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OK-AIM
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Oklahoma Advocates
Involved in Monitoring
Spring 2006
Dear Monitors,
As we are out and about in Oklahoma, we are noticing the
redbuds in bloom. This is a sure sign that “Spring is Here!” With
spring in the air – and our mileage reimbursement now at $0.39 per
mile – why not get out for an OK-AIM visit?
We are trying hard to increase the number of
visits each month. We are asking each of our
monitors to do two visits when possible. If we
have houses to visit that are close to each other,
your coordinator may ask if you can do two
visits. This is optional, of course, and certainly
not mandatory. However, it truly would help us get more visits
completed.
Perhaps you will join the “Double-Digit Club”: those monitors
who complete 10 or more visits in a quarter. We will begin
recognizing these volunteers with each Monitor Honor Roll, as we
have in this edition on the newsletter on page 4.
In other news, we have updated our Monitor Training
handbooks so they conform with DDSD’s ever-changing language.
The update includes changes in the use of 9-1-1, clarification of
funding sources, and some changes in the graphics.
New in this Issue:
OK-AIM’s
“Join By July”
Recruitment
Incentive
Campaign.
Read more
on page 2.
The OK-AIM program is
administered by TARC,
a network of programs
advocating for the rights
of citizens with
developmental disabilities.
At this time, we report all flags to the DDSD Area On-Call
system and do not encourage monitors to call 9-1-1. If you have
any questions, please call me at 918-582-8272 or (from outside
Tulsa) 800-688-8272.
Back on the topic of spring, another sure sign of the season is
the TARC Shot in the Dark fundraiser golf tournament. This year’s
event will be held on Friday, May 5, at LaFortune Championship
Golf Course in Tulsa.
I encourage our volunteers to consider playing in this year’s
tournament or volunteering to help with the event. From the
complimentary barbeque buffet dinner and the silent auction to the
tee-off after sunset, it is great fun for everyone involved. If you
would like to get involved, contact our Tulsa office at the number
listed above or visit our website at www.ddadvocacy.net and click
on the “What’s New” link.
Please know how much everyone at OK-AIM appreciates your
dedication to the program. Have a great spring...and don’t forget to
“spring into action” for OK-AIM.
Donna Kerr, OK-AIM Coordinator
Area I
News
Now Scheduling
Spring Visits
Shelley Reeves, Area I Field Coordinator
405-557-1878 or sreeves@ddadvocacy.net
Hello from Oklahoma City, I bet everyone is ready to
welcome the sunshine now that the winter months are
behind us. I really appreciate all the monitors who braved
the unpredictable Oklahoma weather to go out on visits
recently. You showed true dedication as you braved the
elements. As always, we have visits all over Area I in the
next few months. If anyone would like to take a drive and
make some visits, I am glad to accommodate you.
One of my favorite parts of this job is getting to meet
all the volunteers who are the heart of our program. I’m
still smiling from everyone who stopped by the TARC
booth at the Governor’s Conference in March to say
hello. It was nice to put some faces with the voices that I
hear so often.
If anyone knows of potential volunteers who would like
to become monitors, please have them contact Donna
Kerr (see below). Thanks to everyone who goes the extra
mile for OK-AIM. I truly appreciate all you do.
Area III
News
Visits and Training on
the Area III Agenda
Susan Reed, Area III Field Coordinator
580-421-9441 or sreed@ddadvocacy.net
The weather has not been on our side lately, but
spring is just around the corner. We will have several
visits to schedule in the coming months. Some of the
areas that we need to visit are Ardmore, Pauls Valley,
Duncan and McAlester.
Area II
News
So Long, Stormy Winter
– Hello, Busy Summer
Fran Redding, Area II Field Coordinator
918-582-8272 or fredding@ddadvocacy.net
Our monitors are the greatest. You have endured the great
February storm. I barely remember it myself and hope it is the
same for you. Thanks to all the
monitors for letting me know about
the rescheduled visits. It was a
tremendous help. If you find
yourself in the same position, it is
acceptable for the two partners to
reschedule the visit and let the
Call Your OK-AIM Coordinator
OK-AIM office know the new date.
I enjoyed seeing many of our monitors at the OK-APSE
Conference, and at the Governor’s Conference. It was also
great to attend the Transition Fair at Owasso High School, on
February 7th. There will be another one at the Claremore High
School on March 28th at 6:00 p.m.. It is being held for parents
and children who are making plans about transitioning from
high school.
Thanks you, Monitors, and get ready for a busy summer.
We had a huge turnout for our training in Anadarko this
month and look forward to scheduling the new monitors
for visits. I will be holding more training there soon and
hope to do more training in other areas as well. If you
know anyone who may be interested in becoming a
monitor, please contact Donna Kerr (see below). We
desperately need monitors in Poteau and McAlester.
I want to take the time again to thank our very
dedicated monitors.We appreciate all of your hard work.
OK-AIM Introduces “Join by July” Recruitment Campaign
Join
Monitors, we need your help in recruiting new volunteers for the OK-AIM program. And
we’ve created just the incentive for you to help us! Here’s how “Join by July” works:
by
2. If that person joins OK-AIM as a volunteer, trains and begins monitoring by July 2006,
your name will go into a drawing for a $50 Wal-Mart gift card.
July
1. You refer a possible volunteer to Donna Kerr, OK-AIM Coordinator at 918-582-8272 or
(from outside Tulsa) 800-688-8272.
3. (Here’s the good part!) You may refer as many people as you like. Your name will go
into the drawing for each new volunteer who joins, trains and monitors by the end of July.
4. One $50 Wal-Mart gift card will be awarded to the top recruiter in each of the three
DDSD service areas (Areas I, II and III).
For more information, contact Donna Kerr at the number listed above or by email at
dkerr@ddadvocacy.net
To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world.
2
– Anonymous
Oklahoma Wildfires Prompt Fire Safety Awareness
Recent newspaper headlines from around the state
have reminded us the ever-present dangers posed by
wildfires. However, wildfires aren’t the only types of
fires that pose a threat to individuals with disabilities.
Fires that begin in the home can be especially
dangerous for persons
with sensory or
mobility limitations.
According to the
United States Fire
Administration, USFA,
approximately 4,000
Americans die and
20,000 are injured in
fires each year. The
risk of death or injury
from fire is even greater for people with physical,
mental or sensory disabilities.
As OK-AIM monitors know, personal safety is
one of the items monitored in Category III, Staff. Item
III-C on the evaluation form deals with “Safeguards,”
which include basic home safety. Among the questions
an OK-AIM monitor should ask are the following.
- Are staff member familiar with the location of
the fire extinguisher(s)?
- Are fire extinguisher location(s) clearly
marked?
- Are fire extinguishers inspected and charged
annually?
- Is there at least one carbon monoxide detector
in the home where the heating system in use is
an open flame, natural gas or propane?
- Are exits blocked by equipment, furniture or
other items?
In order to promote fire safety, OK-AIM Field
Coordinators will be distributing copies of “Removing
the Barriers: A Fire Safety Factsheet for People
with Disabilities and their Caregivers.” The
factsheet includes simple reminders about safe
practices. The factsheet is also posted on the TARC
website at www.ddadvocacy.net.
- For the individual: How do you stay safe
when you are at home?
- For the staff: What would you do in case of
fire? How do you teach people to be safe
when at home?
OK-AIM Monitors, You’re Invited!
Other questions that monitors should consider
when observing a home include the following:
!f you would like to volunteer for or
- Is the residence clearly numbered with the
building number visible from the street?
participate in the 2006 Shot in the Dark
- Is there at least one operable smoke detector
on each level of the home?
- Are the smoke detectors the house-current,
electrically-serviced type with an audible
alarm?
- Are smoke detectors tested monthly and are
their batteries changed at least twice a year?
- Are fire extinguishers provided for cooking
areas?
- Is the fire extinguisher portable, with a gauge,
and Class ABC or BC? Is it UL-approved?
tournament,which benefits TARC,
please contact Allison Geary at
918-582-8272 or (from outside Tulsa)
800-688-8272. All volunteers and
golfers receive a complimentary buffet
dinner... and a taste of Donna Kerr’s
famous cookies!
3
Tulsa Advocates for the Rights of Citizens
with Developmental Disabilities
16 E. 16th Street, Suite 405
Tulsa, OK 74119-4447
Non-Profit
Organization
U.S. Postage
PAID
Tulsa, OK
Permit #909
PHONE:
918-582-TARC (8272)
918-582-3628
FAX:
TOLL FREE: 800-688-8272
E-MAIL: TARC@DDADVOCACY.NET
WEBSITE: WWW.DDADVOCACY.NET
RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED
THE OK-AIM NEWS
IS PUBLISHED BY TARC FOR ITS OK-AIM
VOLUNTEER MONITORS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
©2006 TARC
Monitor Honor Roll
Our thanks go to the following OK-AIM Monitors who made visits in Areas I, II and III in the 4rd Quarter 2005.
Richard Adamson
LaSondra Dorsey
Jo Lynn Jackson
Patricia Potts
Glen Teetor
Sandi Azlin
Susan Elliott
Ellen Jensby
Janet Prince
Judy Teetor
Nancy Bailey
Susan Favors
Linda Lambert
Wanda Reed
Paula Turner
Doug Baldridge
Rachelle Fowler
Joan Lawrence
Doris Renschen
Maxine Vantassel
Virginia Baldridge
Ruby Fowler
Benny Mayes
Tonia Renschen
Dan Wagner
Greg Barber
Ruby Fuller
Elizibeth Mayes
Della Rhynes
Willard Watkins
April Bennett
Kimberly Fuqua
Mark McCarver
April Roberts
Linda Wayland
David Bennett
Stephanie Gilbert
Connie McIntosh
Liz Rodenberger
Cathy Webb
Kristina Blalock
Thomas Gilbert
Geneva McKinney
Janice Rose
Richard Wickett
Phillip Borden
Doris Goforth
Arthur McQueen
Chuck Rush
Sue Wickett
Larry Brummal
Rosemary Greenlee Eva Miller
Barbara Sheeley
Denise Williams
Shirley Buchanan
Iola Griffin
Gerald Moore
John Short
Greg Williams
Janet Collins
Karen Grubb
Margie Moore
Betty Stewart
Leroy Williams
Cecilia Crawford
Mark Grubb
Darlene Moser
James Stewart
Sue Williams
Joe Cummings
Barbara Hahn
Doris Nash
Michelle Sullivan
Jo Womack
Norma Davis
Al Herman
Lea Newcomb
Helen Taylor
Oris Davis
Ted Herman
WoWo Nickens
Congratulations to the Double-Digit Club
Debbie Denny
Elwood Herrick
Ellie Oliver
– Monitors who made 10 or more visits in 4Q 2005 –
Hank Denny
Glen Herriman
Jody Orcutt
Christine Detrick
Sherri Herriman
Jerrie Phillips
Benny Mayes - 11
Connie McIntosh - 10
Dana Disterlic
Lavonne Hutchison
Phyllis Philpot
Elizibeth Mayes - 11
Della Rhynes - 12
Marjorie Disterlic
C.J. Jackson
Joyce Pittman