ARISE Oswego Newsletter - May 2014

OSWEGO COUNTY EDITION Director: Sabine Ingerson

May 2014 What’s Inside: ARISE Groups

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Community Conn.

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RIDE for RAMPS

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MSC Blog

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Fun Page

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Calendar

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Employment

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ARISE Center for Independent Living ARISE Oswego 9 Fourth Ave Oswego, NY 13126 (315) 342-4088

ARISE Pulaski 2 Broad St Pulaski, NY 13142 (315) 298-5726

ARISE Fulton 113 Schuyler St, Suite 2 Fulton, NY 13069 (315) 887-5156

ariseinc.org /ARISEcny

Our Mission To work with people of all abilities to create a fair and just community in which everyone can fully participate.

Upcoming Community Events By: Sabine Ingerson This newsletter was sent out a little earlier than usual as I want to make sure that you are aware of the many activities planned in our communities that inform and raise awareness about different disabilities.

ARISE, one of 39 Independent Living Centers in New York State, provides cross-disability services. Instead of focusing on just one disability, Independent Living Centers were founded in the 1970s and embraced people of all (dis)abilities. We are proud to continue that today. Staff from our office will be partcipating in all of the events listed below: On April 26 the Shoot for the Stars Wheelchair Basketball Tournament will be held at Leighton Elementary School in Oswego. After playing in it before I can tell you that it is a lot of fun and it also shows you what outstanding athletes the players are who regularly play using chairs.

Greg Callen, a member of the ARISE Board of Directors and the Oswego Advisory Committee founded MoveAlong, a not-for-profit organization which puts on the event. If you are not among the many players, come and cheer on the teams.

May 3 is the annual Oswego County Autism Walk which is organized by the Oswego County Autism Task Force. Katie Lee represents ARISE at the meetings. The walk will be held at Leighton Elementary School and will run from 11 am to 2 pm. In addition to the walk, there will be many fun activities and information booths. Did you know that autism is the fastest growing developmental disability? 1% of the US population live with an autism spectrum disorder. It is more prevelent in boys than girls. According to new statistics the number of children who have autism has climbed to 1 in 68 people. I will be at the event sharing the many programs that ARISE offers that might be of interest to anyone who has a child on the spectrum or might know of anyone with autism. I would also like to draw your attention to the article by Ben Kellogg, on page 2, who is sharing his story as a person with autism.

May is also Mental Health Awareness Month. There will be a Mental Health Awareness Expo at the War Memorial in Fulton on May 10 from 10 am to 2 pm. As many of you are aware, ARISE offers mental health counseling in Fulton, Oswego, and Pulaski as well as in several schools within the Central Square School District. ARISE will be represented at this Expo as well so come and see us.

Our own big fundraiser, Ride for Ramps, will be on May 31. It will be held at Lighthouse Lanes and the Oswego Speedway. In additon to the motorcycle ride there will be a chicken BBQ, fun activities for kids, a 5K run, and a bike ride for kids. All money raised will be used to purchase materials so that we can continue to build ramps for those in need. Please mark this date on your calendar and come and encourage your friends to attend as well!

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ARISE Groups Oswego Social Club

Self-Advocacy Group

Friday, May 9th 1:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.

Friday, May 9th 12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.

Come join us to make some great Mother’s Day crafts!

This group is open to anyone who is 18 years of age and older. Please contact Jen Stanard at 342-4088 ext. 209, if you have any questions.

Self-Advocacy is a group for people who want to advocate for change. For additional information, or if you have an issue you would like the group to advocate for, please contact Ken Skillen at 342-4088 ext. 226.

Community Connections

Family, Education, and Training

Will not be meeting this month.

Thursday, May 29th 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

SUPAC will present a training on Post-Secondary Transition Tool Kit at Oswego ARISE. Children are welcome to attend, and participate in a social skills lesson.

SibShops

ARISE & RIDE at the Farm

Saturday, May 17th 12:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Saturday, July 26th Located at ARISE at the Farm, Chittenango

We will be meeting at the Oswego office. More information will be mailed home about this event. For additional information, please contact Sabine Ingerson at 342-4088 ext 210.

ARISE & Ride at the Farm is an annual cycling and festival event attended by cyclists and families across Central New York. All proceeds from the 2014 event will be used to help build an accessible playground at the Farm.

April: Autism Awareness Month By: Benjamin Kellogg Autism is a condition which has touched all aspects of my life at some point; I cannot recall a time when I have not been influenced by it. As a result, Autism Awareness Month is an opportunity to make more people aware of this condition, how it affects one’s mind and body, and how the average person can help people on the spectrum. Simple things such as spending time with an autistic person and his/her family, speaking with them and having a good time together, and even just lending an attentive ear can be very helpful indeed.

For me, though, increasing autism awareness does not only occur during the month of April. I make a concerted effort to advocate for myself and other people with autism through my by-weekly column, “The Learning Curve,” for the website AutismAfter16.com.

AA16 is an online resource which may be helpful to autistic people of all ages, as well as parents, families, teachers, and others involved with their lives to gain information and a better understanding of potential issues this condition can cause.

Working for AA16 has led me to make many positive life changes, experience new things, and help others. It gives me a great sense of satisfaction to share my experiences and insights as a young adult autistic person, and I am proud to be a contributing columnist for such a wonderful resource.

As autism continues to affect more families and as people on the spectrum age, I feel it is important that they have access to tools and resources which can help them navigate life with this condition. Autism Awareness Month is an excellent opportunity for people to learn where to look for resources, information and answers. AutismAfter16.com is home to a growing community with its focus on providing this help, and every added voice brings the whole autism community closer to much-needed answers.

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Community Connections Annual Formal Dance Community Connections held their 3rd Annual Formal Dance on Sunday, April 13 in Fulton. We had a great crowd of people show up to enjoy this very special night. A thank you to our interns, and their sorority sisters from SUNY Oswego who helped us out and to all of the ARISE Staff who helped out in many ways to make this a success. A special thank you to ARISE staff members who helped out at the dance: Vicki Affinati, Sabine Ingerson, Jim Karasak, Cheryl Arnold, Kris Rabideau, Shannon Davis, Maria Conaway, Marjorie Yerdon, Danielle Fox, Andy Bidwell, Karen Kimball, Nikki Baldwin, Brigette Walker, and Gigina Long. We couldn’t have done this without it being a group effort. A very special thank you to our DJ Jason Sherman from JaMs Dj & Karaoke.

The group brainstormed ideas for the dance and chose the Rock ‘n Roll Theme, the food, and the songs that they wanted. Here are some comments from some of the people that attended: It was a blast!

Thanks!

I love it, had lots of fun.

Everyone had a good time!

Such a fun success!

I know everyone enjoyed themselves!

Boy I had so much fun at the dance it was totally awesome. Now that its over with I miss it so much!!! Everything about it was totally awesome the music by Mr. Sherman was totally coolio and the food was extremely delicious and oh year the chocolate fountain was really extremely tasty!!! :) :) :) :) :) Just got back from the ARISE dance had a lot of fun!

It was a great night with friends and me laughing having a good time!

You can catch more photos from the dance at facebook.com/ARISEcny

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RIDE for RAMPS

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MSC Blog By: Susan Kinney Spring is finally here! With the warm weather and sunshine coming our way, it is time for some outdoor fun. One popular outdoor activity is bike riding. Since May is National Bike Month, I thought for this month’s newsletter I would discuss bicycle safety.

One of the most important safety tips is to make sure you and your family members wear bicycle helmets while riding their bikes. In Oswego County, bicyclists 14 years old and younger are required to wear a helmet when operating a bicycle. However, it is strongly encouraged that everyone wears a helmet, regardless of their age.

It is also very important that your bicycle helmet fits properly. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (www.nhtsa.dot.gov/bicycles), you should buy a helmet that fits your head now, not one that you will “grow into”. They also state that the helmet should fit comfortably, cover your forehead, and the straps should be snug. Your helmet should not move forward, backward or side to side. If it does, try adjusting the straps. If that does not work, you might need a different sized helmet.

For those of you who are unable to afford to purchase bike helmets for yourself or your family, the Oswego Hospital Emergency Department has a free helmet program. According to their website, anyone who is unable to afford a helmet is welcome to come to the Emergency Department and be properly fitted for one. To obtain a proper fit, the individual seeking the free helmet must visit the department themselves. In order to utilize this program, you need to contact Ed at (315) 349-5522.

I hope you are planning on going outside and enjoying the spring weather with your friends and family. If you choose to go for a bike ride, please wear your bike helmet!

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Fun Page

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Sun

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Sat 3 Crawfish Festival _________ Autism Walk

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5 Fresh Food Giveaway United Methodist Church Sandy Creek 3:30 pm

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8 9 10 Fresh Food Social Club Giveaway Mental 1:30pmHealth St. Joseph 3:00pm Expo The Worker Self 1001 Tulip Advocacy St. Liverpool 3:30 pm 12:30-1:30pm

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14 Fresh Food Giveaway Park United Methodist Church Pulaski 3:30 pm

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Mother’s Day 18

19 Fresh Food Giveaway Believer’s Chapel Fulton 3:30 pm

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17 SibShops 12:00pm4:00pm

FE & T SUPAC presentation Oswego ARISE See pg 2 for details

Office Closed Memorial Day

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Ride for Ramps Lighthouse Lanes See pg 4 for details

NON-PROFIT US POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO. 25

ARISE 9 Fourth Avenue Oswego, NY 13126 Phone: Fax: TTY:

OSWEGO, NY 13126

(315)342-4088 (315)342-4107 (315)342-8696

ariseinc.org Address Service Requested Mailing Address Goes Here

Employment ACCES-VR (Adult Career and Continuing Education Services-Vocational Rehabilitation) is an agency in the New York State Education Department that has helped many individuals with disabilities find and keep employment. You may know the agency from it’s previous acronym: VESID. Over the past year, ACCES-VR has helped over 900 people in Central New York (including 80 in Oswego County) succeed in careers ranging from customer service to information technology. Services to help eligible individuals reach their employment goals may include but are not limited to: job coaching, employment counseling, advocacy, and financial assistance with training, equipment, and work uniforms.

If you or someone you know has a barrier to employment and is interested in applying, please call (315) 428-4180 to register for an information session or to receive an application.