September 12, 2022 • 20 mins
In lieu of the SLN’s 15th Anniversary Celebration in October 2022, this month, we are joined by our Executive Director, Katie Arnold to talk about the history of the sibling movement, our current struggles and SLN’s vision for siblings in the future.
Transcript of this episode
Resources discussed in this episode:
- SLN Mission Statement
- Sign Up for SLN News and Get Involved
- SLN State Chapters
- SLN Past Conferences
- BIPOC Sibling Roundtables
- The SLN Podcast
- Future Planning Resources
- Self-Advocacy Resources
- SLN Research Page
- SLN Policy & Advocacy Page
- DEI Committee
- Equity & Inclusion Scholarship Fund
“The future of the sibling movement is really in all of our hands." -Katie Arnold
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Chris Berstler (00:02):
Welcome to the sibling Leadership Network
podcast. The sibling LeadershipNetwork is a national nonprofit
whose mission is to providesiblings of individuals with
disabilities, the informationsupport and tools to advocate
with their brothers and sisters,and to promote the issue is
important to us and our entirefamilies.
Hello, and thank you for joiningus for another episode of the
(00:25):
SLN podcast in lieu of the SLNs15th anniversary celebration in
October 2022. This month, I amjoined by our Executive
Director, Katie Arnold, to talkabout the history of the sibling
movement, our current strugglesand the SLNs vision for siblings
in the future. Katie, welcomeback. And thanks again for
(00:46):
joining me.
Katie Arnold (00:47):
Thanks so much.
It's great to be here.
Chris Berstler (00:49):
So can you give our audience just a brief
history of what the siblingmovement has looked like?
Katie Arnold (00:56):
Sure, yeah, you know, the sibling movement is
really part of the familysupport movement, as well as the
larger disability movement. Sothinking about that, and, you
know, kind of going back inhistory, there was a time, you
know, back in the early 1900s,when people with disabilities in
the US were really pleased inlarge segregated institutions.
(01:18):
And at that time, there was alsothis thought that siblings were
actually one of the reasons thatthere was this idea that people
siblings might be negativelyimpacted by growing up with a
brother or sister with adisability. And that thinking
has obviously changed very muchover time. But, you know, it's
(01:40):
really interesting to thinkabout that. And then how
families really did a lot ofadvocacy to change things, there
was lack of services andsupports, and also a growing
understanding that theconditions within institutions
were not really good for peoplewith disabilities. And so
families and self advocatesreally did a lot of work and a
(02:01):
lot of advocacy and siblingswere part of that to some
extent. But siblings weren'toften considered to play the
same advocacy role that theirparents were often called to.
And so it's really been kind ofleader that the sibling movement
has emerged, and siblings havehad the opportunity to really
come together as a group tolearn from each other and to
(02:22):
find our own voice in the largerdisability advocacy movement.
And so that's really kind of theoriginal, you know, kind of way
the sibling movement emerged,and how it's continuing to grow
throughout the years as moresiblings get together and find
their voice.
Chris Berstler (02:40):
So how does the SLN fit into all of this?
Katie Arnold (02:44):
Yeah, so the SLN was really created by seeing a
need for more of a focus on theexperience of siblings of people
with disabilities, there was alot of work that happened to
really bring parents together tohave spaces for them to share
information with each other, getpeer support and connect. There
(03:06):
are also spaces for people withdisabilities to be able to come
together and learn from eachother. And with that, actually,
SABE or Self Advocates BecomingEmpowered the National
Organization for people withintellectual and developmental
disabilities as whether as wellas other disability
(03:26):
organizations were formed andcreated for those spaces for
people with disabilities. Butthere really wasn't a space for
siblings to come together untildawn Meyer in 1990, created
what's called the siblingSupport Project. You know, Don
is considered the father of thesibling of sibling support. He
developed SIB shops, which are asafe space for young kids to
(03:49):
really share their experiencewith other sibs. And then Don
created SIB net in 1996. Andthat was a way for, you know,
siblings across the country andaround the world to be able to
connect with each other. Andthat was the real emergence of
the first time many siblingswere connecting with another
(04:10):
said, meeting each other,learning from each other. And so
over the years, through moreconnections, and more adults
really meeting each other atdifferent conferences or
different events, there was thisunderstanding that we need to
create something specificallyfor siblings, there's a need
(04:33):
there. And so with that, therewas a national gathering that
was held in 2007, where thesibling Leadership Network was
born. And the conference reallybrought together siblings and
sibling supporters from acrossthe country for two days have
dialogue and action planning,and that's where the mission the
purpose and the values of theSLN were formed. Also, working
(04:57):
groups were developed aroundthree key areas that the group
identified as needs, support andinformation, research and policy
and advocacy. Everyone at theconference got to choose a
workgroup to participate in andthey were acted after the
conference to developrecommendations in those three
(05:19):
areas. Those three areas thatwere created at the inception of
the SLN still serve as thepillars of the organization, or
the legs on the stool as wesometimes refer to it. So after
the first two SLN conferences,we had a group that developed
the organizational structure.
First, we looked at whatorganizations were currently out
there and initially thoughtabout seeing if the SLN could
(05:40):
become part of an alreadyexisting entity. This would have
been a lot easier in many waysthan building a totally new
organization from the ground up.
The group thoughtfullyconsidered this and decided this
would most likely lead to thesame thing that had happened
historically, siblings wouldcontinue to get overlooked in
the midst of the other work ofthe organization, and not have
(06:02):
the focused attention that wefelt siblings deserve. Also,
there seemed to be a need toelevate the sibling perspective,
and get the sibling voice to thepolicy table. When we siblings
did connect with each other andget a taste of peer support, we
knew there was a need to ensurethat more of this happened and
that siblings across the countryhad these opportunities. It was
(06:23):
agreed that a new nationalorganization was needed to bring
together all the work happeningacross the country, and provide
a stronger collective voice tobuild awareness of the sibling
experience and perspective.
Chris Berstler (06:35):
How did you first get involved with the SLN?
And how have you seen it growover the years?
Katie Arnold (06:41):
Yeah, so I grew up as the second oldest of five
kids and my sister Patrice themiddle of all five of us has an
intellectual disability and shereally shaped my worldview and
influence my career path in abig way. It wasn't until college
that I really began to thinkabout my own sibling experience.
And I decided for my seniorthesis, I wanted to interview
(07:03):
siblings of people withdisabilities. And it was the
first time I had really talkedto other siblings about what it
was like to be a SIB. One of thepeople that was interested in my
research was John Kramer. He isa sibling who was working at the
University of Illinois, Chicago,or UIC. And John and I kept
connected and him he introducedme to Tamar Heller, who is the
(07:27):
Director of the Department ofDisability and Human Development
at UIC. And that's where Ilearned about the Disability
Studies program at UIC and allof the amazing work that was
happening there. Tamar is asibling, and she was doing work
and research with families ofpeople with disabilities,
including siblings. So later, Ibegan working with Tamara and
(07:50):
John, I attended that firstconference that I just talked
about, that was held in DC in2007. And the conference was on
a shoestring budget. I mean, wethought we were going to lose
money on it, it was a littlescary. But we knew it was so
important to really bringsiblings together. So during the
conference, there was a mousethat started scurrying around
(08:14):
the room and just freakingpeople out. And we complained to
the hotel, and we got the entireroom calm. And it was the only
way that we broke even on theevent. So while we were
mortified at the time that therewas like a mouse there at the
conference, now we really laughabout it as a fond memory from
our first national gathering. Sothat was like my first start.
(08:37):
And then I got connected to allthese other great people. I
mean, the founders of thesibling Leadership Network are
Tamara Heller, Don Meyer, TomFisch, and Anne Kaiser along
with John Kramer. And I came inhelp to, to work with that group
of team and others it wasgrowing there was there was a
(08:58):
lot of interest, but we reallydidn't know how to start or what
to do. So we looked to ourbrothers and sisters with
disabilities as an example. TheNational self advocacy
organization, see, which Imentioned earlier, is really a
model for us. So we looked athow they structured their
organization, how they have anational board of directors, and
(09:20):
they have chapters and states,we made sure to include self
advocates, as leaders on ourboard of directors and as part
of our committees to reallyensure that as we were growing
and developing, we were workingwith individuals with
disabilities. And then in 2010,we created our first official
Board of Directors weincorporated as a nonprofit
(09:41):
organization. And we actuallyhad some chapters start before
the SLN was created. And then wereally nurtured the growth of
additional chapters throughoutthe country because the chapters
are really the grassroots of theSLN where that more personal
contact happens. And each of ourOur chapters has its own feel
and flavor.
Chris Berstler (10:02):
Over your years as Executive Director of the
SLN. What have been some realgame changing resources that you
have seen siblings get some realbenefit from?
Katie Arnold (10:12):
Yeah, we have a we have a number of things that
we've developed over the years.
Well, the first thing was theconference. You know, we had
that first gathering. That'swhat created the SLM and the
impetus for the organizationthat we develop. And we continue
to have our national conferenceto really bring siblings across
the country and even the worldtogether. Also, the chapters
(10:32):
that I mentioned before thosechapters are such an essential
resources to siblings in thosestates. And our vision is that
every single state willeventually have a SLN chapter.
Other things in terms ofresources, our future planning
resources, planning for thefuture is such an important
(10:52):
issue for families. As theperson with a disability gets
older, the parents get olderthinking about transitions of
care and caregiving. So we havedeveloped resources for that. We
also have a newer Sib2Sibmentoring program, which has
been modeled off of the Parentto Parent Program, where it's
(11:13):
really pairing up siblings witheach other for peer support for
information sharing one on one.
And that's been reallysuccessful and just a wonderful
resource for siblings. And thentwo other resources that have
been great that are also newerand are growing our Sibposiums.
(11:36):
Sibposiums are a safe space thatsiblings have a chance to meet
virtually to connect on a topic,we have them on different
topics, and we have an expertkick it kick the topic off
briefly, and then really justhave a forum for siblings to be
able to talk with each otherabout that topic. And then these
(11:57):
podcasts, they have been areally great way for us to get
information out to a wideraudience of siblings, parents
and other family members, aswell as professionals to really
learn more about the siblingexperience.
Chris Berstler (12:11):
What are some current issues important to the
sibling community?
Katie Arnold (12:15):
There are a number of issues. The biggest one is
future planning, family futureplanning. I mentioned that
before we've developed someresources on it. But you know,
so many families worry aboutwhat's going to happen in the
future? What's going to happenas everyone's getting older,
what does the person with adisability want for their
future? How do you transitioncaregiving and support and
(12:38):
advocacy from parents tosiblings. And we really have
discovered that it's soimportant for families to start
the dialogue early. And to giveeveryone a voice and a choice in
the process. Future Planning.
Also, you know, when you thinkabout that, that is connected to
so many other issues that theSLN is working on to educate our
(13:02):
network and advocate aroundissues of access to health care
for people with disabilities,housing, options, employment
opportunities, you know, thewhole gamut of, you know, just
navigating the service system,which is really challenging for
families and people withdisabilities, and really trying
(13:23):
to get information out to ournetwork about that, but also try
to advocate to help systems ofsupport work better for
families. So really, you know, alot of the issues are around
family support and familycaregiving. And that is where
you know, the SLN as a nationalorganization, I feel like we
(13:46):
have been growing in ouradvocacy, power and capacity as
we grow our network, and alsothe ability to really just get
information out about theseimportant issues to so many
people within our network.
Chris Berstler (14:04):
What is the best way for anyone listening to get
involved?
Katie Arnold (14:07):
Yeah, you can join our network online. Our website,
sibling leadership.org. It'sfree, it's easy. You can just
sign up on the website. Youdon't have to be a sibling to
get involved sibling supportersor anyone who's support
siblings, including familymembers, professionals, friends
and colleagues of siblings. Andwhen you join our network,
(14:29):
you'll become connected to alarger, the larger sibling
movement that's happening acrossthe country. And you'll also
help strengthen the siblingvoice so that together we can
affect even more change. Whenyou sign up, you'll get access
to our electronic newsletter andreally get to keep up on what's
happening with the siblingmovement. So feel free to join
(14:51):
at sibling leadership.org
Chris Berstler (14:53):
How have siblings from the bipoc
community and other marginalizedcommunities helped shape the
SLN?
Katie Arnold (14:59):
You know, We've had sibs from the bipoc
community be part of the SLNfamily of inception, we've
really been intentional aboutcreating a safe space where
siblings who are black,indigenous and other people of
color, and siblings from othertraditionally marginalized
underrepresented communities canjoin together to share stories
to learn about resources, andreceive information validation
(15:21):
and support. We've partneredwith two other organizations to
launch bipoc siblingroundtables, and these
roundtables have featured someremarkable individuals who
shared their experiences andperspectives as black,
indigenous and other people ofcolor who are navigating life
and siblings and people withdisabilities. Also, we created
(15:43):
our sibling Leadership NetworkEquity and Inclusion Scholarship
Fund, to really remove financialbarriers for siblings from all
walks of life to attend ournational conference. And through
the generous support of donors.
We had 30 scholarships that weprovided to people from 14
different states and fivedifferent countries to attend
our virtual SLN conference lastsummer. And then we've also
(16:05):
created a Diversity Equity andInclusion committee that's
currently putting together aspeaker series around cultural
humility to educate our networkabout ways to acknowledge and
attract address implicit bias,combat racial inequity and
racism and increase diversitywithin the network. That's just
a little taste of what we'redoing. And we're continuing to
(16:27):
do more in that area, because weknow it's so important.
Chris Berstler (16:34):
So this year marks the 15th year that the SLN
has been doing its work, can youlet the listeners know how we
will be celebrating and how theycan participate?
Katie Arnold (16:45):
Sure, yeah, 15 years, I can hardly believe it.
It's a big milestone, and we areso excited to celebrate. So
we're planning an event for ourfounders to celebrate together.
And for everyone, we're gonnahave a panel of our founders to
really be able to share andreflect on the past and all that
we've accomplished, and alsofocus on our vision for the
(17:07):
future, to continue to grow theSLN. We also made a goal of
raising $15,000 for our 15 yearanniversary, which will really
help our organization continueto grow and develop continue to
support siblings of people withdisabilities and their entire
(17:29):
families throughout the lifecourse, you know, from when
people are born all the way intoolder adulthood. So we know that
we are excited to celebrate,we're excited to both reflect on
the past and remember all thatwe've accomplished, but also
really think about the futureand everything we want to
(17:53):
continue to do for siblings inour networks and their family.
Chris Berstler (17:58):
What does the future of the sibling movement
look like? And how will the SLNcontinue to support siblings?
Katie Arnold (18:04):
Yeah, you know, my vision for the future as the SLN
will increase awareness of thesibling experience so that every
CIP gets the support that theyneed, from their family, from
professionals and from peers,you know, the SLN, we're a
rapidly growing and evolvingorganization, we rely on the
members that comprise thenetwork to shape and guide our
(18:26):
work. We're where we are today,because of the hundreds of
dedicated volunteers from acrossthe country who have engaged in
us we have a lot more work todo. And we need to continue to
find people to share their timeand their talent to help us
positively impact even morepeople. You know, we're
passionate about making adifference in the lives of
siblings of people withdisabilities and ultimately, the
(18:48):
entire family. And the future ofthe sibling movement is really
in all of our hands. So I seethat the SLN is this vehicle to
bring together the movement andsupport agents of change. And I
want to invite our all of ourlisteners, you know, if they
have an idea, share it with usif they want to get involved.
(19:09):
Join us. The people thatparticipate get to help decide
the course that we chart for thefuture. And there's a lot of
exciting possibilities.
Chris Berstler (19:19):
Katie, thank you so much for taking the time to
share the vision with us and letus know about the 15th
anniversary celebration. Comingup any listeners who want to
access any of the resources thatwere mentioned in this podcast,
please make sure to check thedescription and make sure to
stay tuned and or sign up forour email newsletter so that we
can get information about theupcoming anniversary events to
(19:41):
you, Katie, thank you so much.
Katie Arnold (19:44):
Thank you.
Chris Berstler (19:46):
Find resources, tools and information about the
sibling experience on siblingleadership.org. The sibling
Leadership Network is anonprofit and we rely on support
from our audience. Find thedonation button on our homepage
and contribute to the evergrowing sibling movement
Welcome to the sibling Leadership Network
podcast. The sibling LeadershipNetwork is a national nonprofit
whose mission is to providesiblings of individuals with
disabilities, the informationsupport and tools to advocate
with their brothers and sisters,and to promote the issue is
important to us and our entirefamilies.
Hello, and thank you for joiningus for another episode of the
(00:25):
SLN podcast in lieu of the SLNs15th anniversary celebration in
October 2022. This month, I amjoined by our Executive
Director, Katie Arnold, to talkabout the history of the sibling
movement, our current strugglesand the SLNs vision for siblings
in the future. Katie, welcomeback. And thanks again for
(00:46):
joining me.
Katie Arnold (00:47):
Thanks so much.
It's great to be here.
Chris Berstler (00:49):
So can you give our audience just a brief
history of what the siblingmovement has looked like?
Katie Arnold (00:56):
Sure, yeah, you know, the sibling movement is
really part of the familysupport movement, as well as the
larger disability movement. Sothinking about that, and, you
know, kind of going back inhistory, there was a time, you
know, back in the early 1900s,when people with disabilities in
the US were really pleased inlarge segregated institutions.
(01:18):
And at that time, there was alsothis thought that siblings were
actually one of the reasons thatthere was this idea that people
siblings might be negativelyimpacted by growing up with a
brother or sister with adisability. And that thinking
has obviously changed very muchover time. But, you know, it's
(01:40):
really interesting to thinkabout that. And then how
families really did a lot ofadvocacy to change things, there
was lack of services andsupports, and also a growing
understanding that theconditions within institutions
were not really good for peoplewith disabilities. And so
families and self advocatesreally did a lot of work and a
(02:01):
lot of advocacy and siblingswere part of that to some
extent. But siblings weren'toften considered to play the
same advocacy role that theirparents were often called to.
And so it's really been kind ofleader that the sibling movement
has emerged, and siblings havehad the opportunity to really
come together as a group tolearn from each other and to
(02:22):
find our own voice in the largerdisability advocacy movement.
And so that's really kind of theoriginal, you know, kind of way
the sibling movement emerged,and how it's continuing to grow
throughout the years as moresiblings get together and find
their voice.
Chris Berstler (02:40):
So how does the SLN fit into all of this?
Katie Arnold (02:44):
Yeah, so the SLN was really created by seeing a
need for more of a focus on theexperience of siblings of people
with disabilities, there was alot of work that happened to
really bring parents together tohave spaces for them to share
information with each other, getpeer support and connect. There
(03:06):
are also spaces for people withdisabilities to be able to come
together and learn from eachother. And with that, actually,
SABE or Self Advocates BecomingEmpowered the National
Organization for people withintellectual and developmental
disabilities as whether as wellas other disability
(03:26):
organizations were formed andcreated for those spaces for
people with disabilities. Butthere really wasn't a space for
siblings to come together untildawn Meyer in 1990, created
what's called the siblingSupport Project. You know, Don
is considered the father of thesibling of sibling support. He
developed SIB shops, which are asafe space for young kids to
(03:49):
really share their experiencewith other sibs. And then Don
created SIB net in 1996. Andthat was a way for, you know,
siblings across the country andaround the world to be able to
connect with each other. Andthat was the real emergence of
the first time many siblingswere connecting with another
(04:10):
said, meeting each other,learning from each other. And so
over the years, through moreconnections, and more adults
really meeting each other atdifferent conferences or
different events, there was thisunderstanding that we need to
create something specificallyfor siblings, there's a need
(04:33):
there. And so with that, therewas a national gathering that
was held in 2007, where thesibling Leadership Network was
born. And the conference reallybrought together siblings and
sibling supporters from acrossthe country for two days have
dialogue and action planning,and that's where the mission the
purpose and the values of theSLN were formed. Also, working
(04:57):
groups were developed aroundthree key areas that the group
identified as needs, support andinformation, research and policy
and advocacy. Everyone at theconference got to choose a
workgroup to participate in andthey were acted after the
conference to developrecommendations in those three
(05:19):
areas. Those three areas thatwere created at the inception of
the SLN still serve as thepillars of the organization, or
the legs on the stool as wesometimes refer to it. So after
the first two SLN conferences,we had a group that developed
the organizational structure.
First, we looked at whatorganizations were currently out
there and initially thoughtabout seeing if the SLN could
(05:40):
become part of an alreadyexisting entity. This would have
been a lot easier in many waysthan building a totally new
organization from the ground up.
The group thoughtfullyconsidered this and decided this
would most likely lead to thesame thing that had happened
historically, siblings wouldcontinue to get overlooked in
the midst of the other work ofthe organization, and not have
(06:02):
the focused attention that wefelt siblings deserve. Also,
there seemed to be a need toelevate the sibling perspective,
and get the sibling voice to thepolicy table. When we siblings
did connect with each other andget a taste of peer support, we
knew there was a need to ensurethat more of this happened and
that siblings across the countryhad these opportunities. It was
(06:23):
agreed that a new nationalorganization was needed to bring
together all the work happeningacross the country, and provide
a stronger collective voice tobuild awareness of the sibling
experience and perspective.
Chris Berstler (06:35):
How did you first get involved with the SLN?
And how have you seen it growover the years?
Katie Arnold (06:41):
Yeah, so I grew up as the second oldest of five
kids and my sister Patrice themiddle of all five of us has an
intellectual disability and shereally shaped my worldview and
influence my career path in abig way. It wasn't until college
that I really began to thinkabout my own sibling experience.
And I decided for my seniorthesis, I wanted to interview
(07:03):
siblings of people withdisabilities. And it was the
first time I had really talkedto other siblings about what it
was like to be a SIB. One of thepeople that was interested in my
research was John Kramer. He isa sibling who was working at the
University of Illinois, Chicago,or UIC. And John and I kept
connected and him he introducedme to Tamar Heller, who is the
(07:27):
Director of the Department ofDisability and Human Development
at UIC. And that's where Ilearned about the Disability
Studies program at UIC and allof the amazing work that was
happening there. Tamar is asibling, and she was doing work
and research with families ofpeople with disabilities,
including siblings. So later, Ibegan working with Tamara and
(07:50):
John, I attended that firstconference that I just talked
about, that was held in DC in2007. And the conference was on
a shoestring budget. I mean, wethought we were going to lose
money on it, it was a littlescary. But we knew it was so
important to really bringsiblings together. So during the
conference, there was a mousethat started scurrying around
(08:14):
the room and just freakingpeople out. And we complained to
the hotel, and we got the entireroom calm. And it was the only
way that we broke even on theevent. So while we were
mortified at the time that therewas like a mouse there at the
conference, now we really laughabout it as a fond memory from
our first national gathering. Sothat was like my first start.
(08:37):
And then I got connected to allthese other great people. I
mean, the founders of thesibling Leadership Network are
Tamara Heller, Don Meyer, TomFisch, and Anne Kaiser along
with John Kramer. And I came inhelp to, to work with that group
of team and others it wasgrowing there was there was a
(08:58):
lot of interest, but we reallydidn't know how to start or what
to do. So we looked to ourbrothers and sisters with
disabilities as an example. TheNational self advocacy
organization, see, which Imentioned earlier, is really a
model for us. So we looked athow they structured their
organization, how they have anational board of directors, and
(09:20):
they have chapters and states,we made sure to include self
advocates, as leaders on ourboard of directors and as part
of our committees to reallyensure that as we were growing
and developing, we were workingwith individuals with
disabilities. And then in 2010,we created our first official
Board of Directors weincorporated as a nonprofit
(09:41):
organization. And we actuallyhad some chapters start before
the SLN was created. And then wereally nurtured the growth of
additional chapters throughoutthe country because the chapters
are really the grassroots of theSLN where that more personal
contact happens. And each of ourOur chapters has its own feel
and flavor.
Chris Berstler (10:02):
Over your years as Executive Director of the
SLN. What have been some realgame changing resources that you
have seen siblings get some realbenefit from?
Katie Arnold (10:12):
Yeah, we have a we have a number of things that
we've developed over the years.
Well, the first thing was theconference. You know, we had
that first gathering. That'swhat created the SLM and the
impetus for the organizationthat we develop. And we continue
to have our national conferenceto really bring siblings across
the country and even the worldtogether. Also, the chapters
(10:32):
that I mentioned before thosechapters are such an essential
resources to siblings in thosestates. And our vision is that
every single state willeventually have a SLN chapter.
Other things in terms ofresources, our future planning
resources, planning for thefuture is such an important
(10:52):
issue for families. As theperson with a disability gets
older, the parents get olderthinking about transitions of
care and caregiving. So we havedeveloped resources for that. We
also have a newer Sib2Sibmentoring program, which has
been modeled off of the Parentto Parent Program, where it's
(11:13):
really pairing up siblings witheach other for peer support for
information sharing one on one.
And that's been reallysuccessful and just a wonderful
resource for siblings. And thentwo other resources that have
been great that are also newerand are growing our Sibposiums.
(11:36):
Sibposiums are a safe space thatsiblings have a chance to meet
virtually to connect on a topic,we have them on different
topics, and we have an expertkick it kick the topic off
briefly, and then really justhave a forum for siblings to be
able to talk with each otherabout that topic. And then these
(11:57):
podcasts, they have been areally great way for us to get
information out to a wideraudience of siblings, parents
and other family members, aswell as professionals to really
learn more about the siblingexperience.
Chris Berstler (12:11):
What are some current issues important to the
sibling community?
Katie Arnold (12:15):
There are a number of issues. The biggest one is
future planning, family futureplanning. I mentioned that
before we've developed someresources on it. But you know,
so many families worry aboutwhat's going to happen in the
future? What's going to happenas everyone's getting older,
what does the person with adisability want for their
future? How do you transitioncaregiving and support and
(12:38):
advocacy from parents tosiblings. And we really have
discovered that it's soimportant for families to start
the dialogue early. And to giveeveryone a voice and a choice in
the process. Future Planning.
Also, you know, when you thinkabout that, that is connected to
so many other issues that theSLN is working on to educate our
(13:02):
network and advocate aroundissues of access to health care
for people with disabilities,housing, options, employment
opportunities, you know, thewhole gamut of, you know, just
navigating the service system,which is really challenging for
families and people withdisabilities, and really trying
(13:23):
to get information out to ournetwork about that, but also try
to advocate to help systems ofsupport work better for
families. So really, you know, alot of the issues are around
family support and familycaregiving. And that is where
you know, the SLN as a nationalorganization, I feel like we
(13:46):
have been growing in ouradvocacy, power and capacity as
we grow our network, and alsothe ability to really just get
information out about theseimportant issues to so many
people within our network.
Chris Berstler (14:04):
What is the best way for anyone listening to get
involved?
Katie Arnold (14:07):
Yeah, you can join our network online. Our website,
sibling leadership.org. It'sfree, it's easy. You can just
sign up on the website. Youdon't have to be a sibling to
get involved sibling supportersor anyone who's support
siblings, including familymembers, professionals, friends
and colleagues of siblings. Andwhen you join our network,
(14:29):
you'll become connected to alarger, the larger sibling
movement that's happening acrossthe country. And you'll also
help strengthen the siblingvoice so that together we can
affect even more change. Whenyou sign up, you'll get access
to our electronic newsletter andreally get to keep up on what's
happening with the siblingmovement. So feel free to join
(14:51):
at sibling leadership.org
Chris Berstler (14:53):
How have siblings from the bipoc
community and other marginalizedcommunities helped shape the
SLN?
Katie Arnold (14:59):
You know, We've had sibs from the bipoc
community be part of the SLNfamily of inception, we've
really been intentional aboutcreating a safe space where
siblings who are black,indigenous and other people of
color, and siblings from othertraditionally marginalized
underrepresented communities canjoin together to share stories
to learn about resources, andreceive information validation
(15:21):
and support. We've partneredwith two other organizations to
launch bipoc siblingroundtables, and these
roundtables have featured someremarkable individuals who
shared their experiences andperspectives as black,
indigenous and other people ofcolor who are navigating life
and siblings and people withdisabilities. Also, we created
(15:43):
our sibling Leadership NetworkEquity and Inclusion Scholarship
Fund, to really remove financialbarriers for siblings from all
walks of life to attend ournational conference. And through
the generous support of donors.
We had 30 scholarships that weprovided to people from 14
different states and fivedifferent countries to attend
our virtual SLN conference lastsummer. And then we've also
(16:05):
created a Diversity Equity andInclusion committee that's
currently putting together aspeaker series around cultural
humility to educate our networkabout ways to acknowledge and
attract address implicit bias,combat racial inequity and
racism and increase diversitywithin the network. That's just
a little taste of what we'redoing. And we're continuing to
(16:27):
do more in that area, because weknow it's so important.
Chris Berstler (16:34):
So this year marks the 15th year that the SLN
has been doing its work, can youlet the listeners know how we
will be celebrating and how theycan participate?
Katie Arnold (16:45):
Sure, yeah, 15 years, I can hardly believe it.
It's a big milestone, and we areso excited to celebrate. So
we're planning an event for ourfounders to celebrate together.
And for everyone, we're gonnahave a panel of our founders to
really be able to share andreflect on the past and all that
we've accomplished, and alsofocus on our vision for the
(17:07):
future, to continue to grow theSLN. We also made a goal of
raising $15,000 for our 15 yearanniversary, which will really
help our organization continueto grow and develop continue to
support siblings of people withdisabilities and their entire
(17:29):
families throughout the lifecourse, you know, from when
people are born all the way intoolder adulthood. So we know that
we are excited to celebrate,we're excited to both reflect on
the past and remember all thatwe've accomplished, but also
really think about the futureand everything we want to
(17:53):
continue to do for siblings inour networks and their family.
Chris Berstler (17:58):
What does the future of the sibling movement
look like? And how will the SLNcontinue to support siblings?
Katie Arnold (18:04):
Yeah, you know, my vision for the future as the SLN
will increase awareness of thesibling experience so that every
CIP gets the support that theyneed, from their family, from
professionals and from peers,you know, the SLN, we're a
rapidly growing and evolvingorganization, we rely on the
members that comprise thenetwork to shape and guide our
(18:26):
work. We're where we are today,because of the hundreds of
dedicated volunteers from acrossthe country who have engaged in
us we have a lot more work todo. And we need to continue to
find people to share their timeand their talent to help us
positively impact even morepeople. You know, we're
passionate about making adifference in the lives of
siblings of people withdisabilities and ultimately, the
(18:48):
entire family. And the future ofthe sibling movement is really
in all of our hands. So I seethat the SLN is this vehicle to
bring together the movement andsupport agents of change. And I
want to invite our all of ourlisteners, you know, if they
have an idea, share it with usif they want to get involved.
(19:09):
Join us. The people thatparticipate get to help decide
the course that we chart for thefuture. And there's a lot of
exciting possibilities.
Chris Berstler (19:19):
Katie, thank you so much for taking the time to
share the vision with us and letus know about the 15th
anniversary celebration. Comingup any listeners who want to
access any of the resources thatwere mentioned in this podcast,
please make sure to check thedescription and make sure to
stay tuned and or sign up forour email newsletter so that we
can get information about theupcoming anniversary events to
(19:41):
you, Katie, thank you so much.
Katie Arnold (19:44):
Thank you.
Chris Berstler (19:46):
Find resources, tools and information about the
sibling experience on siblingleadership.org. The sibling
Leadership Network is anonprofit and we rely on support
from our audience. Find thedonation button on our homepage
and contribute to the evergrowing sibling movement
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