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It has long been a dream of the Family Housing Fund to
hold a two-day conference focusing specifically on the
needs of homeless children and youth. This dream became
a reality on October 28 and 29, 2008 at The Depot in
downtown Minneapolis. The inaugural Visible Child Conference
was a huge success with more than 300 attendees. The
Family Housing Fund, in partnership with the Supportive
Housing Provider Group, presented the conference to elevate
the developmental needs of children and youth (birth
to 18) that have experienced homelessness.
In addition to phenomenal keynote speakers Antwone
Fisher and Ralph
Nunez, over 30 workshops were offered by local
and national experts on homelessness and child development.
The conference provided training and networking opportunities
for individuals and organizations that serve homeless and
formerly homeless children and youth, including housing
providers, mental health providers, public health and social
service professionals, educators, child development staff,
and others. The Fund would also like to thank our conference
sponsors and initiative funders who helped make this event
possible. Please visit www.fhfund.org/visiblechild for
more information and to view posted workshop presentations
and handouts.
Please send any questions or comments regarding the conference
to Shawna Nelsen at shawna@fhfund.org.
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KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
Antwone Quenton Fisher was born in prison
to a teenage mother and immediately became a ward of the
state of Ohio and placed in foster care. He survived the
cruelties of an abusive foster care family situation for
12 years and the brutalities of homelessness and set on a
course of healing after joining the U.S. Navy. Fisher is
a director, screenwriter, author, and film producer.
New York Times Best Seller, Finding Fish a Memoir, is the
inspiring story of his incredible life’s journey.
The film, Antwone Fisher, written by Fisher himself, reflects
on his life as a sailor and as a child. Through his National
Best Seller collection of poetry, Who Will Cry for the Little Boy?, Fisher
reveals
inner truths that took him from a tumultuous childhood to the man he is today.
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Ralph da Costa Nunez, Ph.D. is President
and CEO of Homes for the Homeless, a unique “transitional
welfare” program to approximately 1,000 homeless families
with 2,500 children in New York City each year. Dr. Nunez
manages Homes for the Homeless’ American Family Inns,
the nation’s largest network of residential education
and employment training centers. Dr. Nunez is also President
of the Institute for Children and Poverty that conducts research
on issues surrounding poverty and homelessness and the ensuing
impacts on children and families. Dr. Nunez is the Editor
of the international Journal of Children and Poverty and
has authored numerous reports, articles, and books, including
a series of children’s books on homelessness. |
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