NEWS RELEASE

MORC Awarded $306,387 Federal Recreation Grant

Because of Medicaid and other funding limitations, some people with disabilities are not able to afford recreational activities in the community.

Help is on the way, thanks to a $306,387 three-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The grant is awarded to the Macomb-Oakland Regional Center, Inc. (MORC) to further the activities of the agency’s Recreational Empowerment Committee. This was a highly competitive grant, with only eight grants awarded in the nation.

About a year ago, the MORC Therapeutic Recreation Department formed a Recreational Empowerment Committee, which is consumer-driven with the goal of tackling the problem of inadequate recreational opportunities in the community for people with disabilities.

“This grant will help to improve the lives of hundreds of children and adults with disabilities,” explained Gerald Provencal, MORC executive director. “It is not enough for people with disabilities to live and work in the community — to be fully integrated they must be able to access recreational activities there as well.

“Research shows,” Provencal continued, “that those who have access to recreational activities have improved health and physical skills, as well as improved social skills. In addition, the grant will allow for an outreach effort to community agencies on improving access to recreational services for people with disabilities.”

The grant money will pay for recreational activity fees associated with integrating people with disabilities into community recreational programs. These activities include such things as sports leagues, arts and crafts classes, mainstream cooking classes and many more.

The federal grant also will allow MORC to purchase equipment to cover the expansion of its recreational programs, including establishing an arts center, establishing two additional therapeutic horseback riding sites, expanding yoga and dance classes and starting a soccer league for children with autism.

Grant money will also be used to educate and advocate within the community to make local organizations aware of the number of individuals with disabilities residing in their area and their need for access to recreational services. The grant money will be used to come up with a formal system for effectively linking individuals with disabilities to existing community resources.

“We are very fortunate to have Patricia Sims, our director of Therapeutic Recreation, directing this grant,” Provencal added. “She is an outstanding person who is perfectly suited for this project.”

For more information on the federal grant, contact Patricia Sims at (586) 263-8698 or E-mail her at patricia.sims@morcinc.org.

MORC is a nonprofit, human services agency assisting 4,000 people with disabilities and their families. MORC has offices in Clinton Township and Auburn Hills.