December 16th will be the last Monday Nights Class for the Fall semester, with classes to resume in the New Year. Plan on celebrating the jolliness of the holiday season with music, games,, snacks and plenty of camaraderie. There might even be some karaoke with “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and “Jingle Bells,” so come prepared to sing one of your holiday favorites!

OPN Community Classes are open to ALL Current and Waiting List residents. If you are not on the waiting list but would like to sign up for just the classes, please let us know. Classes are hosted at the Community Room at Friendship House 5 from 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm. Contact Ashley Matthews for more information.

Join Metro Parks' disABILITIES Program for a Community Day at The Belcourt Theatre. Doors open at 9:30 am and the movie will begin promptly at 10:00 am. This event is for individuals with Intellectual and developmental disabilities and their caregivers. There will be no cost to attend this movie, however you must have a ticket to attend. Reserve your tickets) here.

For questions about this event or any Metro Parks disABILITIES Programs, please email Glen Adkins or call the Metro Parks disABILITIES Program's office at 615-862-8489. The movie title will be available the week before the showing, you can call MPDP's office for the movio selection.

Community Days are programs and/or activities designed for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities to attend with their caregivers/ staff.

There will be MPDP staff onsite to help facilitate the activity/event, but it is not the staff's responsibility to care for individuals participating in Community Days.

Christmas Eve arrives in Victorian London, but the miserly old Ebenezer Scrooge isn’t having any of it. He’d rather support prisons than feed his own apprentice or celebrate the season. But he will be haunted by a parade of spirits before the sun comes up on Christmas Day, and in their wake, even the coldest heart may yet be changed. This new adaptation of Charles Dickens’ story is both a faithful retelling and a fresh turn on a timeless classic, reminding us that our past need not define us, our future is not yet written, and the present is a priceless gift.

Our Place Nashville is holding 20 tickets for Friendship House residents for this exciting new production. If you’d like to attend this play, please contact Carolyn Naifeh to reserve your spot.

One of Our Place Nashville’s good friends — actor Henry O. “Chip” Arnold — will be playing Scrooge and he’ll meet with our group after the play (as soon as he gets out of his costume)!

Some background on this production: Since 2015, A.S. “Pete” Peterson has developed original and re-imagined works of theatre in partnership with Matt Logan. Each of their productions have received glowing reviews from audiences and critics alike. Now, in 2024, and in partnership with Matt Logan Productions, the Rabbit Room is bringing Charles Dickens’s beloved ghost story, A Christmas Carol, to life with an all new adaptation written by Pete Peterson and developed in the Nashville theatre community. They appeared recently on WKRN-TV’s “Local on 2” to talk about A Christmas Carol. You can watch the clip here.

This CONNECT IN-PERSON event has a waitlist, but if you want to try your luck, you can join the waitlist here,

AutismTN Connect is a welcoming community for Autistic adults (18+) to come together and share their experiences, challenges, and triumphs. The group aims to create a supportive and understanding community where members can feel free to be themselves and express themselves openly and honestly. AutismTN believes everyone has something valuable to contribute, and they welcome diverse perspectives and experiences.

Connect welcomes all autistic people in Middle TN and beyond, including those who are self-diagnosed. The group meets monthly, and they offer a variety of activities and discussions to help members connect with others, learn from one another, and find support and encouragement.

Connect Online typically meets on the first Thursday of each month 6:30 P.M. - 8:00 P.M. CT on Zoom. You can register to participate here.

Connect In-Person typically meets on the second Thursday of each month 6:30 P.M. - 8:30 P.M. CT in Nashville. You can register for these events here.

If you have any questions about Connect, please contact Casey Davis the Connect Facilitator, at casey@autismtn.org.

The Disability Leadership Collaborative is an informal collaborative group for leaders in the disability community, including nonprofit executive directors and program directors from educational institutions, government agencies and more — all working with Nashville’s IDD community.

The group meets monthly on a date and time chosen by the speaker at that month’s meeting, Most meetings are in person, but today’s meeting is virtual as the facilitators are all in Oak Ridge, where they work at The Emory Valley Center, a 501c3 nonprofit whose work includes adult services: community integration, behavioral health, community supported living, and personal assistant.

The Emory Valley Center team will be talking with the Collaborative on how they identified a need for behavioral services for people dually diagnosed with an intellectual or developmental disability and mental health diagnosis, and will talk about how they secured start-up funding for the program, giving an overview of their current work, and sharing some data collected since the program began. They also will talk about some of their success stories and lessons learned.

So many of us working in this field serve individuals with a dual diagnosis and could benefit from learning more about another organization’s success in this area. We hope by inviting the Center to talk with us that we can all take away some information that will help us meet our missions more effectively. Their speakers will be EVC President Jennifer Enderson, SVP of Operations Crystal Hicks, and Director of Clinical Services Abigail Donald.

For more information and the Zoom link, contact Carolyn Naifeh.

Let’s brush up on our dance skills with Ke’Anna Rose from 615 Soul Line Dance, a nonprofit organization and collective of volunteer instructors dedicated to encouraging physical activity through the art of soul line dancing. 615 Soul Line Dancing strives to build a healthier community by promoting physical and mental wellness, diversity, and creativity.

OPN Community Classes are open to ALL Current and Waiting List residents. If you are not on the waiting list but would like to sign up for just the classes, please let us know. Classes are hosted at the Community Room at Friendship House 5 from 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm (please note the change of time from previous semesters) … Due to the nature of this class, there will not be an option to zoom in.

Contact Ashley Matthews for more information.

Our Place Nashville’s Friendship House community — you’re invited. If you live at one of our Friendship Houses, if you’re on the waiting list to move into a Friendship House, or if you’re a family member, this holiday party is for you. Hosted by OPN’s family-run Family Group, organizers have all kinds of fun planned, including a DJ in the house!

Save the Date — Friday, December 6 — and you’ll be getting an invitation with more details closer to the day of the event.

Same location as last year. Same fun and good time as last year — minus the tornado warning!

Join The Arc Davidson County and Greater Nashville and The Arc Williamson County for a kick-off of the holiday season.

Enjoy The Arc’s Annual Festival of Trees — an evening filled with live music, heavy hors d’oeuvres, cash bar (first drink included in ticket price), tree viewing, and a silent auction to support The Arc’s mission . . . plus a special visit from Santa.

More information and link to buy tickets can be found here.

Our weekly American Sign Language classes are at the advanced beginner level. The classes are small but have a dynamic group of students from our various Friendship House communities. They are terrific at encouraging each other when struggling to remember how to spell or sign a word, and are especially motivated when one of our new resident friends joined the class. Marley is deaf and lights up when other members of our Friendship House community speak his language.

The class meets virtually on Tuesdays at 5:30 pm (central) and is led by Marsha James, a TV producer who works in Washington, DC, for Voice of America. She learned ASL at Gallaudet University - the nation’s pre-eminent university for the deaf and signing community.

Gallaudet’s story began in 1816 when Laurent Clerc and Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet crossed the Atlantic from Paris, France, to the United States with a dream to open the country’s first school for deaf education. Then, in 1864, with the support of Congress and President Abraham Lincoln, they extended their vision by founding Gallaudet University. Gallaudet soon became a beacon for visual learning, visual language, social justice, and full rights for deaf and hard of hearing individuals.

For more information, contact Carolyn Naifeh.

The Nashville Food Project brings people together to grow, cook, and share nourishing food, with the goal of cultivating community and alleviating hunger in Nasshville. Toni Newsome, a member of the NFP culinary team, will be joining us to help Friendship House residents deepen their knowledge of healthy eating and the importance of taking care of their bodies with nourishing meals.

The Nashville Food Project grows organic food intensively and shares resources with others interested in growing their own food. In their kitchens, they use recovered, donated, and garden-grown food to prepare and cook made-from-scratch meals. In our community, they share nourishing meals in partnership with local poverty-disrupting nonprofits and community groups.

OPN Monday Night Classes are open to ALL Current and Waiting List residents. If you are not on the waiting list but would like to sign up for just the classes, please contact us. Classes are hosted at the Community Room at Friendship House 5 from 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm. Contact Ashley Matthews for more information.

This class will has a virtual option for residents unable to join in person. Click here: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/2593782809

Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Dietetic Internship Program and Our Place Nashville are partnering for a seventh year with dietetic interns teaching Friendship House residents about cooking — how to make it easy, tasty, healthy, and inexpensive.

The classes are among our most popular and are earmarked for Friendship House residents; if there’s enough room, individuals on our waiting list are welcome.

This final class for the spring semester will meet at Friendship House FIVE. Please let Ashley Matthews know if you plan to come and she will reserve a spot for you.

Empower Tennessee welcomes you to join a free online support group for LGBTQ+ young adults with disabilities. The program is open to adults ages 18 through 28 who live in Tennessee, who self-identify as having a disability and as being in the LGBTQ+ community.

There are two versions of the Empowered Rainbow Crew. You may participate in either or both. The groups are facilitated from a neurodiversity affirming perspective by a licensed mental health provider who self identifies as LGBT.

In the private, therapeutic support group, we meet weekly for 8 weeks to learn about mental health, build community around our identities and experiences, play games, and make art. 

In the ongoing, monthly peer support group, we meet on the 3rd Thursday from 12:30 - 2:30 pm Central.

To sign up for either group or to learn more, contact Dan Dumont, LCSW at dan@empowertn.org or simply reply to this email.

Note: Zoom Meeting details for Empower Tennessee Peer Groups will only be provided to those who register to protect the privacy of all participants.

Bow a fiddle, pluck a banjo, and strum a ukulele! Nicki Mortland from the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum will join us for a Musical Instrument Petting Zoo that will offer our friends a chance to try both new and familiar instruments. Nicki will teach us about each instrument and offer guidance as everyone tries their hand at all the”zoo’s” instruments!

OPN Community Classes are open to ALL Current and Waiting List residents. If you are not on the waiting list but would like to sign up for just the classes, please let us know. Classes are hosted at the Community Room at Friendship House 5 from 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm (please note the change of time from previous semesters) … Due to the nature of this class, there will not be an option to zoom in.

For more information, contact Ashley Matthews

Our Place Nashville’s Family Group usually meets virtually the first Tuesday of the month. November’s meeting has been scheduled for today instead of September 5 to ensure people don’t have a conflict with getting to their polling station.

This evening’s focus is on emotional regulation — how family members and caregivers of loved ones with an intellectual and/or developmental disability can recognize and head off incidents as they are about to arise . . . and how best to manage them when they do.

Celina Turco, the Co=Founder and CFO of LifeConnect Health will speak on this topic and answer your questions. LifeConnect Health connects individuals with the supports necessary to optimize hjealtj and empower individual choice to achieve a fulfilling life. They provide a supportive community where each member receives a personalized treatment planfocusing on individual needs and goals. Their approach centers on Emotion Regulation Therapy using the Skills System by Dr. Julie Brown. Their program teaches nine core emotion regulation tools and three System Tools through DBT-informed group therapy sessions. Primary caretakers, including parents or DSPs, are involved in these sessions.

This group is for families of Friendship House resident friends and for the families of individuals on Our Place Nashville’s waiting list. Organizers will send you the link by email in advance of the meeting.

Our friends over at Empower TN have another amazing opportunity coming up: A Free, Virtual EmpowerCon meeting on Emergency Preparedness.

Tuesday, November 12, 2024 at 10 am CT
 
As we have learned in TN, severe weather and other emergencies can happen anytime. Join Empower TN at this upcoming Zoom sessions to create your own, personal Emergency Preparedness Plan and be eligible to receive one of 50 emergency go-bags filled with essential supplies.

Click here to Sign Up

There will be NO OPN Monday Night Class on November 11th because of the observation of Veteran’s Day. See you next week on November 18.

You are invited to join us for a Game Day Special Event - a Friendsgiving Potluck! Thanks to funding from Kiwanis Club of Nashville, AutismTN is providing the centerpiece of our feast with delicious ham and turkey. Attendees are asked to bring your favorite side dish or dessert to share with the group. We will pull out the board games and have Game Day as usual once everyone has eaten and clean up is complete.

If this will be your first Game Day event, click HERE to learn more!

When: November 9, 2024Time: 12:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Location: Address will be provided in your confirmation email

Registration Details

Please read through these details before registering for this event.

• Registration is required for this event.

• There is a limit of 4 people per registration. (1 main registration + 3 guests)

• Space for this event is limited to 50 people total.

• Registration will close on November 1, 2024 to ensure we have enough seating and supplies for everyone.

• There will be an additional sign up link in your confirmation email where you will signup for a specific side dish or dessert.

• Please plan to bring enough servings to generously serve 10 to 12 people. We want everyone to enjoy these delicious dishes!

• Anything that needs to be warm will need to be brought in a slow cooker.

• Due to the nature of this event, we cannot guarantee safe options for those with food sensitivities or allergies.

If you have any questions, please email Ashley Lira-Rivera: ashley@autismtn.org or Sam Long: sam@autismtn.org

Autism Tennessee Connect — the organization’s social networking group for adults — is holding an in-person Fall Festival at Discovery Stable, an equine-assisted growth and learning facility located at Cumberland Bend Farm in Madison.

Participants will spend time together at the farm, enjoying a hayride, bonfire, and connecting with the horses, donkeys, goats, and turkeys. This event is a great opportunity to relax, spend time with community members, and embrace the fall season in a supportive, neurodivergent-friendly environment.

If you’re interested in attending, you can register here. Contact Casey Davis with any questions you might have about Connect.

Christ Presbyterian’s Special Needs Ministry invites kids and adults with special needs (and their siblings) to enjoy an uplifting time of Bible stories music, and crafts.

This group meets monthly. Mark your calendar for upcoming Special Saturdays the rest of the 2024-2025 academic year: December 1, January 11, February 8, March 1, and April 12. Contact Gigi Sanders with any questions.

Empowered Gents is a social group that gathers to learn about assistive technology and other resources that increase the independence and confidence of men with disabilities. Participants share experiences and life hacks with their peers. Participation is free. Topics vary. 

When? Monthly on the 1st Thursday, 4:00 - 5:30 PM CT (5:00 - 6:30 PM ET), except when otherwise noted.

 Who can participate?

• Nonbinary, Trans, or Cisgender Men who:
  • are at least age 18
  • have any disability

• Participants are primarily located in Middle Tennessee, but eligible men are welcome to attend virtually via Zoom

• New Participants are welcome anytime

Registration is required to join the group and participate in each meeting. Details on discussion topics are posted on the Empower Tennessee Facebook page and emailed to returning participants prior to every meeting. 

Please feel free to contact Quoc "Q" Lam by phone/text at 615-212-9250 or by email at q@empowertn.org with questions or with a specific accommodation request.

Click Here to Register!

If you’ve not yet registered to vote, you must do so by October 7. You can register online at https://ovr.govote.tn.gov/. You can register by mail to vote in Tennessee by printing a voter registration form, filling it out, and mailing it to your local election office. You can also register to vote in person if you prefer at your local election office.

If you don’t know where to vote on Election Day, you can use this Davidson County Polling Place Finder to identify your polling location.

Polls will be open from 7:00 am - 7:00 pm.

WeGo Public Transit will provide free rides all day, for all trips, on Election Day, Tuesday, November 5, 2024, within Davidson County to maximize opportunities for voter turnout. No special measures are needed for riders to take advantage of this opportunity: they can simply board the bus and go.

EmployME Chats: Autistic Entrepreneurship

Join us for the EmployME Chats on Autistic Entrepreneurship on November 4th, a 90-minute session featuring five Autistic entrepreneurs sharing their unique experiences and insights. Panelists will explore key topics such as starting and growing a business as an Autistic entrepreneur, balancing neurodivergence with business demands, effective cross-neurotype client communication, avoiding burnout, leveraging Autistic strengths, navigating neurotypical business norms, and marketing and funding strategies. Don’t miss this opportunity to gain valuable advice, learn from challenges, and hear success stories from Autistic entrepreneurs.

Find out more about the four panelists and sign up by clicking here!

Sheree Warrick will be joining us to help our residents learn some fun cake decorating skills! Everyone will have their own cake to decorate, and Sheree will walk us through a few Thanksgiving and Christmas themed decorations to gear up for the holidays. All supplies will be provided. OPN Community Classes are open to ALL Current and Waiting List residents. If you are not on the waiting list but would like to sign up for just the classes, please let us know. Classes are hosted at the Community Room at Friendship House 5 from 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm (please note the change of time from previous semesters). Due to the nature of this class, there will not be an option to zoom in.

OPN Community Classes are open to ALL current and waiting list residents. If you are not on the waiting list but would like to sign up for just the classes, please contact Ashley Matthews.

The Metro Parks’ disABILITIES Sports Leagues will be hosting an Indoor Soccer League this Fall. Participants will learn the basics of indoor soccer and how to improve their soccer skills! Saturday Leagues are open leagues for community individuals. Saturday Leagues will include disABILITIES Leagues & Inclusion Leagues. You can register here

League dates are:

November 2, 9, 16, and 23 and

December 7 and 14

For questions or more information, please contact the disABILITIES Program Office at 615-862-8489 or email Jonathan Shelton at jonathan.shelton@nashville.gov.

The Extra Mile is the largest Down syndrome awareness event in Tennessee and is the Down Syndrome Association of Middle Tennessee’s awareness event in Tennessee and is DSAMT’s primary source for program funding . . . but you do not have to fundraise to participate.

Whether you know someone who has Down syndrome or just want to show your support, take the first step and donate or register today.

If you have any questions about The Extra Mile, please email Tanya Chavez or visit The Extra Mile’s website.

Join us as we continue to create amazing glassworks with Nashville Glassworks! Our final glass making class for the year will be October 30 when we make holiday ornaments!

Classes with Nashville Glassworks take place on Wednesday evenings from 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm at Friendship House 5’s Community Room. Please contact Ashley Matthews if you have any questions.

Please support the amazing artists at Nashville Glassworks by checking out their storefront at 100 Taylor Art Collective - 100 Taylor Street, Suite C13 Nashville, TN 37208 or going to their online catalog.

Tonight’s class will focus on understanding ASL (American Sign Language) and Deaf Culture. Mike Helms oversees adult education and outreach at Bridges, a nearly 100-year-old non-profit organization serving Nashville’s Deaf/deaf and hard of hearing community. Mike will talk with us about the variety of ways they identify themselves. He, for instance, identifies with Deaf culture and uses ASL as a first language. Others may not identify with Deaf culture and language and may use cochlear implants and/or be oral deaf. Hard of hearing people may have mild to profound hearing loss and rely on captions, hearing aids, or other tools.

With residents in our community who are Deaf deaf or hard of hearing, and with people on our waiting list who are Deaf/deaf, this class could not be more timely, and it will empower us to be better housemates and neighbors.

OPN Community Classes are open to ALL current and waiting list residents. If you are not on the waiting list but would like to sign up for just the classes, please contact us.

Classes are hosted at the Community Room of Friendship House 5 from 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm . Some classes also will have a virtual option for those who are unable to join in person. Just click here: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/2593782809.

Join Metro Parks’ disABILITIES Program for a Community Day at The Belcourt Theatre. Doors open at 9:30 am and the movie will begin promptly at 10:00 am. This event is for individuals with Intellectual and developmental disabilities and their caregivers.  There will be no cost to attend this movie, however you must have a ticket to attend.  Reserve your tickethere.

For questions about this event or any Metro Parks’ disABILITIES Program’s offerings, please email Glen Adkins or call the Metro Parks disABILITIES Program’s office at 615-862-8489. The movie title will be available the week before the showing, you can all MPDP’s office for the movio selection.

Community Days are programs and/or activities designed for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities to attend with their caregivers/staff. There will be MPDP staff onsite to help facilitate the activity/event, but it is not the staff’s responsibility to care for individuals participating in Community Days. 

Upcoming Movie Dates:

• November 25

• December 16