LiveWorkPlay Building Productive Lives Making A Buzz In The Ottawa Community Serving People With Intellectual Disabilities Since 1995 ON OUR OWN TOGETHER II Interdependence - Independence - Self-Advocacy The Innovative LiveWorkPlay Approach To Long-Term Housing For People With Intellectual Disabilities May 12: Day 5 It was a very busy day today. Dale, Fran, and Julie covered off the regular SMILE schedule so Keenan could run around all afternoon. But it was all for a good cause - working towards the dream of a permanent LiveWorkPlay housing solution! The first order of business was to submit a proposal to the City of Ottawa in response to their request for proposals under the SCPI (Supporting Community Partnerships Initiative) that is under the umbrella of the National Homelessness Initiative. After that was done and handed in, it was off to Carleton to meet April and Richard from CBC's Moving On television program. They first interviewed Professor Leblanc and then it was Alex Wexler (Rachel's mom) in front of the camera. After that, the participants started arriving back at Leeds and April and Richard bounced around to all the suites and the lounge getting a feel for everything and everyone. Then they followed the group to the cafeteria and put microphones on some of the participants to catch some of the dinner dialogue. After dinner Richard and April continued to talk with the group while Julie and Dale helped everyone finish their tracking, then it was time to relax and listen to music, watch some TV, go for a walk, or try something new. Jen got Robin and Rachel into an interesting new activity, which she described as "some stained glass whatever." Basically, there are these stained glass window kits and when you finish you end up with this beautiful piece of art you can attach to your window. The quote of the day also went to Jen: "I like living like this." At SMILE everyone has been working on understanding the difference between "strangers" (who are simply people you don't know) and people who are "acting strangely" (people making you uncomfortable and/or putting you at risk). Jenny was taking the O-Train today and wasn't sure which side to stand on. She was a bit nervous about it, but it was a public place with lots of people around, so she decided to ask a stranger if they knew which side she needed to stand on. The stranger knew the answer and Jenny got where she was going, and was very proud of herself. A lot of people are asking questions about the open house on June 17, and thanks to today's performance group at SMILE, we've got a draft theme! It's all about making dreams come true. The idea is that the 14 people will share their personal dream for the type of place they want to live in for the future, and then we can present some plans and diagrams and talk about how they might fit with those dreams. It's just a rough idea for now but it gives us something to work on. It's barely a month away! PICTURES! Mind Your Manners...You Are Being Watched!