Announcing the 2012 SOHS Conference in Helen, GA

The 37th Annual Conference “Back to Basics” April 1st thru 4th, 2012 

We are delighted to announce the next conference for SOHS. Back in the early history of SOHS, we held a conference at Unicoi State Park in Helen, GA. Because the facilities there are excellent and the town in the north Georgia woods is so lovely, we decided to go back there. We think you will really enjoy the conference facilities, the food, the environment, and the workshops, of course! The town of Helen is one of the most popular recreation destinations in the state and region. Set up like an alpine village, the shopping is amazing and there is so much to see and do. This should prove to be one of the best conference locations imaginable.  We will start out the conference with a picnic! You will arrive and register, then come on out to the picnic shelter where lots of food will be available and you will get to meet and greet fellow students, faculty, and practitioners from all over the southeast. Be sure to register for your room. The lodge is just like a motel but you can also get cottages if you register early enough. You can even camp or bring an RV! Check out the website for Unicoi and Helen if you want to see all that is offered.  

Please consider doing a workshop at the conference. Forms to complete will be available on the SOHS website. We are working on joint membership with SOHS and NOHS. Soon, one membership will include both the regional and the national organizations. The membership feel will increase slightly but we will make next year’s expenses less than this past year by lowering the conference fee. You will pay less for membership and conference – more for your money! We hope that this will be the start of something new. We’re going back to the past and on to the future. Please be a part of this exciting process and event.

Personal and professional growth through education, networking, and partnership

2.  New Mission

Over the next three to five years, strengthen the organization by:

a.  Achieving fiscal solvency

b.  Increasing member engagement – students, faculty, practitioners

c.  Promoting community services and global awareness

d.  Supporting research and scholarship

e.  Increasing visibility

• Educating stakeholders
• Utilizing technology
• Advocacy

a.  Partnership, collaboration, and awareness among students, practitioners, and educators in the human services profession

b.  Adherence to the human services professional code of ethics

c.  Servant leadership

d.  Advocacy and activism

e.  Diversity

f.  Education

The field of Human Services is broadly defined, uniquely approaching the objective of meeting human needs through an interdisciplinary knowledge base, focusing on prevention as well as remediation of problems, and maintaining a commitment to improving the overall quality of life of service populations.

The Human Services profession is one which promotes improved service delivery systems by addressing not only the quality of direct services, but also by seeking to improve accessibility, accountability, and coordination among professionals and agencies in service delivery.