Politics & Government
Serving People with Special Needs in Lake Forest
Part 1 of a multi-part series on the City's efforts to serve people with special needs
Tonight (Thursday) the Parks and Recreation Commission (PRC) will further consider partnering with the City of Laguna Hills as a “host town” for the 2015 World Special Olympic games that are scheduled to take place in July in Los Angeles. The Special Olympics includes more than 4 million athletes in 170 countries. The World Games anticipates 7,000 athletes, 3,000 coaches and 500,000 spectators. Opening Ceremonies start on July 25 at the LA Memorial Coliseum. For three days preceding the Opening Ceremony, up to 100 cities across Southern California will serve as “Host Towns” providing lodging, transportation, workout facilities and community events for the delegates.
Since December of 2015, City staff has been working with Laguna Hills staff to join forces so that the delegates (athletes, coaches and chaperones) will have the benefits of using the City of Laguna Hills Community Center and Sports Park, as well as the Lake Forest Recreation Center and Sports Park for training facilities. In addition, recreation staff from both cities be involved in the planning and implementation of social activities for the athletes when visiting either City. Social activities may include arts and crafts, a dance and a trip to the Orange County Fair. Pre-game delegates would be in Lake Forest/Laguna Hills from July 21 – July 24, 2015. To date Laguna Hills and Lake Forest staff has secured donations for transportation, hotel reservations for lodging and the planning of social activities has begun.
If you’d like to help, contact Vicky Blethen at vblethen@lakeforestca.gov for more info. And show up at the PRC meeting to learn more.
Find out what's happening in Lake Forestfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Tomorrow I’ll go into more details about City programs for people with special needs.
Find out what's happening in Lake Forestfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dr. Jim Gardner is on the City Council for Lake Forest. You can check him out on LinkedIn and/or Facebook and you can share your thoughts about the City at Lake Forest Town Square on Facebook. His comments are not meant to reflect official City Policy.
Dr. Gardner has office hours every Tuesday from 2 pm to 5 pm at the City Hall. In addition, he holds a mini town meeting every moth. The next meeting will be April 18 from 2 to 4 pm at the Foothill Ranch Public Library.
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