Disability Connection

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All posts by Kathy Stafford

Community , Disability , Events

33rd Annual Arbor Day 5K-1 Mile-1/4 Mile Run Walk Roll

 33rd ARBOR DAY 5K-1 MILE-1/4 MILE RUN/WALK/ROLL, Town Green, Biloxi

Please join us for a fun event to encourage healthy lifestyles and disability awareness.

    Option 1

Event at Biloxi Town Green: Saturday, Feb 20, 2021 Join this fun event promoting healthy lifestyles to individuals of all ages with and without disabilities. This event has 2 goals to encourage a healthy lifestyle and to encourage people with disabilities to be active community participants by joining the fun of a run.

All Registration for Individuals is through the Gulf Coast Running Club. You can register for the Run/Walk/Roll at the event or pay a discount by Pre-Registering, postmarked by February 12, 2021. To pre-register, go to www.GulfCoastRunningClub.org, click on the Arbor Day Run. Print the registration form, and mail it to the address on the form. On-line registration is optional at www.RaceRoster.com. Runners receive a T-shirt. Runners with challenges receive a Medal. Volunteers/Caregivers do not need to pay registration fee to accompany a walker, but can register to receive a t-shirt.

This event is in partnership with Gulf Coast Running Club, the most respected running club in South Mississippi. The race includes a ¼ mile challenge so that everyone, including wheelchairs, can participate in the healthful benefits of a run with awards following.

Saturday Schedule (Run with Gulf Coast Running Club, Town Green):

  • 8:00-9:30        Registration and Sign-in for those Pre-Registered          
  • 9:00                 5K Race Start
  • 9:45                 1 Mile and ¼ Mile Ability Challenge Start

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OPTION 2

Event at School or Optional Walking Track: group scheduled

Due to the current pandemic, DC is offering a second option to participate in the 2021 Arbor Day Run/Walk/Roll. Individuals and/or groups can register through DC, pay $10 per individual, and walk/run/roll a minimum of ¼ mile at the time and location of their convenience. Staff can verify the list of those completing the walk to receive t-shirts and medallions for the participants.

 Call the office for Sponsorship and Team information.

Disability Connection, 700 Pass Rd, Gulfport, MS, 39501; 228.604.4020; Fax 228.284.4419

Ocean Springs City Hall Office: 228.870.7775

Office@DisabilityConnection.org

Blog , Community , News

Disability Connection now has a full time ADA Coordinator on staff

janie-o-keefeJanie O’Keefe, the Executive Director of Disability Connection, has completed the ADA Coordinator Training Certificate Program.  The ACTCP is offered through the University of Missouri, College of Human and Environmental Services, School of Architectural Studies and the Great Plains ADA Center.

Twenty-five years ago, through the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), our nation committed itself to eliminating discrimination against people with disabilities.  Disability Connection is proud to play a role in working towards a future in which all the doors are open to equality of opportunity, full participation, independent living, integration and economic self-sufficiency for persons with disabilities.

Blog , News , Our Heroes , Uncategorized

How a Family Car Wash Has Changed the Lives of People With Autism

Like many people with autism, Andrew D’Eri had a hard time finding a job.

Then, his father, a veteran entrepreneur, and older brother, who had recently finished business school, had an idea: What if they opened business employed mostly by people with autism?

“We wanted to build … an example big and bold and out there that other companies could go ahead and want to emulate,” Andrew’s brother Tom D’Eri, 25, told ABC News, adding that they wanted to find a business that would educate the community by putting autistic employees in front of the customers.

They opened the Rising Tide Car Wash in Parkland, Florida, in 2013, and today they employ 35 autistic men and women!

Blog , Community , News , Uncategorized

2015-Gardening from a chair is practical & enjoyable!

Want to make your life a little greener? Start with a garden.  The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation have great adaptive gardening tips for people living with paralysis featured in the Reeve Health Minute series.

For most people, a few simple adaptive practices can make gardening from a chair practical, easy, and highly enjoyable.

Take a look at our gardening videos and see if this is the activity for you.

You’ll get to spend time outside, connect with others, and make sure your meals are full of delicious, healthy fruits and vegetables.

Wendy Crawford, founder of mobileWOMEN.org and the Raw Beauty Project, shares her special adaptive gardening tips in each episode. Running only a few minutes long, each video is packed with great information. Now it’s up to you!

View one video or the whole series:

The gardening series is part of our popular Reeve Health Minute videos. Thousands of people around the world have accessed these videos to learn more about adaptive practices from swimming, to cooking, and improving your mind.

Each episode is full of actionable tips for individuals living with paralysis to improve their health and wellness.

Enjoy the warmer weather and go spend some time outside in the sun.

Happy gardening!

Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation ChristopherReeve.org

Blog , Community , News

Taking the Extra Step

janie-o-keefe    When asked what the most rewarding part of her career is, O’Keefe says it is the clients and the people they have the opportunity to serve.  “When you see how happy they are when they have accomplished things they could have never done without help, you can never put a price on that.”
Please click  #sheisnoble for full article
Blog , Community , News

2014-Ocean Springs announces a Disability Connection office in City Hall

OCEAN SPRINGS, MS (WLOX) –

DC logo For Upload_Download_4PiecesThe city of Ocean Springs will pay the owners of Psycamore nearly half a million dollars as part of a settlement with the psychiatric counseling clinic.  The 437,500 settlement covers Psycamore’s damages and costs associated with the case. The city will also provide additional training for a current employee to serve as the city’s ADA Compliance Officer. That person will, most likely, be a senior official in the Building Department. City elected officials, selected staff and members of the Planning Commission will also undergo several hours of training on the city’s obligations under the ADA, according to a plan approved by United States Department of Justice.  Ocean Springs city leaders have partnered with Disability Connection, a Gulf Coast advocacy organization for people with mental and physical disabilities, to provide office space in the Mayor’s Office for an outreach resource manager to counsel citizens in Jackson County when they have complaints or are in need of services.  Phone # (228) 870-7775.  Please click link below for full story:

http://www.wlox.com/story/27480991/ocean-springs-settles-with-psycamore-owners

 

Blog , News , Our Heroes

2014-Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, “The Big Idea”

 

The Big Idea
The Big Idea

 

Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation launched a campaign that will redefine what it means to live with SCI. This initiative, called The Big Idea, will support the next phase epidural stimulation research and recruit 36 new candidates to evaluate the efficacy of the intervention in restoring autonomic functions, movement below the injury level, as well as the ability to stand. Please click the link for more information:   www.reevebigidea.org

 

 

 

 

Our Heroes

2014-Veterans Virtual Career Fair

Veterans Virtual Career Fair
Veterans Virtual Career Fair

MEET LIVE WITH RECRUITERS ONLINE • More than 81,000 veterans hired since September 2011 • Chat live with recruiters in their virtual booths • View/apply for jobs in real time • Win great prizes like IPad and Visa gift cards