Thursday, June 12, 8:30 am
This annual address memorializes Susan Neibacher, MSW, a Health Care for the Homeless pioneer from New York City
who insisted that advocacy is central to the HCH model of care.
This year’s HCH Policy Symposium address will be delivered by Donna Smith, who became homeless as the result of a health care crisis, as chronicled in the opening segment of the 2007 documentary film Sicko. Since this experience, Ms. Smith has become an articulate and forceful consumer voice for universal health care.
Ellen Dailey Consumer Advocacy Award
The annual Ellen Dailey Consumer Advocacy Award, presented at this plenary session, honors the memory of the founding mother of the National Consumer Advisory Board, who was a powerful and articulate advocate for access to health care for homeless people. For information about nominating an HCH consumer for this national recognition, please click here.
Conference Keynotes: The Promise of Inclusion
Friday, June 13, 8:30 am
Craig Rennebohm, founder of the Mental Health Chaplaincy in Seattle and the author of Souls in the Hands of a Tender God (Beacon Press, May 2008), will deliver the first of two keynote addresses. Rev. Dr. Rennebohm will discuss the process of engaging homeless persons with mental illnesses and accompanying them in the journey from isolation to community.
Lew Feldstein, co-author of Better Together: Restoring the American Community (Simon & Schuster, 2003) and president of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, will speak about how small groups create and use social capital to build community, and the implications of these concepts for Health Care for the Homeless programs and clients.
During this plenary session, the HCH Clinicians' Network will present its annual Award for Outstanding Service to a clinician who exemplifies excellence in HCH practice. For information about nominating a hands-on provider who works in homeless health care for this recognition, please click here.
Mary Tornabene, 2007 Award recipient
Conference Links:
Poster Displays | Resource Room | Film and Video Showcase
Conference Overview | Who Should Attend | Scholarships | Continuing Education
Registration/Travel Information | Registration Form
Pre-Conference Institutes | Workshop Topics | Conference Agenda
Policy Symposium | Networking & Support | Tours
Complete Conference Brochure PDF
2008 National HCH Conference and Policy Symposium home page
National Health Care for the Homeless Council home page