Embrace Church #ConnectingCommunities
Starting 10/12/25
First United Methodist Church, Gulfport
An unplugged sensory worship experience for all.
Disability Connection now has a full time ADA Coordinator on staff
Janie 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.
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!
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
Taking the Extra Step
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
2014-Mississippi Gives Day
Mark the Date: 12/10/14!!!
Disability Connection is participating in Mississippi Gives Day! You will have 24 hours to give where you live! Please help spread the word and donate to help Disability Connection continue our mission of “Creating a Connected Community…”! The link below will take you directly to our page: https://mississippigives.org/c/MGD/a/disabilityconnection
2014-Ocean Springs announces a Disability Connection office in City Hall
OCEAN SPRINGS, MS (WLOX) –
The 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