In July, Susan Welby from the EFMRI will be coming to Maine to hold a H.O.P.E. Mentor Training Session for all who are interested. I am currently the only certified H.O.P.E. Mentor in Maine, so lets change that!

UPDATE: The training session will be this Friday, July 11th at 6:30 PM in Portland. Please contact Susan Welby at EFMRI if you would like to attend!

Epilepsy Foundation Massachusetts & Rhode Island

(617) 506-6041 or (888) 576-9996

What Is the H.O.P.E. Mentoring Program?

The H.O.P.E. Mentoring Program (Helping Other People with Epilepsy) was created to allow people who live with epilepsy to educate others and share their experiences. This educational program trains people with epilepsy to be "patient educators" throughout the epilepsy and neurology communities.

H.O.P.E. Program Goals

• Improve communication about epilepsy to patients and the community at large.
• Offer an exciting new way for people with epilepsy to learn through shared experiences.
• Serve as a positive resource for the epilepsy patient, family & healthcare professional.
• Provide a mechanism to inform audiences of the resources available to people with epilepsy.

The program provides concise information in standardized learning and teaching formats by certified mentors. The H.O.P.E. Mentoring Program includes four core educational modules including Epilepsy & Seizures; Impact of Epilepsy; and Advocacy & Self-Management, and Seizures in Later Life.

Using these modules, mentors tailor their presentations to form scientifically accurate and useful lectures, to accommodate the specific needs of the various audiences.

Who is a H.O.P.E. Mentor?

H.O.P.E. Mentors are individuals who are living with epilepsy or family members who have made a commitment to share their personal experiences with epilepsy through this program.

Each mentor must successfully complete a training program to become a certified H.O.P.E. mentor. Through this training, mentors are taught the program curriculum developed by leaders in the field of epilepsy.

The program curriculum is designed to have mentors share, in their own words, their personal experiences and stories about living with epilepsy.

The combination of the educational curriculum and personal experience provides the community with the best and most concise information about epilepsy.

What H.O.P.E. Program Activities are Available in Your Community?

The H.O.P.E. Mentoring Program activities are available nationwide and are suitable for a variety of audiences. Each presentation can be tailored to meet the specific needs of each audience including:

• Persons with epilepsy: newly diagnosed, children, adolescents, women, elderly
• Family members and loved ones
• Healthcare professionals
• Support groups, schools, churches, corporations in your community "

(Source: http://www.epilepsyfoundation.org/programs/hope.cfm)

Epilepsy Foundation Massachusetts & Rhode Island

(617) 506-6041 or (888) 576-9996

540 Gallivan Boulevard, 2nd Floor

Boston, MA, 02124-5463