Free Safety Kits Available for Families of Children with Special Needs
As part of April’s Autism Awareness Month observance, Carey Services and AWS Foundation are making free safety kits available for families of children who have special needs.
The kits are designed to safeguard against wandering and other dangerous situations involving children with intellectual or developmental disabilities. The kits will be available, while supplies last, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday at Carey Services’ Building C entrance, which is on the Marion Bypass south of 26th Street.
“These kits are timely and important because kids with special needs can be prone to wandering or being bullied or they can inadvertently place themselves in dangerous situations,” said Jim Allbaugh, Carey Services’ president and chief executive officer.
The goal of creating the kits is to provide families with tools designed to help prevent a potentially harmful situation from occurring and to provide resources if an emergency occurs. The kit is designed to address safety concerns from wandering, bullying and seclusion to safety precaution methods at home and school. Distributing the kits in April is a planned strategy to highlight the annual international Autism Awareness Month observance.
“We are honored to partner with AWS Foundation to make these kits available,” Allbaugh said. “The kits can be an important tool to help families and caregivers safeguard their loved ones and possibly prevent a tragic accident or emergency.”
Carey Services is the premier local provider of employment services and other home and community-based services for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Carey Services was established in 1954 and is an internationally accredited community based, not-for-profit agency providing an array of services to people with disabilities and other low-income individuals and families.
Carey Services is the Arc Chapter for Grant and Blackford counties and a United Way organization in both counties. Supports and services are determined through person-centered planning, where consumers and their families direct the planning and allocation of resources to meet their individual life goals. Call (765) 668-8961 or visit www.careyservices.com for more information to seek services or employment opportunities, and to donate. Individuals can also visit the Carey Services Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Careyservices
ABOUT AWS FOUNDATION
Founded in 2007, AWS Foundation supports a wide range of organizations and service agencies in northeast Indiana working to develop a community in which people with enduring intellectual, developmental and physical disabilities are engaged fully and meaningfully in all aspects of community life. For more information, visit www.awsfoundation.org.
NOTE TO MEDIA: Please write the name of the foundation only as “AWS Foundation”