Posts in Oklahoma News
SHEP CONNECTION CORNER - April 2023 Newsletter
SHEP CONNECTION CORNER - April 2023 Newsletter

SHEP’s Connection Corner

It’s Raining, It’s Pouring!...and Oh Boy, That Wind!

Strong and Growing!

We have 3 new SSPs! 3 in Tulsa and one in OKC!

SAY WHAT! Yes! Keep requesting SSPs!

 

Let it rain and the flowers shall bring forth!

Smell the wind of change? Smell the spring air? Well...we are springing into action with our clubs and events! You heard about IamDB launching last month! Got questions? Ask away! We are still gathering interested individuals in the program. Just ask Vicky and we will get you all squared away.

Here’s a word from Cassandra; Read the scripture Matthew 12: 34-35. It discusses how we speak positivity from the heart. Good people speak good out of their hearts and evil things come from the mouth of those that need a cleansed heart. Let’s pray, encourage, and lift each other up! Be a great influencer with a positive outlook. Let’s share our strengths and build a  strong and prosperous community brick by brick.

And building we are!

We have a lot of events coming up! Be sure to check the calendar. A reminder is below.

April 13th is our very own, Angelisha’s, birthday!

We would love to give you a shout out for your birthdays as well! Send us an email letting us know about your birthday, anniversary, or any special event so we can show love and shout you out. We love pictures too, so throw those in the email if you so please!

 

                      There’s no rain on this parade! Look what’s coming ahead!

Look at what the wind blew in!

April 18th, SHEP will be at A Taste of Midwest City!

Have you heard of it? A lot of vendors will be there!

5800 Will Rogers Road Midwest City, OK 73110

6pm—8pm  

 

April 3rd Rose State College Spring Career Fair 10am to 2pm.

Rose State Campus in the Jeanie Webb Student Union building on the second floor.

 

April 15th SHEP Event - 10:30am to 12:30pm - Let’s roll the dice on FUN!

April Showers Brings Game Hour

OSU HSEC room  3401 W Reno, OKC, OK

 

April 15th there is also a social event at Jeri House to  meet at the Charles Page Blvd Highschool parking lot around 9:30 then shuttle to the Sand Springs Herbal Festival

 

April 25th Oklahoma Nonprofit Advocacy Day 8am to 12pm 

Oklahoma State Capitol, 2nd Floor Rotunda

Every first and 4th week of the month there is a coffee chat with the president. Join us!

Details on our calendar and social media!

Need a SSP? Contact Vicky!Want to be a SSP? We have what you need! Request or register on our website:

www.shep-ok.org/sspporgram

Questions?

Contact our Operations manager Vicky Helms. Email vicky@shep-ok.org

RIDDLE ME THIS: What goes up when rain comes down?

Answer: an umbrella!

Hahahahha

 

 Give us some funnies on Facebook or email us:     humanresources@shep-ok.org We would love to hear from you.

This April we challenge you to plant something and start recycling!

Find us on Facebook or visit our website www.shep-ok.org

Hey, did you know?

  • April 9th is Easter this year.

  • April 28th is Arbor Day. This day is set aside to encourage us to plant trees to help the environment.

  • Taxes are due on the 15th. UGH.

  • The Land Run of 1889 happened in Oklahoma where  men and women rushed to claim homesteads or to purchase lots in one of the many new towns that sprang into existence overnight. An estimated eleven thousand agricultural homesteads were claimed.

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Oklahoma NewsHuman Resourcesapril, newsletter, rain, psring, spring, ssp, deafblind, okc, shep, iamdbComment
The Bright Side of Blindness
The Bright Side of Blindness

f Hannah Dangle could offer one piece of encouragement to the world, it’s this: “you can do hard things.” And doing hard things is something Hannah knows a thing or two about. In her 23 years of life she’s overcome daunting diagnoses, and now is navigating total blindness.

Hannah was first diagnosed with Burkitt lymphoma in October of 2019. The cancer attacked her entire body. “I was diagnosed on Halloween, which makes sense. This was not a Christmas kind of diagnosis,” Hannah said, her sense of humor shining through.

She immediately began an aggressive treatment plan that included radiation and chemotherapy. It cost Hannah her hair, her health, and many of the hopes she held for herself, but it saved her life.

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Oklahoma NewsHuman Resourcesblind, blindness, Hannah Dangle, edmond, awareness, positivity, happinessComment
SHEP CONNECTION CORNER - March 2023 Newsletter
SHEP CONNECTION CORNER - March 2023 Newsletter

Do you feel lucky? It’s March!

Strong and Growing!

We want to welcome our new member of the SHEP team, Clinton Patton! He will be spearheading our grant efforts for the orgranzation.

Wooohooo!

Also...IamDB!

We are launching our new program IamDB. This program focuses on the ability of the DeafBlind culture and promotes independent living while keeping the can do attitude through life skills and the ability to strengthen the DB skills through workshops and training. These opportunities will be available upon registration.

IamDB is starting strong and can’t wait to offer the very first workshop of labeling, accessibility training, available cane training, and assistance equipment and how to utilize these electronic devices and how they can apply to your life on a daily basis making independence a perfected ability. We encourage independence for the entire DeafBlind community and we are here readily available to provide any type of skills, mental health stability with dual sensory loss, and a powerful ability to conquer life’s challenges.

Workshops are available through registration by sending us an email, phone call, or send us a message on social media to get registered for any of the  workshops starting March 1st.

Don’ t forget to check the March Calendar so you don’t miss out on any events.

See below for workshops!

It’s the luck of the...YOU! It’s all you! Take a look

Look at the IamDB workshops and trainings.

Labeling and identification workshops – using braille labelers/braille dots/readers and identifying money

Equipment accessibility training – how to independently cook/clean/and navigate the world

Cane workshops – Are you in need of a cane or need assistance on using the cane correctly? Let us help

Assistance equipment workshop – Opening your world to different kinds of assistant equipment can make life clear and easy to navigate independently. Equipment for independent living to promote mental health is available upon attendance and training. Please attend and register for this workshop.

SSP and ME- How to effectively utilize my SSP and learning the different ways of communica-

tion.

Every first and 4th Friday of the month there is a coffee chat with the president. Join us!

Details on our calendar and social media!

Need a SSP? Want to be a SSP? We have what you need! Request or register on our website:

www.shep-ok.org/sspporgram

Questions?

Contact our Operations manager Vicky Helms. Email vicky@shep-ok.org

RIDDLE ME THIS: What falls during March but never gets hurt?

Answer: the rain

Hahahahha

 Give us some funnies on Facebook or email us:     humanresources@shep-ok.org We would love to hear from you.

This March we challenge you to take a photo or video of you dancing in the rain.

Find us on Facebook or visit our website www.shep-ok.org

Did you know these awesome facts about Oklahoma?

  • · The shopping cart was invented in Ardmore in 1936.

  • · The nation's first parking meter was installed in Oklahoma City in 1935.

  • The first Girl Scout Cookie was sold in Muskogee in 1917

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Oklahoma NewsHuman Resourcesnewsletter, march, oklahoma, deafblind, facts, news, riddle, 2023, connectionComment
Fort Sill sued for ending contract that employs the blind
Fort Sill sued for ending contract that employs the blind

OKLAHOMA CITY – An Oklahoma state agency is suing the federal government in an attempt to block a local military base from ending its contract with a vendor who employs blind workers.

The Oklahoma Department of Rehabilitation Services filed the lawsuit in federal court on Tuesday. That agency is tasked with expanding independence and economic self-sufficiency for disabled Oklahomans. The lawsuit is against the United States of America, by and through Secretary of Defense James Mattis and Secretary of the Army Mark Esper.

The complaint requests a restraining order and injunctive relief to block Fort Sill, the Army post in Lawton, from ending its contract with a cafeteria services vendor.

The argument hinges on the Randolph-Sheppard Vending Facility Act. The law was passed in the 1930s and gives priority to blind vendors, who are licensed as so through the state, when choosing vendors operating on federal property, such as military installations.

The current vendor, David Altstatt, is the Department of Rehabilitation Services-appointed blind vendor for the Army post. The current contract includes one base year and four option years, and Altstatt’s company is in the second option year, according to the lawsuit. In February, the defendants notified rehabilitation services officials that they intended to terminate the contract. The department argues that the defendants didn’t give proper notification to the U.S. secretary of education, who oversees the program. The Oklahoma rehabilitation department requested arbitration with that secretary and defendants in April, according to the lawsuit. In August, the defendants issued a solicitation for a replacement vendor. That solicitation is what the lawsuit attempts to block.

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Oklahoma NewsHuman Resourcesblind, fort sill, lawsuit, employment, okdrs, lawton, oklahoma city, base, deafblind, deafblind rightsComment
Disability agency serving 3,424 jobseekers transferred from waiting lists since January 1
Disability agency serving 3,424 jobseekers transferred from waiting lists since January 1

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Department of Rehabilitation Services has transferred 3,424 job seekers with significant disabilities from waiting lists to active caseloads since January 1.

DRS’ Vocational Rehabilitation and Visual Services staff began providing career planning and employments services to 505 new clients in the most recent group moved from waiting lists on November 7.

In 2017, VR and VS staff helped 2,014 clients successfully prepare for and find employment and served 11,765 Oklahomans with disabilities working towards that goal. The new taxpayers earned an average of $22,212 per year and paid $3,332 in average taxes, while reducing or eliminating dependence on disability benefits and government services.

DRS’ waiting lists have been in place since March 13, 2017, due to prior year revenue reductions.

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Oklahoma NewsHuman ResourcesAccessibility, dhs, OKC, deaf blindness, accessibility, drs, deaf blind, ablednotdisabled, abilityComment
Oklahoma ABLE Tech Device Demonstration and Device Loan Program
Oklahoma ABLE Tech Device Demonstration and Device Loan Program

Oklahoma ABLE Tech and its statewide partners operate an assistive technology (AT) device demonstration center and short-term loan program to increase access to and utilization of AT for individuals with disabilities. The program is available to Oklahoma residents with disabilities, their family members, and the professionals that support them.

Demonstrations give individuals the ability to see, touch, and try AT to help them in the decision-making process by providing:

  • Hands-on exploration of devices

  • Information on the latest technology

  • Low-tech solutions and adaptations

  • Vendor sources

The short-term loan program provides individuals the opportunity to borrow AT to:

  • Make an informed decision before purchase

  • Ensure compatibility between the device and user

  • Have back-up equipment while waiting for repair

  • Have a device while waiting for new equipment

The equipment inventory offers a wide range of AT, including devices and equipment for: speech communication, computer access, hearing, vision, daily living, environmental adaptations, learning/development, recreation, mobility, seating and positioning. ABLE Tech staff also provides guidance on funding resources for AT equipment.

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Oklahoma NewsHuman ResourcesOklahoma ABLE Techoklahoma, able, tech, loan, program, disability, technology, deaf, deafblind, assistive, device, vendor, sources, inventory, development, funding, mobilityComment