By Julia Ansbacher
Happy summer! I went to the Everyone Belongs inclusionBC and inclusionCanada conference in Richmond on June 19th. This was my first time at this conference. I was excited because my Slam Poetry workshop got picked to be part of the day.
I started my day talking with Christie Charles. She is an Elder in training and used to be Vancouver’s Poet Laureate. Christie was so nice and encouraging. She even told the whole conference about my workshop from the stage! She also said she would help PLAN in the future. It felt really good to have someone support me like that.
Before the workshops started, I went to visit different tables. There were people from the Ombudsperson’s Office, the Representative for Children and Youth, Studio 73, WorkBC, and CLBC. It was really fun to see Barb Goode and Kaela Duffield. We even had dim sum lunch together!
I also got to see friends like Rebecca, Shelley, Jule, and Lyle. I made a new friend named Ariel too. I love how these conferences let you see old friends and make new ones.
I really liked Aine and Selena’s workshop about caregiving and planning for families. They read from their new book too! Selena is such a cool sister – anyone would be lucky to have her! Their book has bright colors and talks about how we are all similar and equal. You can find “My Auntie Annie” here.
Then it was time for my Slam Poetry workshop! I felt confident and excited going in. I was a bit tired, but once I got started, I felt good.
My favorite poems to share were my “Rocky” and “Hope for the Future” poems. I made a few mistakes, but that just shows I’m a real person! The best part was seeing so many self-advocates write their own poetry and want to share it. When Jule said she liked it, I knew I did a good job.
I couldn’t have done this without help. Thanks to my Mom for watching Rocky while I was away. Thanks to Candy for helping me get there. And a big thank you to Nora, Elizabeth, and Meaghen for helping me with my workshop. The inclusionBC conference was amazing. It showed me why I love this work so much. It’s about making sure everyone belongs and has a place to share their stories. I can’t wait for next year!
Julia Ansbacher is an advocate who works with PLAN and uses slam poetry to help create communities where everyone belongs.