LIVE
2501 W. 26th St., Sioux Falls, SD 57105-2498
A Quarterly Publication for Families & Guardians of Those Supported by LifeScape • June 2015
Miracle League Baseball
Upcoming Events Get details or register at www.LifeScapeSD.org/events
In This Issue: Miracle League Baseball No Place Like Home Anne’s Message A Special Place. A Special Gift. Meet our Staff: Becky Sluiter, Volunteer Coordinator Stephanie Sherard, Director of Quality and Compliance
July 7, 2015 Caregiver Burnout, Free Parent Training
An open discussion on the challenges of raising a child with a disability - with ideas for the use of healthy coping techniquies. Presented By: Aimee Deliramich, PhD Register at LifeScapeSD.org
July 11, 2015 • Insane Inflatable 5K You can join the LifeScape team by entering the code LIFESCAPE during registration.
July 13, 2015 • 25th Anniversary Celebration of the Americans with Disabilities Act Hilton Garden Inn
July 24, 2015 • 46th Annual Winner Elks Rodeo for LifeScape August 4, 2015 • Help your child lead an active life, Free Parent Training
Having a child with a disability does NOT mean always staying home! Discover new ways to provide daily exercise, activity, and mobility for better physical and emotional health. Presented By: Becky Schmitz, DPT. Register at LifeScapeSD.org
August 22, 2015 • ColorVibe 5K
A portion of the proceeds benefit LifeScape.
September 15, 2015 • Big Cup Golf Challenge Willow Run Golf Course.
Would you like your own LifeScape logo wear?
Get your t-shirts, polos, sweatshirts and many other things at www.hansonlogowear.com/lifescape. You can note in the comments section which LifeScape location you’d like to pick up your order, or for a fee, Hanson Logowear will ship your order directly to your home.
Please consider making a financial gift to support the work of LifeScape. Just click “Make a Donation” at www.LifeScapeSD.org, or to donate to a specific project or discuss legacy giving, contact the LifeScape Foundation at (605) 444-9800.
Guest Writer: Trevor Matousek, LifeScape Student Every year, residents from LifeScape Children’s Services participate in the Sioux Falls Miracle League baseball program. Games began on Tuesday, May 12th and run until Thursday, June18th. Typically, games take place on Tuesday and Thursday night at either 6:00 p.m. or 7:15 p.m. Volunteers from the community are present to aid in the facilitation of the games. These volunteers often consist of teenagers from baseball or softball teams throughout the area. The Miracle League athletes participate on the Frank Boyce Miracle League Field, located near Terrace Park, on the corner of Lake and Covell Avenues. This field was constructed using
No Place Like Home
New bedrooms, new décor, new places to call home— several children and adults supported by LifeScape are having that sweet experience. For adults, two of the three new apartment complexes that began construction last fall on the east side of Sioux Falls are now occupied. The South Bahnson Apartments opened to seven men in April, and the Beacon Apartments opened to eight people in April. The North Bahnson Apartments will be fully occupied with nine people by mid-June. Lloyd Companies is the developer and construction manager on the projects and will provide property management for two years. Funding was provided through federal grants, housing tax credits, and the South Dakota Housing Development Authority. LifeScape’s goal was to provide quality, affordable housing in a quiet neighborhood setting. The one- and two-bedroom apartments are accessible and include an office for staff. The Beacon Apartments are designed with specialized safety features for people with autism. For example, walls are reinforced, vents are out of reach, and window blinds are contained between the panes of glass. Specialized appliances provide extra safety for residents. (The appliances were purchased with funds from the recent “Battle of the Birthdays” fundraiser sponsored by Foundation Board member, Liz
soft rubber that prevents injury and also allows for the field to be wheelchair accessible. The material also makes for a flat surface void of bumps, making mobility much easier and more comfortable for the athletes. Although many of the athletes involved in the Miracle League program live with their families around the Sioux Falls area, the residents of LifeScape Children’s Services make up three of the six teams involved in the league. There are 34 total athletes participating from LifeScape. Teams consist anywhere from ten to thirteen players. The three teams consisting of athletes from LifeScape are named the Orange Crush, the Yellow Jackets, and the Blue Bombers.
Lloyd, Kim Burma, and Nicki Ellerbroek; a grant from the Larson Family Foundation in Brookings; and a gift from businessman Al Schoeneman.) While the people who live at the Beacon home and Bahnson South moved from old quarters, people moving to Bahnson North moved from other homes, creating new residential opportunities for people currently receiving services and those who are new to LifeScape. In Children’s Residential Services, remodeling is finishing up on VanDemark and Morrison Halls. On each of those two living areas, two of the large, four-person bedrooms are being divided into smaller, more private spaces. Two private bedrooms are being created, each with an outside window. The two children in each of these suites share a bathroom, and the front part of the room serves as a private sitting area to host family and friends. This provides more privacy and the opportunity to develop independence skills. This is truly a step forward in providing highly individualized supports for children who can benefit from this type of living arrangement. The moves and remodeling have required a great deal of coordination and extra effort for all involved. We thank those who have gone above and beyond to make it all happen!
A Message from Anne
A Special Place. A Special Gift.
Dear LifeScape Families and Guardians, Summertime brings lots of activities for LifeScape. Our Extended School Year (ESY) program will be in full swing on June 8. Summer allows more opportunities for people – of all ages – to get out and enjoy the wonderful things our community has to offer, including sporting events, pools, parks, arts and crafts fairs, the zoo, and day trips or vacations to baseball games, amusement parks, and other great summer events. We have such a short summer season here in the Midwest – we need to take advantage of every warm sunny day that we can!
When you arrive at the farm outside of Trent, you are greeted with a smile, escorted onto a wagon, and given a scenic ride to a little piece of heaven.
Besides having some fun, this summer we will also be putting the final touches on our strategic plan and the fiscal year 2016 budget. LifeScape will be active in this year’s 25th Anniversary of the American’s with Disabilities Act celebration in July – watch our Facebook page and website for more details. Our staff will be partnering with a local bank – Home Federal – and “giving back” to the community by serving at the Banquet this summer. People we support and staff also volunteer to do highway roadside clean-ups and continue to look for ways to support our community. We receive so much support from the community – we need to give back whenever we can.
For the past 12 years, the volunteers at Trent have made it possible for adults supported by LifeScape to visit and
Anne Rieck McFarland, LifeScape CEO
Several years ago, Lauren had a vision. He wanted a place where people with all abilities could come and enjoy everything a farm has to offer. It started out small – only a few guys would make the trip each summer and they would spend the day fishing and socializing. Over time, Lauren and several of his family and friends began to transform the piece of land into a countryside getaway. Through hard work, ingenuity, and dedication, they were able to modify wagons to equip wheelchairs, create a ramp so anyone could get on a horse, build an accessible fishing pond dock, and provide restroom facilities.
MEET OUR STAFF
As always, you are welcome to stop in any time. My door is always open! You can call me at 605.444.9515 or email me at Anne.Mcfarland@LifeScapeSD.org. Have a great summer!
Many of us have had the pleasure of living or working on a farm. But for many of the people we support, this is a new and exciting adventure made possible by Lauren Christensen and his friends from Trent and Dell Rapids.
experience this treasure. Last year, over 396 people were guests at the farm – some of them went multiple times. Every Wednesday from June through September, people with all abilities are able to enjoy a wagon ride, go fishing, feed the cows, go horse-back riding, pick pumpkins and corn, cook hotdogs over a campfire, or take a ride on a 4-wheeler. Offering many a chance to try something new, rekindle a childhood memory, and build new friendships. The Christensen’s have been very generous with their time, talents and resources and have had a great impact on people’s lives. They have helped close the door to negative perceptions of disabilities and open new doors to friendships. They have created a culture where volunteers of all ages want to come back each summer to see the people they have become close to. And they have become advocates for people with disabilities. This year, for the first time, children supported by LifeScape will get to experience the joys of the Trent farm. We are very thankful for this opportunity and are excited to see the smiles on their faces!
Becky Sluiter, Volunteer Coordinator Being connected to others is a deeply-held value for Becky Sluiter, whose extended family of 120 people gathers each year at her grandmother’s home for a love- and laughter-filled Christmas celebration. Bringing connections to people supported by LifeScape, therefore, is very meaningful for her. “I really enjoy getting to know each person and what’s important in their lives,” says Becky. “Then I can focus my energies on finding volunteers to match their interests and help nurture meaningful relationships.” Becky grew up in Minneota, MN, near Marshall, and attended SDSU before graduating from Lake Area Tech in Watertown as a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant. She has worked at LifeScape for 16 years, and now supervises 48 regular volunteers in Children’s Services and 80-plus volunteers in Adult Services. Becky works with Jocy Centeno, Volunteer Associate, to recruit and organize volunteers and volunteer groups. Volunteer Services does intake of all material goods donated to LifeScape, including Christmas gifts to children and adults. She works with staff to host high school shadow students, attends volunteer recruitment fairs, presents to community groups, and coordinates many volunteer group visits and events. Volunteer Service’s 2015 goals are to recruit 150 new volunteers and bring in community members to share a total of 19,000 volunteer hours with people supported and/or with LifeScape projects. Becky and her husband Shane, a landscaper for Groundwater, Inc., have two sons, Jackson, 12; and Matthew, eight. Becky’s office is at the 26th Street location, while Jocy works from the Western Avenue location. To contact Becky, call (605) 444-9621, or email Rebecca.Sluiter@LifeScapeSD.org
Pictured: Kayla and Hal (top), Jerry Klein and Lauren Christensen (bottom).
Stephanie Sherard, MA, CCC-SLP, Director of Quality and Compliance Growing up as the daughter of a veterinarian in Corsica, SD, Stephanie Sherard was always around medical care. Her own passion for helping led her into the field of speech therapy. She attended SDSU and USD, where she earned bachelor and master’s degrees in Communication Disorders. She enjoyed helping her patients develop communication skills and improve their ability to eat and swallow. She came to LifeScape ten years ago as a speech-language pathologist. That interest in best practices evolved into her current role at LifeScape, which involves guiding the development, implementation and evaluation of quality and compliance initiatives. She is responsible for making sure that LifeScape is in compliance with regulatory and accreditation requirements, and she helps create our policies and procedures in these areas. She leads the risk management system that promotes the safety, health, and welfare of all who receive services. She collaborates with staff on principles of quality and the value of meeting and or exceeding quality standards by compiling, reviewing, and analyzing performance measures, and providing reports to leadership teams. The past year has been challenging as the two organizations have come together, as different areas have different licensures. It’s an enjoyable challenge for Stephanie, however, who says she loves helping all people achieve fulfilling lives. Her goal is to have a fully integrated quality assurance system for LifeScape. Her office is at the corporate headquarters of LifeScape at 2501 W. 26th Street. To contact Stephanie, call (605) 444-9531, or email Stephanie.Sherard@LifeScapeSD.org