[Music] Hello everyone! Welcome to Day 2 of My Dog Is My Home’s Co-Sheltering Conference 2023! My name is Christine Kim, I am the founder
and a board member of My Dog Is My Home, and I am your emcee. It’s wonderful
to be with you all again today. In the spirit of making our meeting
accessible for people with visual disabilities, I am going to paint a
brief visual picture for you all. I am an Asian-American woman with dark hair.
I am wearing glasses and a black top. Yesterday was an incredib
le day of
learning and connection around the theme of Dignity & Trauma-Informed Care. Trauma is a
heavy topic to be talking about for an entire day, but I didn’t leave the day feeling discouraged.
I left the day feeling expansive and inspired about how we can do better, and I hope that you
did too. We heard from Ann Oliva, the CEO of the National Alliance to End Homelessness; Nathaniel
Fields, the CEO of Urban Resource Institute; and from our very own Jillian McMillian, one
of My Dog Is My
Home’s rockstar volunteers, just to name a few of the amazing people
who graced our virtual stage on Day 1. And from these amazing people, a wide
breadth of information was covered and practiced in workshops, including information on: model programs and leaders that
have been practicing sheltering people and animals together as
a part of trauma-informed care; clinical aspects of trauma and how it
manifests in the body, and how the touch of a companion animal can ground us back
in our bodi
es and help us in our recovery; and we also took a look
within ourselves to reflect, and to see that we have our own trauma that
impacts us as individuals and as workers, and it shows up in our interactions both personal
and professional with other people and animals. If you didn’t catch everything you wanted to catch
yesterday, don’t worry. The sessions were recorded and will be available for on-demand viewing
in Whova about a month after the conference. The recordings will remain availabl
e for 60
days in Whova once they have been posted. Day 2 promises to be just as packed! Today, our
theme is Accessibility & Well-Being. This day is dedicated to our community members who are
differently abled or in mental health recovery, many of whom rely on their service and emotional
support animals to navigate the world. We are advocating for services and environments that are
accessible so they can lead full and equitable lives, and a socially just world where the power
of difference
is embraced, valued and celebrated. I’m not going to lie. My Dog Is My
Home really wanted to cover this topic, but we still struggled with breaking
with habit and making our own spaces for the conference fully accessible, even
on a day dedicated to accessibility. What we have produced isn’t perfect, and we
don’t pretend to have all of the answers yet. But we’re spirited and never take no for an
answer on the journey to positive change. Today, like yesterday, the theme of the
day will be se
t by our opening plenary and storytelling session. We’ll then break into two
simultaneously occurring short talks which are tracked by audience - 1 short talk for our animal
welfare audience and 1 short talk for our health and human services audience. From those 2 short
talks spring 4 simultaneously occurring 1-hour sessions that are either workshops or office
hours. Workshops are skill-based and meant to leave you with practical tips and tools.
Office Hours are an opportunity for audience
members to ask questions and troubleshoot
issues with an expert on a specific topic. At the end of the day, we gather back together as
a large group for our keynote and closing remarks. Of course, none of this would be possible
without the generous support of our sponsors. Thank you to Maddie’s Fund, Michelson
Found Animals, Lil Bub’s Big Fund, Hood Venture Counsel, International
Association of Veterinary Social Work, Kitsap Animal Rescue & Education, Ryan Animal
Rescue Foundation, ASPCA,
and Rescuers & Realtors (which is made up of LifeStyle Realty and
Next Chance Rescue). And of course our In-Kind sponsors which help us do these fun giveaways.
We thank Kong, One Health Parnters & Pre & Peri! If you’d like to learn more about our sponsors,
please go to the “Sponsors Center” in Whova where you can read about the sponsors and
have access to the links to their website. In the event that you need tech assistance
related to your experience in Whova, just another reminder, please
feel free
to reach out to support@whova.com. [Music]
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