About Your Conference Hosts
This year's 2010 National Family Conference in Whistler B.C. will be hosted by the BC Association for Community Living, Family Focus Society and the Canadian Association for Community Living.
BC Association for Community Living
The BC Association for Community Living (BCACL) is a federation working with partners to build community and to enhance the lives of children, youth and adults with developmental disabilities and their families by supporting abilities, promoting action and advancing rights, responsibilities and social justice. As we focus on the future, we know that children, youth and adults with developmental disabilities continue to face challenges.
Over the years, BCACL has grown to include individuals, families, volunteers, and over 70 associations dedicated to making sure that people with developmental disabilities are able to enjoy their right to lead active and productive lives in their communities.
Our goal is to make it possible for every person, whatever their ability, to live and participate as a full citizen in their community.
Click here to view a video from last year's BCACL conference.
Family Focus Society
Family Focus’s mission is to enhance family strengths and resources through direct family involvement that preserves the dignity of all families within their community. Families are unique, cohesive, interconnected systems, the fundamental base of our society and a source of strength, help, support and advice for each other.
We believe that full societal inclusion and participation of people with disabilities is achievable. The first Family Focus Conference was organized and held in Kelowna in 1987 and 50 people were expected to attend. The organizers were overwhelmed when over 300 attended! The great success of this conference, allowing families to meet and share information, prompted other communities to come forward and host conferences. Read more about Family Focus here.
Canadian Association for Community Living
Founded in 1958, CACL is a national federation of over 40,000 individual members, 400 local associations, and 13 Provincial/Territorial Associations for Community Living. CACL is a national member of Inclusion International, the international federation of associations working to advance the inclusion and human rights of people with intellectual disabilities and their families.
We are families, people with intellectual disabilities and supporters working together to ensure that all people have the same rights and access to choice, services and supports as all other persons. We provide leadership for the issue of inclusion, advocating for the rights of people with intellectual disabilities and their families, and helping Canadians and communities build an inclusive country. We promote and provide tools for making classrooms, workplaces and communities more inclusive.
