Living Well with a Disability

The Living Well Community

From Garden City to Kansas City, from Hays to El Dorado, Kansans with disabilities are discovering how to develop a healthy lifestyle through “Living Well with a Disability.”

We are pleased to report that course facilitators at seven community-based organizations throughout the state have been trained to deliver this health promotion course, and 114 people completed the program in the last year. New sessions of Living Well are underway this fall.

The course facilitators are bringing their own creativity and innovation to the workshop, and have been inspired by their consumers to expand the program, to form continuing support groups, to develop new subject areas such as budgeting. As part of the Living Well community, these facilitators meet regularly via teleconference to share their ideas and successes - like the following story.

Congratulations to Three Rivers on Receiving a Grant
to Expand Its “Living Well” Program

Three Rivers Inc. has received a Recognition Grant from the Kansas Health Foundation. The foundation awarded $22,300 to the Wamego-based center for independent living to support its Living Well with a Disability program.

Audrey Schremmer-Philip, Executive Director of Three Rivers, says the support for Living Well has generated excitement, fun and results at the center.

“We’re expanding the Living Well classes since the staff and consumers had such a great experience with the first round,” she said. “We’ve purchased supplies, we’re providing a transportation stipend to consumers, and at least once each session a dietician will visit and prepare an inexpensive healthy meal. The dieticians are excited about doing this.”

The Living Well program is filling a growing need, said Schremmer-Philip: “I think with all the health news in the media, our consumers are realizing they need to do something for themselves.”

Facilitator Trainings

Here are a few of the people who have been trained to facilitate Living Well.


Staff from Three Rivers CIL (left) gathered in Clay Center to take facilitator training for the Living Well course last spring. They are offering the workshop in the CIL's six office locations.

 

 

Resource Center for Independent Living (RCIL) staff members (below) were trained in spring 2009 at the home office in Osage City. Another RCIL group (pictured above right) was trained in Ottawa in October.