Elizabeth Bailey
For some time, Decatur County has had a Transition Council, working to assist students with special needs to live their dreams.
In the past two years, Decatur County S.T.O.K. has been moving forward with a 12-member committee to better assist families in finding the resources necessary to assist people with special needs in reaching their goals.
For the first time, 80 students from the age of 13 to 23 gathered at the Greensburg Community Learning Center for a Transition Fair, bringing students together with a wide variety of local resources.
The young adults attended presentations on safety, workplace expectations, banking, continuing education and health issues and had the opportunity to visit 19 different vendors. Encircling the 4 Community room at the Learning Center were tables for C4, DSI, Board of Health, Ivy Tech, VocRehab, Catch-a-Ride, InSource, ARC of Decatur County, Special Olympics, Medicaid waivers, Human Services, Achieva, Guardianship, ASW, ARC of Indiana, Greensburg Decatur County Public Library, Ipen, Napoleon State Bank, YMCA, GED, Ball State University, Boy Scouts, Systems of Care and Angel Food Ministries. In addition to a wide array of information from booths, the students also listened to keynote speaker Betty Williams of the ARC of Indiana, encouraging them to reach their dreams.
Transition committee members were grateful for the good attendance and the positive responses they received from students, parents, vendors and presenters. The county-wide event included students from Greensburg and Decatur County schools as well as homeschooled young adults. The superintendents, the committee noted, also responded positively to the opportunity for resources to come together to benefit young adults and also learn from one another.
Decatur County S.T.O.K. is a group focused on Students, Transitions, Opportunities and Keys to the future. The group intends to make the transition fair an annual event each March to continue assisting students in finding the resources they need to achieve their dreams and goals.
