It has been our goal to raise disability and mental health issues throughout the halls of government – in Harrisburg, Allegheny County and DC. Increased opportunity and support is often left to the whim of well-intentioned elected officials who simply may not have a lot of experience or expertise on the topic. That’s why we are extremely excited this year to feature a fantastic collection of bipartisan presenters who do have that experience and who are committed to making a difference in this arena!
Joining Rep. Dan Miller will be Governor Josh Shapiro (speaking on 4/18) and County Executive Sara Innamorato, Lt. Governor Austin Davis, and state Senator Devlin Robinson (all speaking on 4/19)!
Our two Legislative Panels will also be full of bipartisan, bicameral participants, so look for more information coming soon!
Our free Disability & Mental Health Summit is a one-of-a-kind event in Western PA that brings hundreds of people and participating organizations together to share information on a wide range of topics in the disability and mental health arena.
Now in its 11th year, our Summit has touched thousands of lives, educating legislators from both sides of the aisle, while helping to inform families and working to increase opportunities for self-advocates across the board. The Summit, as conceived by Rep. Dan Miller, was designed to bring resources and experts out of their offices and into an easy-to-access environment, where people can meet face-to-face to better solve problems. This would never have been possible without the countless volunteers, community partners, and our fantastic hosts at the Beth El Congregation who have always opened their doors to us!
Each year the Summit differs in form and content. We offer free informative sessions but rotate the topics and presenters. We never stay focused on any particular diagnosis as we believe the challenges of stigma, funding and greater opportunity unites all.
This year we are back to a two-day event with sessions and resource fairs on both Thursday and Friday. Each day will feature a keynote speaker, and both will have a Legislative Panel. We are also teaming up with the AIU and a number of area school districts, including Mt. Lebanon, Keystone Oaks, Upper St. Clair, Baldwin-Whitehall, Bethel Park and South Fayette, to host a transition fair for high schoolers on Thursday evening. This will be a busy night, as we have another special event that will also be on Thursday starting at 4:00pm – Festiv-ALL! Join us for a celebration of art and music created by local artists from our disability and mental health community!
Remember you can also keep up with the latest information on our Summit on Facebook at @MillerDisabilitySummit!
