On Friday, May 5, 2017 Advocate NH hosted its 5th Annual Advocacy: Learn It! Live It! Love It! Conference at the Grappone Center in Concord, NH. Samuel Habib, who was featured in the film Including Samuel, gave the keynote presentation at the event.
The theme of the 2017 conference, High Five!, represented a celebration of five years of advocates around the state and region coming together and learn about strategies to live a full and productive life. The IOD has been a partner in the conference since the beginning.
This year's conference included a visit by U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan, who made last-minute arrangements to attend and delivered opening remarks about how the new healthcare reform bill might affect people with disabilities and their families, should it become law.
Samuel Habib's keynote presentation The Fight Worth Fighting included a screening of a short film he made about disability rights advocate Judith Heumann along with a talk about his experience as an advocate. During lunch, John Fenley won the Diane Carignan Leadership Award. The award honors the memory of Diane Carignan, a founding member of People First NH and dedicated advocate in the disability rights movement.
The 5th Annual Advocate NH Conference was a collaboration between the Disability Rights Center--NH, DreamCatchers 2.0, Granite State Independent Living, NH Bureau of Developmental Services, NH Council on Developmental Disabilities, People First of New Hampshire, The Rising Stars, and the UNH Institute on Disability.
Conference sponsors included CSNI Training Collaborative, Special Olympics NH, NeuroRestorative, The Moore Center, and others.
