2008 HCH Conference overview

The National Consumer Advisory Board (NCAB) welcomes your participation in the 2008 National Health Care for the Homeless Conference and Policy Symposium. NCAB members have played key roles in many aspects of the conference planning and will be present throughout in a variety of venues.

NCAB’s mission is to be a vehicle for consumers of Health Care for the Homeless projects to become a collaborative voice on national issues. NCAB holds central the priority to assist consumers in the development of by-laws and/or guidelines for local Consumer Advisory Boards and to serve as a clearing house of information and assistance to consumers.

Here are some of the ways that consumers will participate in the 2008 National Health Care for the Homeless Conference and Policy Symposium:
On Wednesday, June 11th at 6:30pm, all HCH consumers are invited to attend the Annual Membership Meeting of the National Consumer Advisory Board in the Russell Room of the Hyatt Regency Phoenix hotel. For those who received Consumer Travel Scholarships, this is a required meeting.
The meeting will begin at 7:00 pm. A full dinner, for consumers only, will be served at 6:30 pm. This is a new addition to the meeting plans.
An important item of business will be the election of a new NCAB Executive Committee, in accordance with the Operating Rules adopted at last year’s meeting. The Nominating Committee recommends the election of the following slate of candidates:
Chairperson (2 year term): Amy Grassette (Worcester MA)
Co-Chair (2 year term): Carol Hall (Portland OR)
Co-Chair (1 year term): Reginald O. Hamilton (Detroit MI)
Secretary (1 year term): Antoinetta Stadlman III (San Francisco CA)
Member at Large (2 year term): Marianne Malott (Eugene OR)
Member at Large (1 year term): Joseph Benson (Houston TX) Ulysses Maner (Fort Lauderdale FL)

On Thursday, June 12th at 8:30am, Sarah Davidson, Chair of the National Consumer Advisory Board, will present the annual Ellen Dailey Consumer Advocate Award. This annual national award honors the memory of the founding mother of NCAB by recognizing homeless or formerly homeless persons who have done extraordinary work to improve access of homeless people to health care. This year’s award recipients are Randle Loeb of Denver, Colorado and Gary Cobb of Portland, Oregon. Come and hear why these two gentlemen are being recognized as outstanding advocates and leaders in their communities.

NCAB members will participate in several of the pre conference institutes as well as many of the workshops throughout the conference including HCH 101, Consumer Involvement in Homeless Programs, and Consumer Involvement in Governance, Civil Rights, and Health Care for the Homeless Day -- Building Support for Your Program.

If you have a particular interest in consumer involvement, we invite you to attend any of these sessions. We hope that you will attend these and many more as you join us for the 2008 National Health Care for the Homeless Conference and Policy Symposium.