Please help with ADA transit cost to attend "Peerpocalypse" conference on May 4th - 7, 2026
Facts first - nitty gritty details for the detail oriented down below
Courtney has received a scholarship to attend Peerpocalypse 2026. This powerful grass roots national conference is held once a year by “the peer co,“ The conference is focused on housing, mental health, recovery, and peer support. This 4 day event brings together people with lived experience, advocates, and leaders to share knowledge, build connections, and inspire hope.
Due to ADA-related health limitations, traveling by bus is not an option for Courtney. Renting a car is the safest and most appropriate way for her to make this journey.
Needed = $900 to help cover the cost of:
- Renting & insurance of a rental car
- Gas for the trip
- the conference only provides 5 meals = so a lil extra $ toward 1 more daily meal.
While the opportunity is incredible, the financial burden is something she cannot carry alone right now. Your help is deeply appreciated.
Hello I am Lisa. I am doing this gofundme for my friend Courtney Shannon.
Courtney is not only my friend, I consider her my family. We met in domestic violence shelters in Kansas, where we both stayed. This was a VERY difficult season of our lives. We found strength in each other bonding through our shared experiences and that bond has grown into a lifelong friendship.
Courtney has a heart for healing, not just for herself, for others as well - knowing that even the smallest acts of kindness can save a life.
Courtney has used her lived experiences to help others by becoming the voice of the voiceless - of the many who she represents, speaking and advocating for the houseless community for over 20 years.
Her work isn't “work” it is an unpaid labor of love.
over the last 20 + years this has taken many forms - she has worked with m a n y organizations - here are just a few:
Paul Boden of “WRAP" & Michael Moore of “Sisters of The Road” delivering speeches to senators, judiciaries & holding press conferences etc in California & Oregon advocating for “the homeless bill of rights”
“CIO aka The center for international organizing” aka “Unite Oregon" with (the now) Senator Kayse Jama, co-writing laws and delivering speeches to promote equality amongst ALL, with heavy emphasis on Housing the houseless & helping refugees
Ending “police profiling” which are the polices’ assumptions of a person based on the way a person “looks” - for example “driving while black” as well as assuming a person with a backpack is houseless.
“Human Rights Commission” aka “OEHR” of PDX” now deceased (thanks to Pdx’s x mayor ted which he did one month after the lockdowns began)
where she was bringing voices & the realities of “the street” to educate the commissioners while trying to make the houseless a “protected class”
Currently
Courtney is on the Steering Committee of
“BHAC = Behavioral Health Advisory Council”
&
“Welcome Home Coalition”
What is Peerpocalypse?
From “the Peer” website =
“This conference is where lived experience meets leadership, where healing meets action, and where you'll find your people.
Peerpocalypse is about more than just a conference: it's a gathering to strengthen and unite the peer support community across the entire nation. Already, 13 states from coast to coast are coming together to share, learn, and grow alongside one another. But we don't want to stop there. Whether you're in the Midwest, the South, the Northeast, or anywhere in between, your voice and your experience matter here.
This peer-led conference has grown from a grassroots gathering into a movement: 1,100 in-person attendees coming together for more than 40 moving workshops, inspiring keynote sessions, evening events, and the kind of community that only happens when peers lead the way.”
Thank you in advance for your support. Every dollar brings Courtney one step closer to reaching this goal of attending this conference safely with the avoidance of dangerous health threats & hospitaliztion.
Every amount helps!
Remember! Sharing is caring!
Thank you!