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Next Training Dates:

Facilitator Training Group Interview
August 2, 2008

Intro to LifeSPAN
TBA

For more info, contact:
training@lifespan-wa.org

Training

LifeSPAN regularly offers training sessions to assist families in planning for the future of their loved ones with a disability.

Jump to:
Introduction to LifeSPAN | A Good Life | Wills & Estates |
Seven Steps | Facilitator Training

Introduction to LifeSPAN 

We invite you to attend a free one-hour session held regularly to talk about LifeSPAN and our approach to building relationships in the community. You will have an opportunity to speak with members of LifeSPAN who are excited about ensuring a good life for people with disabilities. You will also be able to get more information about membership in LifeSPAN, training workshops, and involvement in Networks and Facilitation.

Sessions are generally scheduled on a Sunday each month at Jackson Place Cohousing 800 Hiawatha Place S. Seattle, WA 98144, one block East of Rainier Ave, at Dearborn. If you have questions, call Kathy Sellars at (206) 522-3099 or email Kathy.

Directions to Jackson Place Cohousing:

1. From I-5, (from the North or South), take the Dearborn exit and head east on Dearborn about 1/4 mile. Cross Rainier Ave and you'll see Jackson Place Cohousing ahead on your right. 
   OR
   From I-90, take the Rainier Ave North Exit and turn East on Dearborn. You'll see Jackson Place Cohousing ahead on your right.
2. Park on Dearborn (fairly steep hill) or Hiawatha Place S. (flat).
3. At the entrance of the main Cohousing building at the corner of Dearborn and Hiawatha Place, ring for Kathy Sellars and we'll open the door for you. (There is wheelchair access and an elevator there to take you to the third floor where the Common Living Room is located.)
   Note: If you need to drop someone off, you can also pull into the alley mid-way up the block on Dearborn. Walk across the terrace to reach the Common House. 

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A Good Life Workshop

At this day-long presentation, you will hear the success stories of how families have created networks of support for their loved ones, practical advice on estate and financial planning and concrete ideas on steps to take to provide a safe and secure life for your relative.

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Wills & Estates Workshop 

This workshop addresses these important topics:

• Wills and Estates
• Financial Planning, Financial Vehicles, & Funding a Special Needs Trust
• Guardianship Options and Ensuring Choice & Safety

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Seven Steps Workshop 

This training provides a small group setting where you will be guided through the steps of creating a "personal future plan" for your relative with a disability. Discussions are based on the book, entitled A Good Life for You and Your Relative with a Disability by Al Etmanski, Co-founder of PLAN™.

Topics include:

• STEP 1: Sharing your vision
  What would a Good Life look like for your relative?
   
• STEP 2: Building relationships
  How can relationships be expanded?
   
• STEP 3: Creating a home
  How can we create a welcoming and secure home?
   
• STEP 4: Making a contribution
  How can the natural gifts of our relatives be validated, expanded, and encouraged?
   
• STEP 5: Ensuring choices
  How do we respect the choices and preferences of our relatives and keep them safe?
   
• STEP 6: Developing a will/estate plan 
  What tools are needed to make your plan a reality?
   
• STEP 7: Securing your plan
  A look to the future -- what needs to be done to strengthen your plan over time.

The next sessions are planned for 2008.

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Facilitator Training  August 2, 2008

Are you someone who:

• Likes helping people to get to know each other?
• Enjoys connecting people with others in the community?
• Is a good listener?
• Excels at encouraging small teams to reach their goals?
• Is already employed, but wants to add a little extra time to help strengthen the social fabric of our community?

LifeSPAN currently has openings for part-time personal network facilitators to:

• Help an individual with a disability and their family to create and maintain a social network of community friends.
• Work with a family and our organization to create a network action plan that focuses on the hopes and dreams of the individual with a disability.

This is an excellent opportunity for:

• Busy people
• Graduate students
• Rising professionals in a company
• Early retirees
• Natural “social connectors”

Time commitment and training:

• Approximately 1 to 6 hours a month
• Approximately $25 an hour
• A one-year commitment is requested

The training and ongoing mentoring provided by LifeSPAN is based on proven network facilitation skills created by the Canadian group, PLAN (Planned Lifetime Assistance Network).

Our next Facilitator Training is scheduled August 2, 2008. If you are interested in attending, please Register Now!

For more information:

• Visit the Facilitator page
• Or email training@lifespan-wa.org

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Testimonial:

“The first benefit of attending the 7 Steps was that after a year of flailing around on my own I got to talk to families about issues common to all of us. My brother is thrilled to find his opinions solicited and acted on as we plan for the next steps in his life and we grow more excited about what the future will bring.”

- Linda, who has a brother with developmental disabilities

Note: If you cannot attend a currently scheduled LifeSPAN workshop, you can still contact us and with your paid Associate Membership we will send the book to you. Books are also available to purchase from LifeSPAN for $39.99. Your purchase of a membership in LifeSPAN helps support our work in helping families with a relative with a disability. See Get Involved.