Saturday, May 20, 9:30 am
Temple Israel’s Annual Disability Awareness Shabbat will feature Lynne Seagle, executive director of the Hope House Foundation, as the guest speaker.
Seagle began her career at Hope House Foundation in 1978 as director of residential services. She has served as executive director for more than three decades. Under her leadership, Hope House has become internationally known for its innovative, person-centered approach. She says that one of her proudest accomplishments was guiding the agency through the transition from group homes to supporting people in their own apartments in the early 1990’s.
In 1986, Seagle was honored as the Virginia Administrator of the year by the Virginia Community Living Association (CLAMR) and also received an innovation Award from the same organization.
Passionate about social justice and equality for all people, particularly those with intellectual or developmental disabilities, in 1990, she received the Leadership Award from the American Association on Intellectual Disabilities, and in 1998, she received the Joseph P. Kennedy Foundation’s International Future Leader Award. In 2011, she was appointed to the Arc of Virginia’s board of directors. She has also served on the President’s Commission on Intellectual Disabilities and is on the Advisory board of the Joseph P. Kennedy Foundation.
The Hope House Foundation supports adults with a primary diagnosis of a developmental or intellectual disability such as Down Syndrome, autism spectrum disorders, traumatic brain injury, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, and more. Many of the people they serve also have physical disabilities and emotional issues.
Hope House continues to serve their clients as they grow older or are faced with difficult medical challenges. It currently serves 123 people.
Temple Israel is located at 7255 Granby Street in Norfolk. For more information, call 489-4550.