Community Orgs Ability People Events
MAKING ‘SENSE’: Resource Fair Targets Special Education Needs
families, caregivers, teachers, administrators, and more can learn about local resources for their child or young adult with disabilities
Run by a group of moms looking for a place of connection and support, Kelly Hendrickson, Nicole Brynelsen, and Sue Kishel started the only Special Education Parent Teacher Organization in the Valley in 2017. SENSE, formerly known as SEPTA, stands for Supportive Education, Networking, Strength, and Empowerment, and collaborates with the Eau Claire Area School District (ECASD) to provide essential support for community members navigating disabilities with their child.
Now, to spread awareness, they’re hosting a resource fair for interested families, staff, and students.
“It can be hard, sometimes, to find the right services for your child,” Hendrickson stated. Hosted on May 11 from 4-7pm at the L.E. Phillips Memorial Library in Eau Claire, anybody looking to support visible or invisible disability needs of their children or young adults are welcome to attend. “We find that sometimes people discover a service or a resource that they didn’t even know they needed or existed, so it’s just nice to be able to help connect these resources in our community to our members.”
“So far, we have confirmed Caillier Clinic, Grow Space Therapy, CVTC Diversity services, Variety of WI, Chippewa River Industries, ECASD to talk about their 18–21-year-old programming that includes Gateways, Project Search and Life without Limits, Miracle League, Lutheran Social Services-Connections, My Choice WI, Division of Vocational Rehabilitation and WPEN,” she said, to name a few. “The resource vendors will all have tables and information to share about the resources they can provide.”
Educational and casual, this event welcomes attendees to go through the information at their own pace. Welcoming individuals and families to attend regular meetings as well, SENSE hopes to bring more community involvement in understanding the support needed for a child with disabilities and each decision made to better help and get more opportunity resources in school.
“SENSE is a collaboration between families and the school district because when we all work together, everyone wins.”
Learn more about SENSE online and email septoecwi@gmail.com with further questions.
