Planned Lifetime Advocacy Network

Staying Connected Call (Weekly Zoom Call)
2025-05-14 16:00 - 17:00, 2025-05-07 16:00 - 17:00, 2025-04-30 16:00 - 17:00, 2025-04-23 16:00 - 17:00, 2025-04-16 16:00 - 17:00, 2025-04-09 16:00 - 17:00, 2025-04-02 16:00 - 17:00, 2025-03-26 16:00 - 17:00 (America/Vancouver) and 12 more dates
You’re invited to gather with long-time and new friends, learn about current advocacy opportunities, connect with others during fun sharing activities, and exchange ideas.
Please join the conversation, either by video or phone, and visit with other families looking to connect with families like YOU!
Email hello@plan.ca for the link!

Community Connectors Collaboration Meeting
2025-04-24 19:00
Attention all PLAN Connectors!
We hope you can join us for our monthly Connector Collaboration Zoom—a dedicated time for Community Connectors to connect, share ideas, and support one another.
This month, we’ll continue our conversation about the Network Strategy document. Many of you are currently working on Workplans and Network Strategies, and we’d love to hear how the tool has been working for you. Bring your experiences, questions, and feedback!
Some questions we’ll explore together:

Was the Network Strategy helpful when you were starting out?

Is there any information you wish it included?

How easy has it been to update and maintain?

Can it serve as a handover document to another Connector?

Whether you’re new to the role or have been with us for a while, your insights are valuable. This session is a space to reflect and learn together.
If there’s a topic you’d like to bring to the group or explore more deeply, please let us know. This time is for you—your ideas shape it!
Looking forward to another rich and thoughtful conversation.
Hosted by: Ragne Reid and Meaghen Taylor-Reid

April Family Network Meeting
2025-04-15 18:30 - 20:30
Dear PLAN Family Network,
As we emerge from the quiet, reflective days of winter, there’s a gentle shift in the air. Spring invites us into movement—those seeds that lay dormant are now beginning to stir. We’ve rested, we’ve taken time to just be, and now we can start to wonder: What’s ready to grow?
On Tuesday, April 15, 2025, we invite you to join fellow families online from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm during the Family Network conversation as we explore:
What is ready to be nurtured in your life right now?
What new possibilities are sprouting for you and your loved ones?
What are you curious about as you think about the months ahead?
Please note: This is not a workshop or a formal presentation. It’s a warm and open space to connect, reflect, and be in community with others who understand your journey. Whether you come to listen, share, or be present, your presence is meaningful and valued.
Theme: What’s ready to grow?
Date: Tuesday, April 15, 2025
Time: 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM (PDT)
We look forward to you joining and kindly ask you share your RSVP by emailing Claire Inkster at hello@plan.ca
On behalf of the PLAN Family Network,
Claire Inkster

Coquitlam Family Circle
2025-04-02 13:30 - 15:00 | Poirier Library 575 Poirier St Coquitlam BC V3J 6A9, 575 Poirier St BC, Coquitlam, British Columbia, V3J 6A9, Canada
You’re Invited!
At PLAN, we believe in the power of connection and the incredible strength that comes from families sharing their stories and supporting one another.
Many of you have shared the importance of having dedicated time just for parents and caregivers, and we are excited to invite you to our local Family Circle session in the Tri-Cities area!
Join us for tea, cake, and meaningful conversations in a safe, welcoming space. This is a chance to connect, share, and find reassurance—because you are not alone.

Please RSVP to Shelley at hello@plan.ca if you plan to attend.
We look forward to seeing you there!

Come Chat with Us: 'I Can Decide' Hosts an Intimate Conversation with Planned Lifetime Advocacy Network (PLAN)
2025-03-04 19:00 - 20:30 | Online Via Zoom
Join us for a heartfelt conversation hosted by I Can Decide, featuring the Planned Lifetime Advocacy Network (PLAN). This evening is a prime opportunity for our community to engage with an organization that champions the full citizenship, belonging, and leadership of people with disabilities and their families.
What’s Happening:
Our Roots: Discover the story of PLAN, a nonprofit founded in 1989 by families who envisioned a future where their children with developmental disabilities thrive as full citizens. These families initiated a movement to create personal networks that foster security, friendship, and support, ensuring no one faces the future alone.
Journey with PLAN: Learn about PLAN’s dedication to advancing a society where people with disabilities are recognized not just for their needs but for their contributions as leaders and innovators. Through creating personal support networks, fostering inclusive communities, and planning for the future, PLAN is committed to supporting individuals and families in leading lives marked by dignity, connection, and interdependence.
Building Stronger Ties: Explore how PLAN’s mission—to support individuals with disabilities in living fulfilling lives as active and valued members of their communities, to provide families with peace of mind, and to nurture inclusive and engaged communities—inspires our work at I Can Decide. We’ll discuss how to cultivate environments where relationships are the cornerstone of a good life, and every person has the freedom to shape their own future within a supportive community.
Join us for this meaningful evening as we explore together how strong relationships and personal networks can enrich our lives and communities.
For details and to reserve your spot, please contact Susan at spopper52@gmail.com.

February Family Network
2025-02-18 18:00 - 20:00
Dear PLAN Family Network,
One of the biggest concerns for families is ensuring their loved one with a disability has a strong, supportive network—both now and in the future. For over 30 years, PLAN families have experienced firsthand that their loved one’s safety and security depend on the number of meaningful relationships they have. The more relationships, the safer they are.
We invite you to join the PLAN Family Network this month for an important online conversation on the role that personal support networks play in safeguarding the future of a loved one with a disability.
A personal support network can:
Foster meaningful relationships and friendships.
Provide support for making decisions and planning for the future.
Ensure safety, security, and financial stability.
Create opportunities for inclusion, contribution, and full citizenship.
Together, we will explore how personal support networks help build a safe, secure, and meaningful future.
📅 Date Tuesday, February 18, 2025
⏰ Time 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM
This is a great opportunity to share experiences, ask questions, and learn from one another. Whether you are just starting to think about building a network or looking for ways to strengthen existing connections, we welcome you to the conversation!
RSVP by emailing Claire at hello@plan.ca to receive the link. We’d love to have you join us.
On behalf of the PLAN Family Network,
Claire

Health and Wellbeing in Developmental Disabilities Conference
2025-02-05 08:00 - 17:00
Intergenerational Planning and the Key Role of Friends and Relationship for Long-term Safety and Security

Presented by: Meaghen Taylor-Reid (Director of Advocacy and Planning, Planned Lifetime Advocacy Network (PLAN))

Come learn multiple stories about how Planned Lifetime Advocacy Network (PLAN)’s members are supported by networks of family, friends and professionals. These networks have connected and collaborated for decades and are now supporting intergenerational planning increasing the longer-term safety and security of our members across BC’s Lower Mainland. We will share specific stories of how networks have coordinated our members’ long-term safety and security

For more information, please check out: https://www.healthandwellbeingindd.ca/

Music and Stories Together
2025-01-30 15:30 - 16:30
Happy 2025 Everyone!
I hope the New Year is starting out well for you, it has been a challenging one thus far for some people so what better way to shake out the ‘Januaries’ than to get together, sing some songs, share some stories and gather to listen.
This Thursday at 3:30pm we will have the first Music and Stories Together on Zoom. Come and join us and participate however you see fit – sing, dance, listen, whatever works for you! Pop in for 5 minutes or stay for the hour, your choice.
Any requests? Just reply to this email and I’ll see what I can do! Thanks everyone!
Please email hello@plan.ca for the link.
Hope to see you on Thursday,
Sophie

Making Decisions Together: Perspectives on Guardianship and Representation in Community Living
2025-01-30 14:00 - 17:00
Rebecca Pauls and Barb Goode will be presenting to UBC’s Master of Social Work disability class on guardianship, representation agreements, and committeeship in the context of disability and the community living sector.
Rebecca, an experienced leader in advocacy, and Barb, a renowned self-advocate and activist, will share real-world perspectives and personal experiences. Together, they’ll explore the balance between protection and autonomy, the importance of supported decision-making, and the role of personal support networks in fostering inclusion and dignity.
Students will have an opportunity to deepen their understanding of critical legal and ethical issues affecting the disability community.

Family Network Meeting
2025-01-21 18:30 - 20:00 | Online Via Zoom
Happy New Year PLAN Family Network!
We’re excited to invite you to the January PLAN Family Network Conversation focused on financial security for a loved one with a disability.
Please join facilitators Shelley and Claire and fellow families for an online conversation on Tuesday, January 21, 2025, from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm.
Together families will have the opportunity to explore topics related to financial planning and share their experiences, exchange knowledge, ask questions, and discuss strategies for safeguarding the future of their loved one.
Please email your RSVP for the January PLAN Family Network conversation to Claire at cinkster@plan.ca
If there are specific questions or topics you’d like to address, feel free to share them in advance.
We look forward to connecting with you next week!
On behalf of the PLAN Family Network,
Claire Inkster
January 2025 details for joining the Zoom Call
Date Tuesday, January 21, 2025
Time 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm
RSVP to hello@plan.ca
Staying connected throughout the month
Would you like to connect with other Family Network families outside of the monthly conversations? You are invited to join a “Family Network Contact List” by emailing your information to Claire Inkster at hello@plan.ca. This is an optional offering and the contact list will only be shared with other PLAN Family Network families.

Coquitlam Family Circle
2025-01-08 13:30 - 15:00 | Poirier Library 575 Poirier St Coquitlam BC V3J 6A9, 575 Poirier St BC, Coquitlam, British Columbia, V3J 6A9, Canada
You’re Invited!
At PLAN, we believe in the power of connection and the incredible strength that comes from families sharing their stories and supporting one another.
Many of you have shared the importance of having dedicated time just for parents and caregivers, and we are excited to invite you to our local Family Circle in the Tri-Cities area!
Join us for tea, cake, and meaningful conversations in a safe, welcoming space. This is a chance to connect, share, and find reassurance—because you are not alone.

Please RSVP to Shelley at hello@plan.ca if you plan to attend.
We look forward to seeing you there!
