This is the Empowered Caregiver Show.
If you are a caregiver or know someone who is, this show is meant to uplift you through
education and support while also lifting up every caregiver's invaluable role in society.
Now here is the Empowered Caregiver and your host, Liza Helen Brand.
You are listening to the Empowered Caregiver Show and I am your host, Liza Helen Brand.
Join here today with the wonderful producer, Aaron Zomers.
Aaron, you were out last week, right?
Like out out.
Yeah, I was pretty sick.
So we had Sam step in to help out.
Well, Sam did an awesome job.
We missed you and I could tell that you were hit hard.
So feeling better today.
I take it.
It's very much so.
Thank you.
Good, good.
I'm glad to hear it.
There have been a lot of people that have been under the weather physically and I feel
like there is a lot of people that have been under the weather emotionally.
Maybe it's just me, you know, when you go down a rabbit hole, they say this about pregnant
ladies, right?
But if you're a pregnant lady and you walk around, all you see is pregnant ladies and
I have been getting so much information coming up in social media and seeking it out
myself and whatnot, but there's so much to be said about mental health and mental wellness.
And to me, I just, I don't want to say fascinated by this topic, but I am fascinated by how important
it is to our society and how we function and how today, I think specifically protecting
our mental health, take some real effort, some real work, some things that we haven't
generations and past haven't seen or have to deal with you with technology and where
we're at on a whole different number of different things.
It's impacting our mental health as a nation.
As I think about what I want to talk about each week, I keep going back to mental health.
So I will make sure I have diversity in my, in my lineup of what we want to talk about.
I often share it's my mission to support, celebrate, educate and advocate for family caregivers.
So I want to make sure that I'm spending time on all of those different topics.
Today, I want to talk about the support a little bit in getting some of the information out
there regarding mental health. So I'm going to talk about some of the things that I found and
learned around the way, along the way that have helped me personally and that might be worth
yourself looking into or sharing with your loved ones. And the reason that I want, I am so
passionate about this topic of mental mental health as it impacts us in so many different ways.
And when things start to go wrong, they can go terribly wrong. And if you don't have the help
and support and resources available, one can really, really struggle. And that hit
home to me big time a few weeks ago, just one block from where I live. A mother,
this almost makes me want to choke up. A mother, and not that it's not funny at all, it's just
how I'm trying to process this. A mother, unfortunately, took the lives of her two children eight and
five years old before taking her own life. And if that isn't a wake up call, I don't know what
is. I just get goosebumps thinking about it. And I just feel like we need to help and support
each other. So things like this do not happen. And so I came across an amazing resource,
American foundation for suicide prevention. And I had reached out to them on zero notice
to see if they could hop on with me today and talk about what they do and what they have coming
up in the state of Wisconsin and how we can support them so that they can support our friends
and family and neighbors. So I have with me today, you know what, I'm going to say her name,
and then I got to put out this disclaimer that I say this every week, I mess up everyone's name,
doesn't matter. If your name's John Smith, it's, I am dyslexic. I don't know, that's what plays
into it, but names are not my friend. So Tana Finer is the public policy ambassador for the,
let me make sure I get this right, the American foundation for suicide prevention. I'm so glad
to have you here today. And tell me, how did I mess up your name? Thank you for having me,
and you got my name exactly right. Woohoo. Thank you. So thank you again so much for joining me
on such short notice. Now I hadn't, because this was all coming together kind of last minute,
I reached out to you, you said, yes, I'm so thankful. I don't have a lot of questions prepared. I
want to just go through this real naturally and organically. So let's start from the top.
Can you tell me a little bit about American foundation for suicide prevention?
What your mission is, where people can find you, maybe some of the programs or services that you
have to offer. I'm just going to hand the mic over to you and let you do a 101 for me.
Thank you. And thanks for your interest in this topic. Like you said, mental health impacts
so many people and suicide prevention does. So I think it's something that's really important
to talk about. The American foundation for suicide prevention is a national voluntary health
organization. We have chapters in all 50 states. So I am a volunteer for the Wisconsin
chapter of AFSP. Our mission is to save lives and bring hope to those affected by suicide.
And we do that in a variety of ways. We have a number of programs, a couple examples,
are more than sad. More than sad has taught over a million students and educators how to be
smarter about mental health. It's important that we reach out to our educators and our
students and have them get talking about mental health. And then another program that we have
is talk saves lives. That's an introduction to suicide prevention. It's community-based,
so it's a presentation that covers just the general scope of suicide, the research on prevention,
and what people can do to fight suicide. So people who are interested if you're part of a group,
you can reach out to AFSP, Wisconsin, and request a presentation.
And did you say that you also do that within school districts?
There is, so those are two different programs, so there's the more than sad,
and that one is more focused to students and educators. And then talk saves lives is community-based.
So depending on what the audience is and what you're looking for, and there are other programs
to, you know, we can talk to you, you can reach out, we can talk to you about what program might be
best. That would be wonderful. And if somebody wanted to reach out to you, where did they go?
They can go to afsp.org slash chapter slash Wisconsin, all spelled out.
Okay. And then you can go there and find the information, not only how to get some one-on-one
support if that's what you need, but also if you are interested in these great programs. And I
absolutely love that they're available and that they're working their way into the school
districts. I mean, I hate to say this, but I feel like with technology and Google, there's so many
things in life we can Google that we're learning in school. And yes, we need to learn those. I don't
want to bash education. I don't want to go down over a rabbit hole or get sidetracked here.
But mental health and relationships and dealing with stress and anxiety and depression,
that's what our kids need to learn in my opinion. So to have you to be able to go into the schools
and help so students can get that support is just wonderful. And with your programs that you offer,
do you have some broken up into specific age groups? Do you have programs just for teens out there?
And I apologize, it was a little sidetracked before. So I hope that you're not repeating this.
No, that's no problem. So for one-on-one, if someone needs one-on-one help, what we promote is the
988 suicide and crisis lifeline. That is a 24-7 free confidential support for people in
distress, in crisis. If they have a loved one in crisis, they can reach out to that 988 number.
That is a recent resource that's been available in the past. It was a longer number that people
had to remember. And it was harder to remember. And now we have this simple number that you can call
if you're in crisis or your family or friends are in crisis. So for one-on-one support, that's
what we recommend. As far as the programs that AFSP offers, there are different levels of programs.
So if it's a community program or if it's a youth program, we would talk to you and make sure that,
again, the audience that is receiving the information that we have the right program for them.
This is also important because as you were talking about mental health and suicide prevention,
you see it everywhere in Wisconsin in 2021, which is the most recent year we have data for.
We lost 905 Wisconsin residents to suicide. And suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in
Wisconsin. It's the second leading cause of death for ages 10 to 24. So you're talking about
those youth. And that's a really, I mean that number really hits on the second leading cause of
death for ages 20 to 24. It's also the second leading cause of death for ages 25 to 34. And the fourth
leading cause of death for ages 35 to 44. And that's why these resources like 988 and like the
programs that AFSP and other organizations offer are so important. And it's also important that
we're talking about this. I think there was a time not that long ago when people didn't talk about
suicide. I lost my father to suicide 10 years ago. And I was really lucky that my family, we all
just talked about it. We didn't pretend that it happened some other way. We talked about it. And
we talked about it with our friends and with other families. And then when I saw there was
an event for suicide survivors that was hosted by AFSP, I went to that event and realized how much
it helped to connect with other people who had been impacted by suicide. And from there,
then I saw that they hosted a walk. We have walks around the state. And I attended one of the
walks. And again, I felt like I was helping get the message out. And I was meeting with other
people who had been impacted. And that felt really important. Oh, I can only imagine. And I'm sorry
for your loss. And to be honest, I made the assumption that there had to be a personal connection
to get to get you to this kind of to work. And we're so happy to have you here in the state of
Wisconsin doing it because you're absolutely right. We need to have conversations about this.
Because it's a leading cause of death, you said, right? And in certain age groups. And I think the
younger generations are getting harder and things are getting harder at a younger age. I would
love to learn more about what's coming up in the state of Wisconsin with your organization and
how people can get involved. You are listening to the empowered caregiver and I am your host,
Eliza Helen Brand. And today I am joined with Tana Finer with the American foundation for suicide
prevention. We were talking earlier about all of the great resources that they have. If you have a
loved one that you're worried about, if you have concerns on your own, there is a number 988.
You can call them and get someone on one support. You can also go to their website, which is
afsp.org and have access to a ton of resources and information and also links to community
events where presentations can be made within your school or other organizations. So I encourage
everyone to go there and take advantage of those resources. And there is also some events coming
up here locally in Madison. Would you mind, and this is, you know, I've got the name thing in my
head again, Tana. Tana, okay. And it's just like what it says. It's not even spelled. It's not
even spelled like, well, what could that be? Tana, would you tell me about the events that are
coming up at the capital and how people can get involved? Absolutely. Each spring AFSP
chapters host state capital day events to bring advocates and state officials together to talk
about how we can prevent suicide and increase access to mental health care. In Wisconsin, we are
having our state capital day next Tuesday, March 12th. We're really excited about it. We had a
smaller event last year after COVID. We had had a couple virtual capital days where we were
reaching out to legislators virtually. But it's so much more impactful to be in person. Last year
we had an event and I would say we had 20 or 30 people there. And this year it looks like we're
going to be around 50 people. And it's a chance for people around the state of Wisconsin to talk to
our legislators about our personal stories, how we've each been impacted by suicide or mental
health and to talk to them about legislation that can make a difference in suicide prevention
and mental health. So we are really excited to be meeting at the capital next Tuesday. And people
can sign up for that by going to AFSP. Here I get that right. AFSP.org slash chapter,
slash Wisconsin, and going to events. And it's listed right there.
Okay. And I will try to put that up on my Facebook page if I can figure that out. I have some
wonderful UW-Madison volunteers, students coming this afternoon and when it comes to technology.
If I ask nice enough, they know exactly what to do, whereas I'm always struggling. So
I will do my best to get that information out today because that's going to be coming up
shortly March 12th, the day at the capital. And what would what is your goal with the capital days?
What would you like to see as a result?
A really successful day would be for the volunteers to come, for us to have a chance to talk to
legislators about suicide prevention and mental health and the work we're doing across the state
as a AFSP chapter. And I have the legislators better understand about those topics, suicide
prevention and mental health and how many of their constituents have been impacted by suicide
and are concerned about suicide prevention and mental health in Wisconsin. We've had really good
response from legislators. They're, I sent out an email asking if they were interested in the
meetings and I've heard from more than two-thirds of the offices. So there's definitely
interest from legislators, you know, to have their constituents come and talk to them. And I think
that feels really good. And I know the volunteers, we've had some calls to prepare them and they're
really excited about this opportunity to have their voice heard and to have an impact in the
legislation in the state of Wisconsin around suicide prevention and mental health.
That is wonderful. And I am glad to hear that there are two-thirds people at the capital that are
anticipating and coming and wanting to learn and hear more. I just want to clarify, there's not
any specific legislation being proposed or attached to this correct. At this point, we're just
really talking about raising the level of awareness and what needs to be done to support Wisconsin
nights. We will be talking, we'll be talking about those general things and then we'll also be
talking about a current bill that is being proposed and it is around funding in 2025 for a grant
program that would be for organizations, training staff at a firearm retailer or range, providing
suicide prevention materials for the distribution of firearm retailers and then providing voluntary
temporary firearm storage. And then also increasing options for community storage,
which is another legislation that is being proposed at this time.
Oh, that's interesting. I'll have to reach out to you and get some more of the details.
I want to take your time today going down that rabbit hole, but that's good to know that there's
some legislation around this and that you have so many people interested. How can people,
how else can people support you? They can get involved in other events that we have. Again,
if you go to the events page on afsp.org slash chapter slash Wisconsin, you'll see that Wisconsin
capital days listed there. And then we have some walks coming up in the spring in Chippewa Valley.
We have one in Marquette, UW Whitewater, UW Plateville, and in Madison. And then we also have our
celebration of Hopkella on May 10th, which is going to be in Milwaukee. And it's our second annual,
so we're really excited about that. And more so they can take a what does the celebration of
hope look like? What does that entail? It is a fundraiser and we come together to
you know, celebrate people who have had a real impact on suicide prevention and mental
fault in Wisconsin. And then to also to raise funds to provide resources, education programs,
loss in healing programs, advocacy programs, like the state capital day that's coming up,
and others things to communities across Wisconsin. Is that something that's open to the general
public then? It is. So all of the things I just mentioned, the walks, the gala, and there are
some other events that are coming up. We have a lot going on in Wisconsin this spring. So you can
just take a look at that. And you know, think about, yeah, depending on what your what a person's
interest is, they can get involved in advocacy, walking fundraising, all different types of things.
So there's lots of different ideas. And I am doing, I don't know how I stumbled across this. I
don't know if I saw it on the Facebook page, but a Facebook walk, the 50 mile dog walk challenge
and in the proceeds go to, I don't know if that's something that someone else had started,
but I know you have the night of darkness, right? Is that what that walk is called?
Yes, we have the out of the darkness. Out of the darkness. Okay. Here is an out of the darkness walk.
Yes. And then, and then we have the community walks, campus walks, and the overnight walk too.
Yeah. And you know what? If you're not down with not walking, no shame in that game, you can go
right to their website and just donate. So let's give out that email address one more time. It's
a f s p dot org. And you can go through and find the Wisconsin chapter. And if you're in
immediate help, call nine eight eight. And there is a support person there for you. Thank you so
much for joining me today.
You are listening to the empowered caregiver. And I am your host, Liza Helen Brand.
I just was speaking earlier with a member from the American. Oh, I'm going to lose it.
American foundation for suicide prevention. And so again, I just want to get that information
out there. There is a ton of information on their website. They have presentations that they
can do within schools and other organizations. There are fundraisers that you can be a part of.
They have a lot of different walks throughout the state. I'm actually doing one online. I have it
on my Facebook page. If you want to support me in my efforts to support the American foundation for
suicide prevention, go to the empowered caregiver on Facebook or Instagram. You can find me there.
And then they also have coming up on March 12, a capital day. And that's where you can speak with
your legislators and let them know how suicide has impacted your life personally. If it's a
personal experience of yours or share your personal stories. And on that note, if I didn't share
it again, one last time, this is a newer number that came out. If you are in a suicide crisis,
you can call nine eight eight. So that is that on that topic. And what really got me thinking about
that or I had mentioned earlier that I have just keep going down this road of mental health. I'm
kind of stuck on it. And so I have a lot of great guests coming up. One is being a one of the founders
of red beard, somatic therapy. If I'm saying that right, I hope so. And they actually do bodywork
that that has well, the ultimate goal is for trauma release. And the theory behind that is that
when we experience trauma, it stays with us. It stays inside of our body and it can
manifest in different ways and different chronic conditions and different behaviors.
And it's kind of a new world to me. And it's gaining a lot of a lot of traction. And I think
that that's a good thing because I think it impacts just about everyone. And that would be dealing with,
you know, starting with childhood trauma, which I hate to say I do think a lot of people
experience in some way because well, you know, no family is perfect. I have yet to see that leave
it to be for family. So everybody's got something at least that's what I'm telling myself in the back
of my mind. And, you know, they get it from their their experience as a child, which is often,
you know, shaped by their parents as experiences as children and so on and so forth, which lends
itself to the term generational trauma, right? You just keep kind of doing what you were taught,
what you seen, what you witnessed and it and it continues. And so now with technology and research
and so much information being put into the mental health field, we're we're starting to realize
this and we're starting to be able to talk about it and see it and, you know, hopefully break the
pattern because when I think it comes to some of those traumatic experiences, you know, you either
struggle with it, you do the same thing or, you know, you break, you break the cycle. And when I say
traumatic experiences, I should back up just a step because the the word trauma or traumatic experiences
sounds well traumatic and they are, but I like to classify them as big tea trauma and little tea
trauma, not anything that I came up with. It's it's out there. It's what therapists are using.
Of course, big tree tea, excuse me, trauma is going to be things like witnessing war, physical,
assault, sexual assault, natural disasters, child abuse and neglect, all of the the horrible things
that that my heart goes out to the people that have had to gone through that and process that
a lot of us though most of us experience at some point the little tea trauma and this could be
something like changing jobs, divorce, death in the family, family secrets, financial struggles,
big moves, you know, a lot of times that the doctor's office they'll go through the list of
big things that have happened to you because they they can, you know, carry some some lasting
trauma or impact effects and I would say one of those things is some of the things that you witness
as a child or or childhood trauma and it has become such a thing that such a big thing that there's
actually I'm going to have to find her her name because I've learned so much from this this woman
it's like the crappy childhood fairy I think is the name of it crappy childhood fairy and she is a
person that had to experience childhood trauma and went through repeating it and you know a lot of
emotional distress impacted her mental health greatly and and most definitely her relationships
and so she did a deep dive on it and learned and did the schooling and she puts out excellent videos
on YouTube and she has courses and events and all of that fun stuff as well I can't think of
her name off the top of my head but it's the crappy childhood fairy highly recommend her and why
I'm talking about this you may be wondering as caregiving show okay why is I we're here to talk
about caregiving what is what's trauma I have to do with all of this well one I think in some
regards it can it can have some little tea trauma on you you know and it is extremely stressful
and you carry that with you and also if we are somebody that has went through this childhood
trauma or different types of trauma it's going to impact our caregiving experience it's going to
impact how we can handle it it's going to impact how we show up for the people that we're caring for
and so there may be a lot that's going on that we're not even connecting the dots and I can tell
personally that is exactly what happened to me I think going through my caregiving journey the
stuff that I brought to the table the quote-unquote baggage I didn't know where it came from or why it
was there I wasn't connecting the the dots so this is all still a little bit new for me but some
of the comma trauma symptoms is are and I just want to say so we all know what we're dealing with
here is anxiety depression nightmares relationship problems I think are huge and just emotional
dysregulation which in and of itself is a fairly new term that I'm hearing more and more and I
am glad that we're talking about it more and more but basically it is exactly what it sounds
emotional dysregulation the inability or the struggle to handle your emotions well if you
are caring for another person and you struggle with emotional dysregulation that's obviously
going to impact your caregiving experience and if there's tools out there that can help you
then let's talk about them I mean that's why I am here as the empowered caregiver is what we can
do to protect ourselves so not only we can remain in the caregiver role you know we have the
physical mental emotional stamina to remain in that role but also that we can
give our full selves to the people that we're caring for and show up in the way that we want
to show up which sometimes can be a challenge especially when trauma is involved so I have a
little bullet point thing here in front of me on how trauma can impact relationships so again this
100% has to do with caregiving because caregiving is you know a type of relationship or you're in
relationship with the person that you're caring for or who is caring for you so a lot of times
when there's trauma involved you can see high levels of irritability sounds like a no-brainer
feeling like a victim people pleasing hello I mean for a lot of caregivers that's what they're all
about people pleasing and some of that people pleasing might actually be some unprocessed trauma or
some trauma that you had went through that you're caring with you in your caregiving journey which
not that there's anything bad with people pleasing but it can wear you down so you need to be able to
protect yourself and and do it for the right reasons because there are wrong reasons to people
pleasing anyways powerlessness the need for control hypervigilance sabotaging your own relationships
picking fights anxiousness and if I didn't say it just completely with drawing so these are all
big huge factors that can really you know turn your life upside down or definitely make it more
complicated more hard that it has to be and when if you say yes to any of those things oh yeah I do
that mmm that's me no just know that that could perhaps be the lingering effects of some some trauma
that is that is left in you that has not been processed that maybe you haven't even connected the
the dots that they're there and so you know um I guess how do you connect those dots right would be
a good question to ask one therapy is always a great place to start I think therapy should
just be required just to be able to have that other you know some uninterested uninvolved somebody
that doesn't have you know real skin in the game opinions on everything person to talk to and to
help you process things um in in you know they're they're trained in this they know what they're
doing that they're there to help you make sense of things so therapist our therapy is one
probably the first recommended start in in really doing a deep dive of hey do I have this trauma
lingering in my body whether it be big tea trauma or little tea trauma therapy great place to
start another is um doing body work now there is growing evidence out there about how different
body works can actually help uh release some stored trauma in your body and you know that could include
things like acupuncture um actually that's like the first one that's coming to mind for me but there
are several different types of body work or lots of different types of body work out there that one
can do another one is just simple movement therapy I have come across specific exercises and
movements uh for trauma I had no idea there was such a thing so they they they often say yoga
is a great release for trauma and you know when you come out of yoga if you've ever tried
typically you feel a little more balanced a little more at peace a little more calm and that is
exactly what it's doing it's it's resetting your your body because what tends to happen is when
you experience this trauma and you don't process it stuck in your body you kind of live in this
fight or flight mode always your body is kind of always in this fight or flight mode and so um
you know what happens when you're in fight and flight or what I should say what doesn't happen is
you're not you're not that's not the time when your body digests food so if you are somebody that
has a lot of digestive issues I want to put a disclaimer out here I'm not that I'm like saying all
I am by no means a doctor and always start with your doctor and your physician and your mental health
support team I am just reiterating the things that I've learned personally and that I have come
across but if you find yourself with a lot of digestive digestive issues usually your body doesn't
digest and fight or flight right if you're getting chased by a tiger it's not a good time to be
digesting energy so that's one that is impacted you can experience a lot of joint and muscle stiffness
when you find that you're always living in that mode um and it tends to when you are in fight
and flight that's also not a great time for your immune system to be kicking in so again going
back to the beginning of time if you're getting chased by a tiger it's not a good time for your
body to be trying to fight or cold you know you're putting all energy into getting away so
what does that mean in today's society well now we're looking at autoimmune issues so there
there's more connection between autoimmune issues um and trauma and mental health and when we
come back there's a few more things that I would like to talk about in the regards to trauma and
then also some more things around the state that are coming up to support family caregivers
you are listening to the empowered caregiver and I am your host Liza Helen Brand so before the
short break I was just talking a little bit about trauma and really just an overview on how
trauma is like the new hot topic I think and a lot of social media and articles and things that
are being put out there and I think it's a great thing I think it's something that we need to be
talking about more just touched a little bit how there's different types of trauma usually when
we say the word trauma our mind goes to the the absolute worst thing that you can imagine and that
is definitely trauma and traumatic but there is also little tea trauma as uh they're calling it
these days it can be much more subtle so uh that could be much more air and say it for me
subtle thank you uh much more subtle than than these big major traumas and and one example of
that is just childhood experiences and and caring that with you um you know there also can be things
like moving losing a job family secrets different things like that little tea traumas things that
impact us that we might not make the connection that 20 years later 10 years later 40 years later
are still kind of running our lives in in a in a little way um and we would be much better off
if we could just get it out of our body if we could release it if we could let it go so I am going
to be doing some more um talking about this I have uh red beard somatic therapy uh speaker coming
on in a few weeks they have locations in Madison and in Colorado and they do work um online
and in person and I can't wait to learn more from them on how we can kind of release move on
identify uh past trauma that we might be having and um what we do to make it better
on that note I just want to share a few self-care notes before I before I move on in case you're
wondering okay well now you brought it up Liza what do I do about it there are simple things that
you can do to help lower trauma related symptoms and that is things like meditate there's lots of
apps on there if meditation is hard or even just listening to calming music time in nature that's
my absolute favorite support of friends taking a nap obviously making sure you're getting the
sleep that you need just moving your body I mean if you ever do a happy dance if you're feeling
crappy and just turn on one of your favorite tunes that can make all the difference in the world
spending time with animals take a bath make a favorite meal and sometimes it's really just
allowing these emotions to be present and to come on to come out and say you know what that's okay
so um definitely a topic I want to talk about more I mentioned earlier mental health is
really been weighing on my mind lately and I think there's a lot that we're learning I think there's
a lot to be learned and a lot that we can do to support the mental health of not only ourselves
especially if we're in that caregiving role we absolutely have to be sure that we're protecting
our own mental health um but that we can support our loved ones as well so more to come on that
topic I want to also share some other things that are happening around the state uh Wisconsin
is having or excuse me circles of life is Wisconsin's annual conference for families who have
children with disabilities and the professionals who support them that conference the circles of
life conference is going to be coming to Steven's point may 16th through the 17th and this year's
theme is building community love that this includes learning strategies how to build community
as well as programs and services that support families to create inclusive communities for
children teens and adult members with disabilities so that is the circles of life conference you can
google that I will make sure that I get that on my Facebook page as well for people that would like
to register um for that another one another event that's coming up is the Living Well
Know Your Rights webinar for family members so this is being put on through the Wisconsin board
for people with developmental disabilities living well team and long uh term care providers
it's to learn about talking about the rights they're they're calling it let's talk about rights
series so it's a series for family members and their guardians to learn how to use this tool
to educate yourself on the rights of people with disabilities have and how you can support them
so that is happening on April 24th and that you can register for that through the Wisconsin
board for people with developmental disabilities there's also another uh statewide um i think
webinar that's coming to town i'm see if this is a webinar but it is a yes it is supported decision
making and that is being held on April 10th from 1 to 4 p.m and this statewide training will include
options for supported decision making powers of attorney and guardianship so it's really going
through if you have a loved one um that is perhaps senior disability or with and or with disabilities
you have different options one is guardianship and that's kind of where you become their guardian
you make all of their decisions but then there's also supported decision making where they have rights
and and ability to make their own decisions with some guidance so you're learning about these
different options uh there is the supported decision making law and using supported decision
making agreements so there's actually forms that you can fill out if you are supporting a person
with a disability that gives them the the right and the ability to make the decisions for their
for their lives which i personally am all about if that makes sense uh for them which i understand
guardianship is a route that needs to be taken for for some people but supportive decision making
i think is always step one if that is something that that you can do to support there's forms
there's agreements they're going to go through where to find those what they mean and then they're
also going to talk about uh cultural bias which they're calling ableism which influences
who we think can and should make decisions and the importance of self determination and we'll also
during that the webinar will hear from ambassadors and parents on their supported decision
making journey and process so i would encourage you to check those out i will put up those resources
again on my facebook page the empowered caregiver you can find me there on both facebook and instagram
and i also am super excited to uh to announce next week's gas Alexandria Solomon she is a professor
at northwestern she's written multiple bestsellers uh so excited to talk about her and her relation
uh and her role with relationships i will see you next week have a great week and be well