New Horizons Un-Limited Inc. New Horizons Un-Limited Inc.Independence First, the Center for Independent Living serving the Greater Milwaukee area, will be hosting a Homeownership Class for people with disabilities on Monday and Tuesday, December 12 and 13 from 1-4 p.m. This class will help you prepare for and navigate the homebuying process. The class will be held at their Milwaukee locations, 600 W. Virginia Street, Room 603. For more information, call (414)291-7520.
The Milwaukee County Transition Advisory Board, will be hosting, FOCUS, an interactive event, aimed at educating parents and 5th through 8th grade students with disabilities on the process of transition. Students will participate in a session on Social Skills, while their parents learn the basics of the transition process. Shortly thereafter, all participants will hear from adults that have already transitioned out of school and will also have an opportunity to ask any questions they may have. There is one opportunity remaining to attend Focus:
Thursday, December 8, 2005
6:30-8:00 p.m.
Milwaukee Center for Independence
2020 W. Wells Street
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
While this event is free to attend, registration is required. To register, call the Special Needs Family Center at (414) 266-NEED.
Individuals with disabilities are once again invited to attend the annual Holiday Folk Fair International free of charge on Sunday, November 20th. The annual Folk Fair celebrates cultures from around the world and features live performances, ethnic cuisine and an international bazaar, among other activities.
To receive your free tickets, please send a self-addressed STAMPED envelope to: Folk Fair Tickets, Office for Persons with Disabilities, Courthouse, 901 N. 9th Street, Room 307-B, Milwaukee WI 53233. PLEASE NOTE: individuals with disabilities will be limited to one ticket plus one additional ticket for a companion. Groups will be limited to 20 tickets. The Folk Fair runs Friday, November 18th through Sunday, November 20th, 2005 at State Fair Park.
The Special Needs Family Center will be hosting a workshop on Health Care Financing for Transition-aged Youth and their parents on Thursday, November 17th from 6-8 p.m. in the Children's Hospital Auditorium. This workshop will help you identify health care coverage options for young adults with special health care needs. While this event is free to attend, registration is required. Please call (414) 266-2540 to reserve your space.
The Milwaukee County Office for Persons with Disabilities has recently launched an online Recreation Calendar which features events and activities for Milwaukee County residents with disabilities. The calendar lists events hosted by disability related agencies throughout the county. Get out and enjoy life! Visit the Rec Room Calendar to see all there is to do! The calendar can be viewed at www.county.milwaukee.gov/recreationcalendar.
TASH, a national non-profit organization working for equity, opportunity and inclusion for people with disabilities, will be hosting their annual conference on November 9-12, 2005 at the Midwest Airlines Center in Milwaukee. The conference provides a forum for individuals with disabilities, families, researchers, educators, scholars, and others to work towards social and systems reform. In addition to the three keynote speakers, the conference also features workshops which focus on inclusion in education and employment. They also offer full day Saturday Institutes which include such discussions as advocacy, raising and nurturing children with disabilities, among others. For more information and to learn of the registration fees, visit the TASH Conference website at www.tash.org/tash2005.
The Bethany Baptist Church in Schofield, Wisconsin will be hosting a weekend long event for those who are deaf and hard of hearing. The event will begin with a Friday evening service followed by a dessert social. Saturday will start with an 8 a.m. breakfast, which will be followed by a 9 a.m. service and children's program. The day will conclude with a 7 p.m. evening revival. Sunday features a morning Deaf Sunday School. While the weekend event is free to attend, registration is required. Register online or call (715) 355-1617.
The Wisconsin Council on Developmental Disabilities is in the process of developing their 5-year State Plan, which will outline important goals and activities that will improve the quality of life for people with disabilities.
To ensure that their plan meets the needs of their consumers with disabilities, the Council will be holding a series of "Dare to Dream Cafés," which are modeled after a typical coffee shop café, where people come to discuss topics of interest. In this case the topic of the day will be people with disabilities. People who attend each Café will be asked two questions: (1) Imagine Wisconsin five years from now. What changes do you most want to see for people with disabilities by then?; (2) Specifically, what are some things the DD Council can do over the next five years to make the changes you want happen?
The events will be held in several locations throughout Wisconsin in October:
Fond du Lac
Thursday, October 6, 2005
Where: Ramada Plaza Hotel, Main and Division Streets
Time: 9 AM to 12 noon
Milwaukee
Thursday, October 20, 2005
Where: Milwaukee Center for Independence, 202 W. Wells Street
Time: 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM
Stevens Point
Saturday, October 29, 2005
Where: People First of Wisconsin Board meeting, Midstate Technical College, 933 Michigan Ave.
Time: 12:00 to 3:30 PM
Use North entrance– door #3. Café and lunch will be in Room 133.
Participation is free, but reservations are required. Please allow adequate time to process special accommodation requests. To reserve your attendance, contact Helen at the WCDD office by e-mail at hartmha@dhfs.state.wi.us or by telephone at (608) 266-3047.
Independence First, the Center for Independent Living serving the 4-county area surrounding Milwaukee, will be offering a two-day Rent Smart class. Rent Smart will help you get a handle on the rental process and cover such topics as tenant rights and responsibilities, filing complaints and credit issues, among others. Rent Smart is scheduled for Thursday and Friday, October 27th and 28th from 1-4p.m. at the Independence First office in Milwaukee - 600 W. Virginia Street, Room 601. For more information, call (414) 226-8340.
The Special Needs Family Center and Children's Hospital of Wisconsin is hosting a one-day event called Energizing the Spirit for parents and primary caregivers of children with disabilities. The intent of the day is for families to take a break and nurture themselves. The day will start with a continental breakfast and move into a spirited presentation designed to encourage parents towards feelings of self-love, acceptance and peace of mind. Lunch will be followed by a Comedy Sportz presentation and chair massages. The conference fee, which includes breakfast and lunch, is just $8 per person or $15 per couple. Registration must be postmarked by October 17th. For more information, call (414) 266-2209.
The Department of Health and Family Services is hosting a conference aimed at Wisconsin's deaf and hard of hearing community on Monday, September 19th from 8 a.m. - 8 p.m. at the Marriott Madison West Hotel in Middleton, Wisconsin. While the conference is aimed primarily at seniors, those who are younger will also find the workshops and exhibits useful. Workshop topics include Mental Health, Sexuality for Seniors, and Legal Issues, among others. Transportation is provided from five locations in Wisconsin: Appleton, Eau Claire, LaCrosse, Milwaukee, and Wausau. The conference fee is $25 and includes lunch and dinner. The registration deadline is August 29th. For more information, call (608) 266-0000 (Voice) or (866) 701-1255 (TTY).
Access to Independence (ATI), the Independent Living Center serving Madison is offering an opportunity for you to gather with your peers while learning about the issues that affect your life. Tuesday Night Talks and Treats, as the monthly event is called, covers a variety of interesting topics. Future topics will include:
The Wil O Way Key Card Program, in collaboration with the Community Sailing Center Program, will be coordinating three free day sails on Lake Michigan for people with disabilities, their families and friends. A Hoyer Lift has recently been installed at the Sailing Center for easy transfer from the dock to the boat. Sailing dates include Fridays, June 24th, July 29th and August 19th. Each date will be able to accommodate forty people and up to five people who need Hoyer lift assistance. Sailors need to have some upper body strength. All are welcome to participate in the sailing and activities afterwards. Space is limited and reservations are required. To reserve your space, call or e-mail Bridget Bannon at (414) 278-3938, bbannon@milwcnty.com.
Milwaukee Center for Independence (MCFI) will be hosting their Adventures for L.I.F.E. camp at Friendship Center in Dodgeville for people with developmental disabilities aged 16 or older. The 2005 sessions will be held July 11-15, July 18–22 and August 29–September 2. Learning to handle your own kayak, fixing your coffee over an open fire, hooking that prized fish, and sleeping under the stars are some of the activities waiting for you at camp. MCFI is also offering week long day camps, including one week specifically for young people with autism. These sessions will be held at Blue Lotus Retreat Center during the month of August. For more information, please contact Nancy Pickett at (414) 937-2098.
As part of an energetic and informative program, the POWER LUNCH will host Oscar-winning actress Patty Duke as the featured guest speaker. Ms. Duke will be candid about living with bipolar disorder (manic-depression) and the success strategies she has learned. This event will be held at the Midwest Airlines Center (formerly Midwest Express Center) in downtown Milwaukee on June 15, 2005. Individual tickets for this event are $50/per person! To purchase your tickets, call (414) 291-7520(Voice/TTY).
Join other advocates and Wisconsinites with disabilities at the Spring Budget Rally on Wednesday, May 11, 2005 in the rotunda of the State Capitol in Madison. A major issue to be addressed at the rally will be Medicaid. The current Medicaid budget is in a state of crisis with a shortfall of over $600 million for the next two-year budget. The legislature is starting to talk about making cuts to services or changing eligibility criteria. This could affect many people with disabilities. Make sure you let your lawmakers know how Medicaid cuts will impact your quality of life. For more information on the rally, contact Disability Advocates: Wisconsin Network at (608) 266-7826 (Voice), (608) 266-6660 (TTY) or visit them on the web at www.dawninfo.org/.
The Brain Injury Association of Wisconsin will host their 17th annual Conference on Brain Injury on Tuesday and Wednesday, April 26-27, 2005 at the Regency Suites & KI Convention Center in Green Bay, Wisconsin. This year's conference theme is Exploring Realities with Optimism. The conference will feature presentations by brain injury survivors and professionals and will also feature informative sessions on such topics as vocational evaluation, community services and funding, rehabilitation and much more. The registration fee for the two-day conference is $115 for Association members and $140 for non-members. Special reduced rates are available to those with limited income. Registration must be received by April 8, 2005. For more information, call (414) 778-4144 or visit the Association's website at www.biaw.org.
If you are a high school student with a disability and live in Iowa or Lafayette County, you should attend the Transition Resource Fair scheduled for Friday, April 22, 2005, 9:45 a.m.-1:45 p.m. at the Southwest Wisconsin Technical College in Fennimore, Wisconsin. The Resource Fair will offer students an opportunity to learn more about the resources they will need in order to successfully transition from school to work and/or postsecondary education. The fair will feature several presentations as well as exhibits from area service providers. For more information, please call (608) 822-3262, ext. 2120.
The Survival Coalition of Wisconsin Disability Organizations and the People Can’t Wait network are scheduling a series of meetings on the “State Budget and You”. These meetings will discuss the impact of this budget on children and adults with disabilities. Thus far, meetings are scheduled into mid-April in cities throughout Wisconsin. To learn about meeting dates and locations, please visit DAWN online at www.dawninfo.org/co/training/sc_0507_budget.cfm". Other meetings are being scheduled. If you would like to have one in your area, please contact Dennis Harkins at dwharks@aol.com.
The Wisconsin Social Club, a newly formed club for people with disabilities, their families, and their friends will be hosting their first get-together on March 23, 2005 beginning at 6:00 p.m at Serb Hall on Milwaukee's south side. The night will include dinner and music followed by a viewing of the Academy Award-winning movie Forrest Gump on a theater-style screen. The evening is open to teens through adults and costs $22.00 per person, $20.00 per person (for parties of 3 or more) and $18.00 per person (for parties of 5 or more), plus tax and gratuity. To reserve your space, call (414) 828-0291 or e-mail wsc@therichco.com
WSC also provides scheduled educational and social events and trips to a variety of locations, and meetings where people with disabilities and their friends and families can come and relax. WSC is a division of RiCH Vocational Services, which provides a wide variety of services to people with disabilities throughout Wisconsin.
Milwaukee County adults (19 years or older) who receive SSI or SSI related Medicaid will soon receive their health care benefits through a managed care organization. The Department of Health and Family services will be available to answer questions on how this change will affect you and your benefits during an information session scheduled for Tuesday, March 22, 2005 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Brown Deer Library, 5600 West Bradley Road. For more information or for accommodation and transportation requests, contact Sean Gartley at (608) 267-9313.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Sports Show will offer ten full days of outdoor sports exhibits and interaction for the entire family from March 11th-20th at the Wisconsin State Fair Park Exhibition Center. If you love hunting, fishing, boating or camping this is a great place to explore outdoor activities, indoors. The show will feature nearly 500 exhibitors, a trout pond, a hunting dog show, archery, and much more! People with disabilities will get free admission on Wednesday, March 16, 2005 between 2pm-5pm, though you must pre-register in advance by calling (888) 488-4286. To learn more about the show’s activities, visit www.jsonline.com/sportsshow.
During the first four Wednesdays in March, From 6p.m. - 7p.m. the Milwaukee Center for Independence will show you how to create your own garden in a jar! This is a fun project that anyone can do, and each mini-garden is unique. Make new friends as you choose and plant your favorite flowers and foliage. Learn something new about your garden each week. Cost is just $35 per person for all four sessions, including all materials. Any person who needs personal care support needs to have a caregiver attend with them. Caregivers may attend free of charge. Transportation is “on your own.” Space is limited, so register right away. For more information or to obtain a registration form, call (414) 937-2097.
The Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing will be hosting a class that will focus on teaching those who are hard of hearing as well as their family members and friends how to communicate more effectively. The class will offer tips on how to handle hard to follow conversations, will teach the basics of lipreading and will also discuss various devices that can improve communication as well as those that can improve home safety. Beginning on February 15, 2005, the eight-week class will be offered at the CDHH office in Brookfield on every Tuesday at 4 p.m. The registration fee is $80. To register, call (262) 790-1040. Space is limited, so call to reserve your space today.
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