Maine PASA's 6th Annual Conference

Maine Personal Assistance Services Association is holding its 6th annual conference on September 26th from 8 am to 2 pm at the Saint Paul Center at 136 State Street in Augusta. The theme of this year's event is Working Well. The Keynote Speaker is John Booker. I met John at the Direct Care Alliance's Voices Institute. He is a direct care worker with thirty years experience as a CNA and most recently as a recruitment and retention consultant. John is also the Executive Director of the National Association of Direct Care Workers of Color. He is involved in the Indiana CareGiver Association. Apart from all this, John is a great speaker and a wonderful person. He gave me some great insight to writing and delivering speeches. I am so glad he's a part of this year's conference. Workshops are planned for mid-morning. They include Getting By on Less: Home Heating Tips; Staying Well at Work and Working Wise. The Working Wise session is a presentation by Maine PASA members that attended the Voices Institute. We plan on discussing what we learned and what we gained as a means of advocating for ourselves and improving our working conditions as Direct Care Workers. The Voices Institute was a great experience for me. I hope to bring some of that to the presentation. This is a great event for DCWs in all types of work to meet one another, swap stories, learn and have fun. Remember, we have someone's world in our hands each day, so Maine PASA wants us to have a professional day. To register, go to http://www.mainepasa.org/ and download the registration form. Fill it out, include payment and mail it to Maine PASA, P.O. Box 11612, Portland, Maine 04104. The first 100 folks to register receive a $15 gas card. If you are a 771 member in good standing, you could be eligible for a scholarship from MSEA-SEIU to attend the conference. Please email helen.hnsn@gmail.com for more information.