KTRH's Julie McParland Interviews Janice Meyer,Executive Director of Partners Resource Network
Half a million Texas Children with disabilities are identified as needing special education services, and that fact played a prominent role at the Partners Resource Network annual conference in Houston. Here's KTRH'S Julie McParland talking to the Partners Resource Network's Executive Director, Janice Meyer.
Jasper County Adopts a Resolution in Support of Partners Ranch
On May 17, 2007, the Jasper County Commissioners’ Court approved a resolution in support of Partners Ranch, the $5 million camp and recreational facility for children with disabilities to be constructed 22 miles north of Beaumont in south Jasper County.
The Jasper County Commissioners’ Court approved the resolution after hearing a presentation from Dan Bledsoe, development specialist for Partners Resource.
Bledsoe said he expects other counties in the Southeast and East Texas area to also adopt a resolution for Partners Ranch which will provide children a wide array of year-round outdoor activities such as fishing, camping, horseback riding, swimming and field sports.
In addition to recreational activities, Partners Ranch will also offer family retreats, respite programs, conferences and annual all-sports and family festival days. Currently, there is no facility or event in a 16-county area that meets the recreational, educational, accessibility and social needs that would be covered by the programs and activities of Partners Ranch.
This summer, Partners Resource will begin a 12-month capital campaign effort to raise the funds to build the $5 million retreat, with a target date of late 2008 for the facility’s opening.
Partners Resource Network Begins Development of a 26-Acre Camp and Recreational Center for Children with Disabilities
Citing the lack of any type of facility in the entire Southeast and East Texas region, Partners Resource Network, Inc. announced May 9, 2007 plans to build a $5 million camp and recreational facility for children with disabilities.
Janice Meyer, Executive Director of PRN and who lost her son Jeff Foreman from multiple disabilities at the age of 16, said the Partners Ranch would provide children a wide array of year-round outdoor activities such as fishing, camping, horseback riding, swimming and field sports.
“No child or adult with a disability who lives in Southeast or East Texas should have to miss the opportunity to enjoy recreational activities because of the type or severity of his or her disability,” Meyer said. “Our vision is to have cabins nestled among tall pines with children, adults and their families enjoying nature, themselves and each other.
“In addition to the recreational activities, we want to offer family retreats, respite programs, conferences and annual all-sports and family festival days. There is no facility or event in a 16-county area that meets the recreational, educational, accessibility and social needs that would be covered by the programs and activities of Partners Ranch.”
Partners Resource Network assists approximately 10,000 families across Texas every year with training, education and technical assistance for all types of disabilities (cognitive, physical, sensory, emotional and behavioral disabilities).
The LaBiche Architectural Group, Inc., of Beaumont, has been selected to develop a master plan and schematic drawings. The firm will also identify construction costs and timelines and supervise the actual construction to its completion.
PRN was founded in 1986 by Janice and her husband, Dr. Michael Meyer, with a $186,000 annual grant from the U.S. Department of Education. After 20 years, PRN has grown to three offices across Texas, employing 35 employees with annual DOE grants of $1.1 million for parent training and information.
This summer, PRN will begin a 12-month capital campaign effort to raise the funds to build the $5 million retreat, with a target date of late 2008 for the facility’s opening.
To reach that goal, Meyer said that PRN will rely primarily on individual and corporate donations and money from private local and state foundations.
Kids' Camp Closer to Reality
By ROSE YBARRA, The Enterprise
05/10/2007
Canoeing, fishing, sing-a-longs, bonding with their peers and more importantly, spending time away from home. Camp is one of the joys of childhood.
But for a child with a disability, some of the activities other children take for granted, like going to camp and playing outdoors, often are out of reach. If Janice Meyer has her way, local children with disabilities no longer will be left out of the action.
Meyer's longtime vision came a step closer to fruition on Wednesday, when she announced plans to build a Partners Ranch, a $5 million camp and recreational facility for children with disabilities.
The camp is scheduled to open in October 2008 and will be nestled in a 26-acre wooded area in south Jasper County, about 22 miles away from Beaumont. In addition to a summer camp, the warm Southeast Texas weather will also allow year-round events such as weekend retreats, family retreats, field sports, fishing, horseback riding and more, said Meyer, executive director of Partners Resource Network, Inc., a nonprofit organization that offers education and training to families affected by disabilities.
Children with all kinds of disabilities - cognitive, physical, sensory, emotional and behavioral - will be accommodated at Partners Ranch. Each event or camp will be designed for children with similar disabilities.
Meyer's son, Jeff Foreman, was the inspiration behind Partners Ranch.
Foreman, who had multiple disabilities, died at the age of 16.
In his short life, attending a camp for children with disabilities in Conroe brought him great joy, Meyer said.
"My son really enjoyed going to camp," she said. "He was a young teenager and it was an opportunity to be somewhere without mom, dad or other family. It gave him the sense of being a big kid for the first time. It gave him a sense of freedom."
Partners Ranch is a project 11 years in the making. Meyer searched for the perfect property for three years and finally purchased the land in 1999.
"I felt it was the ideal location," Meyer said. "It's on a blacktop road that is very accessible, but it's not on a main road. It's a beautiful, wooded property with lots of mature trees. It's the typical, beautiful East Texas landscape."
Gwen Milhouse of Beaumont looks forward to the day Partners Ranch opens it doors. Her daughter, Shayna, who is mentally retarded, attended a traditional camp and had a, "horrible experience."
"Shayna didn't fit in with the girls her age," Milhouse said. "Chronologically, she was 16, but mentally, she wasn't. She stayed to herself and called home a lot. She spent most of the time with a camp counselor who took her under her wing instead of with the other kids."
For Shayna, who now is 18, Partners Ranch will come a few years too late. Still, Shayna looks forward to working as a volunteer or peer group leader for other children.
Milhouse said the camp and other activities will be blessing to both the children and their parents, especially during the summer.
"They deserve to enjoy the fullness of being outdoors," she said. "They should be able to roast marshmallows and ride horses. It will be like a dream for them."
rybarra@beaumontenterprise.com
(409) 880-0735
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