs. At CILs participants can receive advocacy, IL skills training, information, and peer counseling. Participants new to self-direction can be matched with experienced participants who can answer their questions and support them with developing employer skills. Erica Andres, a Senior Training Consultant at Applied Self-Direction, will share her dual experiences as a self-directing participant and a provider of peer support in Wisconsin to demonstrate the “real life” impact of this approach. Other panel members, Merle Edwards-Orr with Applied Self-Direction and Richard Petty of the ILRU IL-NET T&TA Center, will discuss other roles for the CIL.

Research in smaller pilot self-direction programs has shown peer support to be highly successful. CILs are uniquely positioned to apply and scale this model. During the session presenters will describe successful programs. Participants will be invited to offer recommendations as this model is advanced for future implementation.

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Dive into the DETACs CIL Employment Program Readiness Assessment Tool

A critical first step in incorporating Employment Services into your CIL's operations is to evaluate your organization's current knowledge, skills, and activities. The Employment Program Readiness Assessment Tool (EPRAT) is designed for CILs to evaluate their current capacity to address the employment service needs of the individuals they serve. The tool draws on the McKinsey Capacity Assessment Grid, the Victory Program's Technical Assistance guide, and other industry-established assessment tools. The tool has been modified to focus on CIL's capacity for employment services.

The tool is divided into four (4) different categories, which cover your CIL's investment and support for employment services and your approach to delivering employment services to persons served. This assessment tool provides CILs with the opportunity to identify current areas of existing capacity and to prioritize areas of needed and desired capacity building regarding employment services. The prioritized areas will assist you in determining the capacity building activities, goals, and outcomes that can be a part of your work plan.

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Managing the Changing Needs of Your Center's Consumers and Staff while Navigating Negative Community Attitudes: Keeping Your Consumers & Staff Safe

CIL's traditionally welcome and support all people with disabilities. They are now assisting individuals who differ from the traditional CIL population. Given the present environment of violence, guns, COVID-related social isolation, increasing numbers of individuals who need mental health services which are often not available, and drug and alcohol challenges, CILs can improve the safety of staff and other consumers through training and support with appropriate policies and procedures. With responsive planning with consumers and good policies and procedures, CILs can reduce threats, know when to engage law enforcement, use protocols for a safe code or warning or cry for help, learn safety skills, know how to diffuse situations and deescalate those who are angry and threatening.

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Project ALIVE: Identifying barriers and increasing access to COVID-19 vaccinations among the disability community

APRIL received a short-term grant from CDC Foundation to Increase vaccination opportunities for people with disabilities; Establish partnerships with state and local health departments to ensure inclusion and focus of people with disabilities; Ensure prioritization of the unique needs of people with disabilities in state and local emergency preparedness and response planning.

Project ALIVE (Accessible Life-saving Integrated Vaccine Equity) chose 3 rural states whose vaccination rates at the time were low and COVID infection rates were high: Arkansas, Missouri and Montana. APRIL engaged in existing relationships, resources, survey results, historical data, etc. that has been conducted over the years with our Member CILs, SILCs, and other CBO's.

APRIL, in coordination with The Partnership, utilized surveys for people with disabilities; focus groups of people with disabilities; key informants of people with disabilities; stakeholder planning groups of people with disabilities and public health; and a website archive of resources with outreach including social media and throughout the collaborator's networks. APRIL collaborated with The Partnership to identify barriers, conduct training and provide technical assistance, create a plan with each identified area, and implement the plan in each identified area.

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  • No materials available for this session.

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Promoting Positive, Effective, & Authentic SILC Member Engagement - Decentralized Value-Based Teaming & Peer Support

How do SILC's maximize engagement and collaboration with its members? It is the power of authentic communication and peer support! SILC membership, Robert's Rules, and named leaders alone rarely translate into effective member engagement, collaboration, and quality outcomes. Join this presentation to learn the practical steps needed to develop critical positive, effective, & authentic SILC member engagement practices. Real-world application examples will be shared and dialogue with participants encouraged!

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What is a SILC and Why Should I Care?

Most IL Staff have very little understanding of what the SILC and SPIL are. This session is designed to provide an introduction to how SILCs function as a part of the IL network, and how the SPIL can be used to guide and strengthen the IL movement in each state.

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Peer Support for CIL Leadership  (EDs/CEOs, Program Managers/ Assistant Directors)

At APRIL, we believe that peer support is one of the most important pieces of Independent Living. Let's learn together, not recreate the wheel, and make connections.  Being a leader at the top can be a lonely experience.  We encourage you to join this session to connect with other leaders doing the same work as you.  This is a time to ask questions and share barriers and wins with other peers in those leadership positions.  

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Healthy Community Living: IL Skills Training and Workshop Delivery

Participants will learn about our IL workshop series, Healthy Community Living, including Community Living Skills, Living Well in the Community, and Working Well with a Disability. We will demonstrate the curriculums, discuss workshop delivery at CILs, and showcase our new live trainings.

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How to Connect with the Community to Get What You Want!

The purpose of this workshop will be to educate others on why it is important to use your community to your benefit. Attendees will learn that communication through online sources and organizations can benefit them in the long run for their needs. Our workshop should be featured at the APRIL conference because as young leaders, we know that we cannot accomplish great things alone, but with a supportive community, we can do anything.

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 Conference Sessions: Thursday, October 13, 2022

Keynote: Living in the Long-Covid Era: Diagnosis to Disability and Everything in Between

Long-Covid is quickly becoming a household topic and community health issue as more and more people are suffering long-term effects of previous COVID-19 infections. While much is being discovered about the phenomenon, there is still a lot be learned about symptoms, diagnosis, effects on mental health, when it becomes a disability and what we can do to tie all of this information together to come up with a support plan. Centers for Independent Living are working hard to understand information as it becomes available so we can assist consumers in recognizing Long-Covid, getting an accurate diagnosis and supporting and assisting them with peripheral issues like mental health, isolation, employment accommodations and if and when to apply for disability. It can be a daunting system to navigate and we want to help break it down in a step-by-step walkthrough of what we know so far.

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Breakout Sessions:

“I Want To Choose Where I Live & Who I Live With!” Strengthening Advocacy Around the HCBS Settings Rule 

With the inclusion of stakeholder voices, the Home- and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Settings Rule can improve community-based services and supports for decades to come. A key requirement is that States implement the Rule by March 2023 and that they hear from the community about how to do so. Participants will learn more about the Rule and how it impacts the disability community and the Independent Living movement. To ensure there is more consumer choice and control over HCBS service delivery, strategies and examples will be shared of how participants can provide effective feedback on State plans to implement the Rule.

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F.R.I.E.S.: Learning Enthusiastic Consent

F.R.I.E.S.: Freely Given, Reversible, Informed, Enthusiastic, Specific.

The purpose of this workshop is to teach the F.R.I.E.S acronym as it relates to obtaining consent in sexual relationships. Attendees will learn how to ask and give enthusiastic consent in sexual relationships. This workshop should be taught at the APRIL conference due to the rates of sexual assault in the disability community and the need for individuals to have autonomy over their bodies.

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Emergency Preparation: Innovative and Inclusive Strategies 

The purpose of this session will be to share the innovative and inclusive strategies from Florida Independent Living Council, Centers for Independent Living, and The Partnership for Inclusive Disaster Strategies. The discussion will also explore lessons learned from the experiences of disasters and how that impacted the COVID-19 pandemic. Discussions will focus on the importance of the partnership and creating a roadmap for your state.

  
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Making Visible Unseen Disabilities: A Talk About Mental Health

The Independent Living Community has a great philosophy when it comes to helping many people with disabilities but has struggled to engage some of the unseen disabilities like mental health. Many people with multiple disabilities including psychiatric fall through the cracks. Now more than ever we need to understand mental health as the calls for reinsitutionalization are strengthening. As diagnostic and treatment protocols become more invasive and covert, this threatens privacy, autonomy and personal freedom. Really, the exact opposite of what we fight for in the Independent Living Community!

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Peer Support Group for IL Specialists (NHT, IL Skills Training, I&R, Housing, etc.)

At APRIL, we believe that peer support is one of the most important pieces of Independent Living. Let's learn together, not recreate the wheel, and make connections.  Being on the front lines of direct service is a hard and demanding.  Being able to connect to those in similar work allows us to really see how others are succeeding and sharing the great new ideas that you are really proud of.  Join us for this session where you will be able to connect with your peers and find some time for recharging before heading back out into the field. 

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Funding to Supplement Core Services 

CILs simply do not have enough base federal funding to provide our 5 broad core services adequately. To continue to meet the need, CILs must find creative ways to supplement their budget. This session will explore potential funding and partners to build your CIL's capacity to provide the 5 core services. Able SC leadership will share how they have consistently grown their CIL's budget and staff to meet the growing demand for services, as well as tackle some big systemic advocacy projects to improve disability rights in the state.

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Our Homes, Not Nursing Homes!: Benefits of Living in the Community Rather than in the Nursing Home

If you have been involved in IL for some time, you have probably have heard these words or some variation: Our Homes, Not Nursing Homes! This workshop will discuss nursing home statistics, and why it is the preferred choice of many people with severe disabilities to live in their own home as well as "bring it to life" with sharing some life changing success stories. Participants will also learn about some programs in the community to assist consumers and some resources for caregiver supports.

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Conference Sessions: Friday, October 14, 2022

Breakout Sessions:

Effectively Supporting and Accommodating CIL Staff

Knowing the right ways to support your staff can be challenging and require some creative thinking. This session will discuss the wide range of tools and strategies CIL managers can support a variety of disabilities and be a model employer. This session seeks to help leadership retain staff, create a more inclusive work environment, and improve performance outcomes for both staff with and without disabilities.

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Peer Support for SILCs

Join us to begin building a community of peer support and sharing for Youth Program Coordinators. Come share your experiences, tips and tricks, and problem solve barriers being on a Statewide Independent Living Council. Meet and learn from other council members throughout the country who are working towards the common goal of improving services for people disabilities in their state.

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Each One, Reach One, Teach One: Diversity and Inclusion in Community Outreach and CIL Programs

The purpose of this session is to discuss the idea of Diversity and Inclusion with youth representative of various backgrounds, socio-economic, gender, race, etc., which will include the idea of social inclusion as well.

Attendees will learn the correlation between inclusion and motivation as it relates to student achievement and social and emotional development of youth which will ultimately lead to the "success" of said youth.

I believe my workshop is needed especially during these emerging times given the reduce output of student achievement, youth inclusion, violence surrounding the youth community, and the importance of understanding how to successfully implement the ideology of diversity and inclusion into programs designed for youth in these times.

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History of Disabilities Portrayal in the Media

This presentation discuss and showcase how different media mediums portray disabilities, both currently and historically. If you want to talk about movies and TV, come to this presentation as we journey into media from 1960's through today.

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Mental Health: An Open Conversation

There is no textbook answer for what mental health looks like to a person.  This workshop is set up to be a peer-to-peer conversation where we can learn from one another, a true team experience.  There is no set agenda on what you will take away from this workshop, we are choosing to use the true peer-to-peer experience through IL philosophy. YOU choose the topics; YOU choose the discussion. Attendees will leave this workshop with some new ideas, outlooks and hopefully will have the mental health break that we all need.  We are ALL experts and can learn from one another. 

  

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Rural Resource Mapping: A Demonstration of Mapping Community Resources

The purpose of this session is to present on the Rural Resource Mapping Project, a project that has assisted CIL staff in a handful of counties with connecting and mapping their community resources. As a product of this project, the county has an interactive Google Map that illustrates the county's community resources for various needs, such as food insecurity, home modification, and aging services. The attendees will learn of the common themes that have emerged from completing this project in various counties across the United States and will also receive a step-by-step demonstration of how the map was created. This workshop features ia unique tool that can be very useful in CIL staff's referrals for their consumers and can also help CILs make connections in the community to serve more consumers.

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Closing Ceremonies

Join us as we close out another successful conference year! We couldn’t do it without all of you, and we truly are grateful for all the power of your peer support this week. Help us celebrate, honor, and welcome members of our community through our Linda Gonzales Award and Earl Walden Award.  We will be taking time to honor those that have served on our board and will be stepping off after contributing so much, we thank you.  Please join us for the youth wrap up to take us into the next year!

Thank you again to our Conference Sponsors!

Session Recording:

Thank you again to our award winners and youth who spoke during the Closing Ceremonies!

2022 Award Winners

About the Earl Walden Award Winner: Pat Chambers

In the early days of APRIL, Earl was a great friend and supporter of our new organization. As a colleague who worked at ILRU (Independent Living Research Utilization) in Houston, Earl had a heart as big as Texas and a gift for finding resources or solutions to problems. He took APRIL under his wing when we needed an advocate on our side.

Patrick (Pat) Chambers is the Executive Director of Heartland Independent Living Center in Owensville, Missouri. Pat has worked in the Independent Living field for the past 24 years. His first 11 years in I.L. were at On My Own, Inc. in Nevada, Missouri. He was honored as the Nevada Citizen of the Year in 2008. Pat came to Heartland in late 2009. As he reaches is 70th birthday Pat has announced his retirement at the end of this year.

His career in Independent Living follows a 27-year career in radio broadcasting. 16 of those years Pat worked as the General Manager of stations Missouri and Kansas, the final 11 years as the General Manager of KNEM/KNMO Radio in Nevada, Missouri. As the station manager, his stations provided a great deal of public service air time to organizations and resources that supported individuals with developmental and physical disabilities.

Pat served four years as President of Missouri Centers for Independent Living (MOCIL). During that time MOCIL membership increased from 13 Centers to now include all of the state’s 22 Centers. It is the first time any state association of Centers for Independent Living has had all 22 Centers as members. Pat was appointed to the Missouri Statewide Independent Living Council (MOSILC) in 2008 and was reappointed in 2011, serving into 2016. He was the Chairperson of MOSILC for a two-year period during that time.

Pat has been very active in emergency preparedness for the disabled community. He was an initial member of the Functional Assessment Support Team (FAST)  for emergency preparedness and response in Missouri.

Pat, and his wife Karen are the parents of three adult children. They live in Jefferson City, Missouri.

About the Linda Gonzalez Award Winner: Wednesday Jones

Linda Gonzales was the first Executive Director of APRIL for 20 years, and truly was a visionary when it came to including youth with disabilities as leaders in the rural Disability Rights and Independent Living Movement and more specifically, the APRIL youth movement. It is a great honor to give this award to recognize and celebrate Linda’s many contributions to the youth movement and Independent Living.

Wednesday (she/they) started her journey as a delegate at the SC Youth Leadership Forum, Able SC's Equip young adult leadership program, and is now part of the Team at Able SC as a Fulltime staff who serves as the Employment and Financial Literacy Specialist in our Midlands office. As part of their efforts, Wednesday provides direct youth IL/Employment/Financial Stability services in many rural counties (Saluda, Sumter, Horry, Clarenden, Laurens, etc.) Wednesday has a dedication to growing, strengthening, and broadening the IL mission – especially for youth

Being a proud person living with multiple disabilities, Wednesday serves to promote independent living mission and philosophy not only through direct interactions but also through community involvment:

  • Center for Youth Voice Youth Choice (CYVYC) – Wednesday serves as a youth ambassador to educate and promote alternatives to guardianship for youth with disabilities.
  • They serve on the BATS committee where they are helping create a pictorial information packet to promote alternatives to guardianship
  • Through their participation in COCA, Wednesday helps ensure the voice of underrepresented/minority voices are heard as it relates to disability and intersectionality.
  • They also serve on a BIPOC committee to ensure black, indigionous, and people of color are at the forefront of conversations surrounding disability.

At a recent national conference, Wednesday helped other CILs realize the importance of youth work while understanding different cultures, cross-disability, interdependence, and disability justice.  Wednesday shared news at this conference that they are a new wheelchair user – doing so with confidence and pride. 

Wednesday enjoys getting out in the community! Over the last year, Wednesday has presented at several schools, offered financial trainings, and assisted with youth events.

This summer, Wednesday spent a great deal of time at Able SC’s Youth Summer Series. Here, Wednesday formed relationships with youth, offered peer support, and helped youth process all the information being offered.

Wednesday is committed to life-long learning and has recently embarked on a journey to become an Accredited Financial Counselor. Wednesday was awarded a scholarship for this year-long training. We are excited to see Wednesday grow in their knowledge – knowing they will share what they learn with youth with disabilities.

Wednesday is a leader in Independent Living and disability justice!

Honors

We want to honor some of our APRIL Board Members who will be ending their tenure on the board. Please join us in recognizing the contributions they have made and the dedication they have put forth to make APRIL a success!

  • Larry Wanger
  • Jeremy Morris
  • Evan Shockley

 Youth Conference Sessions: October 10-14, 2022

 Monday, October 10: Opening Session Speakers:

Squirmy and Grubs

Shane Burcaw and Hannah Aylward run a successful YouTube channel called Squirmy and Grubs, which currently has over 800,000 subscribers and 100,000,000+ views. Shane is the award-winning author of three books, and together they are working on a fourth. In all their work, they combine information and humor to educate people about disability. They have been featured on media outlets like The Today Show, Insider, and Bloomberg, and speak to their audiences about ableism, accessibility, and relationships.

Sarah Goldman

Sarah received her Bachelor of Social Work degree from the University of Central Florida and furthered her education by earning a Master’s in Social Work from Florida State University. Sarah has used her education and experiences as an individual with a disability to advocate for and empower others. Before joining the Florida Independent Living Council as the Director of Administration and Youth Initiatives, Sarah worked as a legislative aide for four years in the Florida Legislature. She is also appointed by the Governor to serve on the Florida Developmental Disabilities Council, where she Chairs the Public Policy and Self Advocacy and Leadership committees. Sarah has been recognized for her achievements as an advocate for community integration, inclusion, and employment initiatives for those with disabilities.

Noah Russell

Noah Russell is a member of the Space Coast Independent Living Center. He is also a 3rd Degree Black Belt, a supporter of United Way, a member of the Austistic Community, and is the Vice Chair of the YSC (Youth Steering Committee). He is dedicated to helping people all around by advocating for people in his community and in his state of Florida.  He works at Publix Super Markets and through them helps people with disabilities and non-disabled people.  He is glad to welcome everyone to the conference and hopes they learn something. 

Opal Besaw

Hi my name is Opal, I am from Kalispell, Montana.  I am excited to be the secretary for the Youth Steering Committee.  My first APRIL Conference was in Grand Rapids, MI.  It was nothing short of life changing.  I met lots of wonderful people and learned an immense amount about the world of advocacy and myself.  When I am not advoccating through various national and local organizations, I enjoy writing (I am a 17-time pulished author), reading, acting, eating ice cream, and listening to music (especially Taylor Swift).

Tuesday, October 11: Game Night (Jackbox)

Materials for this Session:

  • A mobile device or computer browser for Jackbox games and Kahoot quizzes

Session Recording:

  • No recording for this session is available, however links to the games played and utilized can be found:
    • Kahoot Quiz
    • Jeopardy Game

Wednesday, October 12: Youth Round Tables

Come together with other APRIL Youth Conference participants to discuss issues related to Independent Living, the Disability community, and rural youth all over the United States of America. Discussions will be led by members of the Youth Steering Committee, as well as APRIL "Lead On" Collaborative Class of 2022.

Topics will include:

  • Disability Representation in the Media
  • Education
  • Disability History
  • Employment

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Session Recording:

*** Please note that not all breakout rooms were able to be recorded. You are viewing the main room and one breakout room during this event ***

Thursday, October 13: Virtual Dance Party (IL on Mars)

At this year's APRIL Youth Conference, we want to push the boundaries of independent living where no one has gone before: SPACE! We'll be singing, dancing, and laughing the evening away at this year's virtual dance, IL on Mars!

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  • No materials for this session

Friday, October 14: Closing Session

Thank you so much for joining us at this year's APRIL Youth Conference! We are so happy to have spent the week learning and connecting with each and every one of you. First, we'll hear from Mr. Michael Beers, a longtime friend of APRIL and an incredible supporter of rural Disabled youth. Then, we want to give you the chance to chat with our Youth Steering Committee Executive Board, and finally, you'll get the chance to share with one another about your conference experience! 

Material for this Session:

  • No materials for this session.

Session Recording:

Thank you again to all of our Youth Conference Attendees for your enthusiasm, disability pride, and dedication to bringing disability access and inclusion to the forefront of your communities! And a final thank you to the Ford Foundation and Idaho SILC for sponsoring the Youth Conference. We couldn't have done this without you!