The October meeting of the Disabilities & Conditions of Aging Network, which is focused on connecting providers, organizations, and individuals who support the disability community in central Indiana and beyond, was a rare in-person meeting. This was an interesting experiment, held on October 18th at 9:30 am, outside at Coxhall Gardens in Carmel. I didn't think to look at the wind speed, but somehow, we managed to pick the coldest morning of the month.
It was a frigid 33 degrees when I arrived the shelters...but it quickly warmed up to about 36. I was soon joined by Claire Freeborn from Hands in Autism, and Hannah Osterlink from the Muscular Dystrophy Family Foundation. Inna and Steve Pecar from Advocates Personal Care soon arrived with Bagels and warm coffee to go with my pitcher of hot cider. As we warmed ourselves with hot beverages, Tamara Ajimati from EasterSeals Crossroads completed our group for the day.
We had a small but intimate gathering in the cold, with time to discuss our backgrounds, current activities, and goals. It was really a special morning, learning about each other and our organizations in a beautiful environment, despite the chill. As the light breeze began to pick up, we exchanged some physical information and referral materials and said our goodbyes. I look forward to trying an in-person meeting again in the late spring. (Ironically, if we had waited until today, we would have had a beautiful morning with warm temperatures. Even now, a week later, I am sitting outside in 60-degree weather as I write this).
November's meeting of the Disabilities & Conditions of Aging Network meeting will return to it's virtual format on Thursday, November 17th at 10am over Zoom. With a loose agenda built around highlighting and connecting support services for people with disabilities and/or conditions of aging, which present as disabilities, we attempt to give everyone an opportunity to introduce themselves and their organizations, but please email jwarriner@advocatescare.com if you would like specific time on the agenda to share successes, concerns, opportunities to partner, etc. Please join us on November 17th at 10am Eastern US time at the Zoom link below:
Meeting ID: 845 6836 2752
Passcode: 505049