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North American Webinar & Roundtable Dialogue | Self-Direction: Supporting Choice, Control, and Independence
May 31, 2023 @ 11:00 am – 12:30 pm MDT
This webinar and roundtable dialogue is for members of the International Initiative for Mental Health Leadership (IIMHL), the International Initiative for Disability Leadership (IIDL), and the College for Behavioral Health Leadership (CBHL).
**If you need accommodations for this dialogue, please let us know by registering at least one week in advance**
In October 2022, IIMHL and IIDL held a Leadership Exchange, with the North American Regional Hub taking place in Washington DC. One of the topics discussed by leaders from the United States and Canada was advances in self-direction (summary here). This webinar and dialogue is intended to expand upon that conversation and further leadership connections between United States and Canadian leaders.
Description: Self-direction, also called self-directed care, is an alternative to traditional service delivery models in which participants control an individual budget, create a person-centered plan, and purchase goods and services they feel will best help them to achieve their goals. In this roundtable, two people who self-direct will share how the expanded choice and control in self-direction has impacted their lives. They’ll be joined by a researcher who will describe outcomes, implementation facilitators and barriers, and best practice in self-direction across the country. Join us for a 90-minute session to engage with the panelists in dialogue.
When: May 31 at 10:00am PST / 11:00am MST / 12:00pm CT / 1:00pm ET
(90 minutes)
Speaker Information
Born with cerebral palsy, Tim Jin advocates for the rights of anyone with a speech-related disability to have access to the communication tools and support they need. He has used an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) device since elementary school in the 1980s. His work has been featured by TEDx and other publications.
Mr. Jin graduated from California State University in Long Beach with a degree in speech communication. He lives in Southern California , and also serves on the boards of several nonprofits. Mr. Jin is in Self Determination and achieving life to the fullest. He is currently the Co-Director on Empowerment Programs at Disability Voices United.
Felix Guzman is poet, community organizer, and advocate working towards building healthy communities inclusive of all. Sharing the legacy of those who came before him, Felix works on creating opportunities for abolition effecting restorative and transformative change in systems and individuals.
Felix is a member leader with community organizing organization VOCAL-NY, and a Steering Committee Member of CCIT-NYC, a coalition of 80+ member organizations calling for a peer-led non-police response to mental health crisis. Appointed to the NYC City Council Commission on Community Reinvestment and the Closure of Rikers Island, he brings his lived experience into his advocacy placing the spotlight on policy failures and fiscal spending shortcomings to effect change to bring parity and justice to those directly impacted.
Felix is a teaching artist with Prison Writes which supports formerly incarcerated writers through its blog, and providing teaching and reading opportunities. Felix uses his writing to organize and build positive conversation around the issues of ending mass incarceration, ending homelessness, increasing access to harm reduction, and addressing mental health treatment disparity.
Felix utilizes Self-Direction to help foster personal and professional development allowing access for access to equity and safety for himself. Felix advocates for expansion of Self-Direction to offer others to have the same opportunities to affect empowerment and self-actualization.
Bevin Croft is a Senior Research Associate and director of the Behavioral Health team at the Human Services Research Institute (www.hsri.org). She is co-director of the National Center on Advancing Person-Centered Practices and Systems (www.ncapps.acl.gov). She holds principal roles in self-direction research and technical assistance projects and was the principal investigator of a multi-state Demonstration and Evaluation of Self-Direction in Behavioral Health (www.mentalhealthselfdirection.org).
