The Gulf Coast Citizen Diplomacy Council was delighted to host a group of five visitors from Ukraine whose trip focused on youth social services.
In order to learn about services available for citizens with disabilities, the group met with Laura Jo Hust at the Disability Resource Center. Next, a meeting with Stacey Kostevicki at the Gulf Coast Kid’s House allowed them to visit an organization whose aim is to minimize trauma for children in the justice system.
Later in the evening, the group met with Dennis Collins and Terrie Langham, coaches in the Miracle Baseball League of Pensacola which provides children and adults with disabilities the opportunity to play in an organized sport league.
The next day, Oliver Jones gave a tour of the Pensacola Boys Base. Directly after, several students from the school participated in a volunteer activity with the international visitors on a Habitat for Humanity project. Following this, the group met with Walter Watson, executive director of the Independence for the Blind of Northwest Florida. The last appointment of the day ended at “The Place,” where a meeting hosted by Cate Jordan of Families First allowed the visitors to observe a mentoring program for at-risk teens.
The last day of appointments began with a visit to the Lacey A. Collier Sensory Complex, where Joe Denmon and Susan Berry discussed and gave a tour of the one-of-a-kind facility. After lunch, the delegation went to the ARC Gateway Pollak Training center for a meeting with Dawn Von Stein to learn about this non-profit’s mission to serve children and young adults with developmental disabilities. They next met with Mary Ann Bickerstaff, director the ARC Gateway Pearl Nelson Center which focuses on child development.
A special thank you is due to Kathleen Kerr and Richard and Lea Schneider who hosted dinners in their home for our visitors.
