Spooky Bash at DTS

Written by Bret K.

          The Wayne County Day Treatment Services Program of Special Tree has been planning away for this year’s Halloween celebration. They will be hosting a Halloween Party as well as having a Haunted House at their location the week of October 22, 2012.

            It all began with Kayla and Katelyn.  They had a vision of Special Tree’s Wayne County Residential homes enjoying the festivities of the season.  So they began planning.  All Wayne County Residential houses in connection with Special Tree have been invited to attend the bash!

            To set the mood, a Haunted House will be on display on Wednesday October 24 from 2pm to 4pm.  The staff is planning to have refreshments for all clients and staff attending following the Haunted House.  

            To end the spooky week’s event with a bang, there will be a Halloween Party on Friday October 26, 2012.  The party will be held at the Wayne DTS location.  There will be planned arts and crafts, BINGO, karaoke, and many more engaging activities for clients of all levels.  After a short lunch break, the festivities will continue into the afternoon with the viewing of a well known haunted thriller.

            If that isn’t enough Halloween partying, Special Tree is throwing their annual Fall Bash on October 26, 2012 beginning at 5pm.  The dinner dance is a yearly festivity that will be a blast for those that attend.

            Hope to see everyone enjoying the events of the week to come.  They are sure to be awesomely fun.

               

Wayne County Day Treatment Services

       

Written by Bret K.

Wayne County Day Treatment Services or DTS does a lot for Traumatic Brain Injury clients.  You have to register with Special Tree to get into the program.  DTS gives you a job, for example this blog is my job.  

            There are two portions of the Day Treatment Program, a vocational and a recreational.  The vocational portion is what gives clients supported employment to work on building employability skills.  The program helps people prepare to get a job after full recovery.  With TBI, however recovery can be a very long journey.  That is why the vocational program has grown to assist clients that will require supported employment for long periods of time.  That is where the clients are given an opportunity to build upon the skills to become a valued employee.

            The recreational portion of the program encourages clients to become active in their community.   Clients are able to work on social skills within groups of their peers to overcome the fear of talking to strangers.  They are encouraged to build friendships with other clients and the outside world.  The recreational portion of the program combines fun with building multiple skills for leisure purposes.

            The Wayne County Day Treatment Services Program is very helpful to clients that may need help with interacting in the community.  They help to build a variety of skills needed to become an employable citizen.  They also help clients to build the skills needed in everyday life to interact with their peers.  All in all it is a great place to go and make new friends and build skills.

Handicapped Parking

               

Written by Bret K.

Have you ever seen anyone park in a handicap parking spot that doesn’t belong there? I’m sure you have because there are violators everywhere.  In fact, you should always hang your handicap parking permit from your rearview mirror, where it can easily be seen.

We have all seen the blue sign designating a handicapped parking spot at the grocery store, the mall, and even the doctor’s office but what makes the spot so special?  Low and behold, the sign we all know to designate a handicapped parking spot has regulations that make it legal. The sign has to be placed at least four feet above the surface, but no taller than seven feet above the surface to qualify as a legal handicapped parking spot.  A painted symbol or sign on the pavement will not constitute that spot in court as a designated handicapped parking spot, and can potentially cause more confusion to those in need of these parking spots.

Why do we have special parking spots for the disabled? Stores and other public parking areas have designated parking spots for the disabled for multiple reasons throughout history.  One of the main reasons for these areas is to allow for wheelchair patrons to access their vehicle before and after their visit at said location.  These permits also allow for easier access to stores, doctor offices, and other general parking needs for patrons in need of them.  The designated handicapped parking areas are generally located close to crosswalks and tend to guide patrons safely to the building’s doors.

You may not see it as “hurting” or “harming” a disabled person by parking unlawfully in a designated handicapped spot but you really are. Persons that are wheelchair bound often need to utilize these spots for easier access to their vehicle without being blocked in by other vehicles parked to closely.  Patrons utilizing walkers often walk slower and require more space to get into and out of their vehicles.  Blind or deaf patrons require spots closer to the entrance so they are not potentially walking in the middle of the lot in harms way.  Last but not least we need to consider the elderly of our community. They require closer spots due to walking slower, possibly being weaker, or even ill when out in the community. The closer spots allow for others to easily see the patron if anything was to happen to them on the way into the building.

Who violates these parking permits the most? There is the obvious answer to this question, being those that do not acquire a parking permit and still park in the areas designated for disabled persons.  However, the majority of violators include those that have been able to obtain a permit that either does not belong to them or has expired.  You can utilize a permit if it does not belong to you only if the disabled person is in the vehicle at said time of parking otherwise, you are utilizing the permit unlawfully.

So, what happens if you unlawfully park in a designated handicapped parking area? In Michigan, you can receive a ticket for parking unlawfully in a designated area for disabled persons. The ticket can range in cost from $100 to $500. That’s a big price to pay just to park a few feet closer to the door if you don’t need to.

Parking illegally is a big problem.  It can make getting to the destination hard if a disabled person cannot park in a handicap spot because it was taken by a person who is not disabled. Make sure your handicap parking permit is hung where it belongs, which is on the review mirror, because some people may be looking for them that are in wheelchairs.  If it’s not hung where it is suppose to go and just laid on the dashboard, the person in a wheelchair might not be able to see it.  This has happened to me. Since I’m in a wheelchair and a person had just set the handicap parking permit on their dashboard of a tall vehicle, I could not see it. Since I thought the person was illegally parking, I found a police officer and told them there was an illegally parked vehicle. When he checked it out, he looked and told me that they had a handicap parking tag, just laid on the dash.  So, to make it easier for everyone to see hang your permit from the rearview mirror.

If you’re not handicapped, or have a handicapped passenger, please refrain from using handicapped parking places. You should also be sure that you’re parking permit is in the proper place. You could be endangering others by using these spaces unlawfully.

Do you know the history of Halloween?

         

Written by Bret K.

          We all know what the day of October 31st is.  This is the day we celebrate a holiday called Halloween.  We all know that Halloween is a day for dressing up and eating candy.  Do you know the history of Halloween?

          Irish and Scottish immigrants brought about different versions of the tradition to the United States in the 19th century.  Some western countries established the holiday in the late 20th century.  Some western countries established the holiday in the late 20th century including Ireland, the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand.

          The Celtic festival Samhain is where Halloween originated.  Samhain was celebrated at the end of the harvest season in Gaelic culture.  This festival was a time utilized by the ancient pagans to take stock of supplies and get ready for the winter.  On October 31st, the ancient Gaels believed the boundaries between the living and the dead overlapped and the dead would come back to life and cause trouble like sickness or damaged crops. 

          Bonfires were very frequent at the festivals.  This was because the Gaels believed bats would be attracted to the area since insects were attracted to the fire.  Items like masks and costumes were worn to the festivals also to try to copy the evil spirits or appease them.  Children would go from house to house in costumes asking for treats with the question, "Trick or Treat?"  The "treat" part meant that children wanted to receive candy by the people living at the house.  The "trick" part meant that a threat would be made by the children to play a trick if no candy was received.  Worldwide, Halloween has become socially expected to hand out candy to children that night.

          Halloween is a night mainly for children.  Halloween is not just about costumes and candy but there is also some history behind it.  What do you do in preparation for fall?  I hope you all have a fun Halloween this year and receive many treats and no tricks!