How can Humans build trust, support their Lived Experts to feel safe, and strengthen their relationships? This panel featured Lived Experts and was moderated by Lived Expert Coordinator Charlene April, to hear directly from Living Experts on what kinds of relationship building approaches would be helpful on permanency journeys.

Permanency journeys are not linear, and they come with unique challenges and joys. Learning happens at different times and in different ways. Messages we’ve heard many times before may take on new meanings as life changes around us. Join this panel of Humans and Human-to-be as they share about the importance of continually engaging with education opportunities that offer insight into trauma, permanency relationships, mental health and other topics that support Humans in showing up in their connections to Lived Experts.

The words we use send value-based messages and inform the way we feel and think about the world. Lived Expert facilitator Wendy, who has worked in Communications for over 10 years, explored the subjectivity of language, identity-based language, and why Never Too Late (NTL) uses unique language such as the term "Human".

Part 1 of Difficult Conversations explored foundational groundwork that will empower and equip our relationships with Lived Experts for difficult conversations. Attention was given to the role that boundaries play and finding the “how much” between “yes” and “no” answers.

We celebrated the many successes of our panelist, Lived Experts with FASD! Each of them has made significant strides towards a rich and thriving future with the supports they need. While we can’t share the specifics of their stories here, we can share some of our favorite takeaways with you.

FASD and Developmental Trauma have real impacts on brain development and executive functioning. There are many things you can do to create an environment that supports those with FASD to grow and thrive.

Loss is a universal experience for young people who come into the child welfare system, it is at the center of the Seven Core Issues. As Humans, it is important to understand how loss impacts attachment, behaviours, and internal working models and learn how to support our Lived Experts in acknowledging and processing loss.