TRR Lancaster

Being part of our chapter as an outreach worker has given me a new angle and population on which to focus. I spent oodles of time on the traditional disability community. It's time to change my entire focus and once I do I think I'll get people from the community to become interested in my brand of awareness and empowerment. I am no longer going to swim upstream (pun intended) I will go with the flow- or current in this case. There's a lot of potential to grow the vocational among those who have fought for us and were never the ones to accept help. Now we can show that there are many ways to improve your quality of life besides traditional exercise. Just grab a kaya or raft and paddle- find friends who understand your situation, strengthen your core muscles by paddling, and relax your mind float in the river and enjoy nature. Best of all- be accepted regardless of challenge, age, finances, and support system.

2 people and 2 projects

It's all about sharing and caring but people talk a lot, don't really think outside of the box, and you should be part of a bigger entity. Doing it independently is really tough; I've been at it for years. Recently, I met 2 people from different groups and within 2 seconds these people were each immediately willing to share these programs. The first program is "Employer Centered Employment." This unique approach to supported employment is simply making job placement easy by explaining a few things to employers: the benefits of hiring; myths of disability; and sharing success stories. The second is "Veterans Voices." This is a unique social program in which people can read a variety of monologues about soldiers who have very challenging experiences re-entering society: families who are struggling to stay above water financially; veterans who can't secure employment; and kids who are acting out because they have no parental role model. Don't give up may be a cliché but it's also true.

Veteran voices

Listening to them about why Team River Runner was/is so wonderful is the way it will grow. Then they will share the story with the audiences. Testimonials are the key to successful marketing. I am truly interested to hear what happened to these people and why they came to our program. Instead of implementing fancy and expensive technologies I will turn to the basic technique of listening. We do already know that the mind is relaxed when the body is in the boat paddling in the river. Socialization increases because people are among others who have " been there." It also enables the veteran to change the daily routine to something different and challenging. I really think including a participant in the presentation will enable it to be more desirable an investment.

Knowledge

When contacting a large company I was told "Our building isn't wheelchair bound." WHAT? that statement doesn't even make sense. Those people truly need an awareness program. So how does one encourage an awareness program for a place like that? Well the facilitator could be someone with a different type of disability who could enter the building? Sometimes inaccessibility makes the employer more receptive and other times it results in being ignored. It makes me pretty upset when key people, programs, and groups display their apathy. They are the one's who need the training instead we "preach to the already converted." This can become quite frustrating since their are always more people to meet and learn.

working

Working to get veterans and other disabled populations work is more than a full time job. It becomes upsetting when one calls people with questions and the answer continues to be "I don't know" or an issue is continually ignored. People begin to accept that as an acceptable answer. This is a major reason for entrepreneurships as we see on Shark Tank over and over. Why even bother to seek answers when the workers don't know them? There do exist companies, with have similar goals that are willing to collaborate so both parties succeed. This really is something worth pursuing. Joint ventures still do make things happen so there is hope. Take the chance and inquire. A non-local private employment company is willing to 'employ' Infobility ideas so more should happen this week. Giving up is never an option.

teaching and funding

Team River Runner is having an overnight experience for kids with visual impairments. They and their families will be taught to kayak in Juniata County. We are combining with Easter Seal but we must come up with funds since it's noted as a free venture. I was considering the typical donation letter and I looked for possible recipients and I am making some appointments to speak at Rotary Clubs but I really wasn't sold. So I will try offering the "Disability Dialogue" program in exchange for a donation for the KAOS event. Soon I'll be meeting a professional fundraiser so that should help and I will consider a "Movie Night" at a local AM Vets building. Maybe a cookoff of some kind will be interesting... maybe all of the above.

looking back / looking ahead

They say "only look behind if you want to go that way." They also say "you must learn from history in order not to repeat it." So which is it? It's both. To really grasp a concept and to ensure progress you look behind at past mistakes then look ahead. You must learn from past mistakes but don't stay stuck. What happened previously can eliminate what not to do, so analyze it all for a bit. Keep those lessons in mind as you move ahead. Concentrate and focus on what's needed to attain the goal. Everything has its season but seasons are seasonal. They change and that's a good thing. Another strategy for reaching success is to create smaller manageable portions so success is attainable rather than overwhelming. Don't just look at the big picture but see smaller goals along the way; it's all about the journey and make a mental not of things encountered. Once you reach 1 objective, stop and do something nice for yourself then move on to the next goal. This works when transferring your body to another location- bed to the wheelchair; interviewing for jobs, or raising funds.