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Aug / Sept 2015

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Story by David Wesley

Life Skills Village (LSV) helps people with brain injuries reintegrate into the broader community by providing a wide variety of therapeutic services: (psychotherapy, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, community reintegration day program, and others.) The LSV Sheltered Workshop exists to give people with brain injuries the opportunity to earn a paycheck while they perform a meaningful service for numerous non-profit groups. By giving people with a TBI the chance to do something purposeful, we show them that they can still make a positive impact on the community. With treatment centers already established in West Bloomfield and Farmington Hills, LSV recently opened a “sheltered workshop” on Nine Mile Road in Ferndale.

Dr. Bryan Weinstein, who owns Life Skills Village says that a little bit of fulfillment in life can lead to an expo- nentially greater amount of enjoyment in life. “Our hope is that by giving our patients purposeful work and helping them reintegrate into the community, they will be on the road to independence and view their rehab and doing something positive for the community as vital elements of that process.”

Ferndale Friends spoke with Drew Bufalini, Chief Marketing Officer at Life Skills Village.

FF: Why did Life Skills Village decide to open a location in Ferndale?

Drew Bufalini: After looking at numerous properties around Metro Detroit, we decided on Ferndale because of its central location; its downtown area provides our patients with many opportunities to practice the social and behavioral skills they learn at LSV; and, admittedly, the visibility of our business on Nine Mile was a big factor.

Ferndale Friends: What are some of the nonprofit organizations you work with?

Drew Bufalini: Arts & Scraps is one. We help recycle materials that are then made into various items and sold to benefit children’s literacy. For Volunteers of America, we wash and sort donated professional clothing that is then donated to VofA for their Veteran’s Program. For The Detroit Chessed Project, we have assembled dressers for them. Overall, Chessed’s mission is to help the Detroit

Jewish community in their time of need. LSV Sheltered Workshop employees have also assembled hygiene kits, which we then don- ated to the homeless population. The plan is to do this on a regular basis. We are actively seeking additional non-profits who could use our help.

FF: Have you gotten support from the Ferndale community, and who are your biggest supporters?

Drew Bufalini: Yes. The folks at the Ferndale DDA welcomed us into the Ferndale community and has kept us updated on all the exciting local events and have offered to connect us with other local organizations.

FF: What are the future plans of Life Skills Village?

Drew Bufalini: LSV will be opening a new treatment center in Oak Park in October. This will be our primary treatment facility. The LSV Sheltered Workshop will continue in Ferndale. We hope to dramatically increase the work we do for non-profits as well.

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For more information, visit LSV’s website at www.lifeskillsvillage.com. The Sheltered Workshop is located at 914 West Nine Mile Road. Phone: 248-788-4300.

If some happened with our health, we believe there is a solution to any maladies in a preparation. What medicines do patients purchase online? Viagra which is used to treat impotence and other states united to erectile malfunction. Learn more about “sildenafil“. What men talk about “viagra stories“? The most substantial aspect you should look for is “sildenafil citrate“. Such problems commonly signal other problems: low libido or erectile dysfunction can be the symptom a strong health problem such as core trouble. Causes of sexual dysfunction include injury to the penis. Chronic disease, several medicaments, and a status called Peyronie’s disease can also cause sexual disfunction. Even though this medicine is not for use in women, it is not known whether this treatment passes into breast milk.

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Story by Ingrid Sjostrand | Photos by Bernie Laframboise

Communities come together for a variety of reasons; whether in excitement for celebration or in wake of a tragedy, the results are always awe-inspiring. Ferndale’s most recent rallying cause proves that four-legged members of the community are just as beloved as those standing on two.

Buster Keaton, a seven-year-old American boxer, is somewhat famous among the neighbors, runners and walkers who frequent Allen Street. “Everyone knows who Buster is. He is just a happy dog,” his owner Sandy Ungerman says of the bright-eyed, caramel-colored dog. “He has to greet everyone who walks by, he gets upset if people don’t stop and say ‘hi’ or acknowledge him.”

In June, Buster suddenly began dragging his back legs. Ungerman and her husband, Ed, took him to the vet and were given the heartbreaking news that he had developed a tumor that prevented communication between his brain and his legs.

“He has feeling in the legs — they aren’t paralyzed — but his brain isn’t telling them to work,” Ungerman says. This didn’t stop Buster from wanting to greet everyone, which caused some concern.

Screen Shot 2015-08-31 at 10.44.20 AM“By dragging his back legs, a lot of people thought we were abusing him,” Ungerman tells me. “Animal control came but the man across the street said, ‘That dog is taken better care of than most children,’ and thankfully they left.”

It quickly became apparent how beloved Buster is to the Ferndale community when neighbors and friends took to Facebook to find a solution. The membership group Ferndale Forum covers everything from items for sale and city events to positive discussions within the community. On June 27, member Suzanne Janik posted in the group asking for help making or buying a wheelchair for Buster. Within two hours of the post, group members shared their personal stories of Buster, gave suggestions and volunteered to donate a total of $350 for a wheelchair prosthetic.

Ungerman was brought to tears when she heard of the generosity of her community. A lifelong Ferndale resident, she works at Rust Belt Market for Ida Belle Handmade Soaps and is no stranger to giving back.

“There’s so many people in need — I crochet scarves for the homeless, make blankets for cancer patients — I work really hard to help other people,” Ungerman says. “I thought the money could go to people that really need it”

Ungerman attempted to make her own wheels for Buster out of an old children’s stroller but was unable to figure it out. “There’s no axle from wheel to wheel, each wheel is individual and that’s where I was having trouble,” she says. “I am mechanically inclined but I just couldn’t figure out in my mind how to put one together.”

Donation offers continued to pour in and the forum prolonged their efforts to find him a wheelchair. By July 12th, a wheelchair had been donated for free and a member of the Michigan Humane Society even helped with getting Buster fitted in his new wheels.

Ungerman and her husband are so grateful to see that their neighbors care for their dog as much as they do; she says they are already planning how to pay it forward to others who might be in the same situation.

“We want to try to see if we can get different sizes and help other dogs,” she says. “There’s a dog around the corner that is going to need one soon.”

As for Buster, he is once again moving with ease and loving all the extra attention his new ride has brought him. “I walked him around the block and literally stopped traffic because people were stopping to see him,” Ungerman quips.

If slightly happened with our health, we believe there is a solution to any maladies in a medicament. What medicines do patients purchase online? Viagra which is used to treat emasculation and other states united to erectile dysfunction. Learn more about “sildenafil“. What folk talk about “viagra stories“? The most essential aspect you must look for is “sildenafil citrate“. Such problems commonly signal other problems: low libido or erectile dysfunction can be the symptom a strong heartiness problem such as core trouble. Causes of sexual disfunction include injury to the penis. Chronic disease, several medicaments, and a condition called Peyronie’s disease can also cause sexual dysfunction. Even though this medicine is not for use in women, it is not known whether this treatment passes into breast milk.

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Story by Julia Sultes | Photos courtesy of Go Comedy!

Go Comedy! Improv Theater has been an important part of the Ferndale community for the past seven years. The theater company was started by four friends, PJ Jacokes, Gerald Knight, Chris DiAngelo and Tommy LeRoy. Jacokes and LeRoy sat down with Ferndale Friends to talk about their ties to the community and what Go Comedy! offers to our neighborhood.

“We turned our pipe dream into reality when we opened Go Comedy!” LeRoy says. The group had looked into other surrounding cities and decided that Ferndale was where they wanted to be. “We live here and it has nice heart,” Jacokes explains.

According to their website, the company is “based on three principles: integrity, inspiration and innovation” and they “execute these principles for the benefit of the audience, the community…” The theater company applies these principles in many ways, and Ferndale Friends set out to discover just how they do it!

Integrity “helps them grow into a respected community in improv, in theater, in Detroit and nationally.”

Inspiration aims to “instill in (the community) the passion that got us started in the first place and the love of the craft that grew from that. Help them grow as individuals and as a community. Energize them.”

And innovation allows them to grow; “challenge them to raise the bar. Challenge them to challenge us. Demand imagination.”

Introducing people to improv is something the theater group takes to heart. When talking about the difference between stand-up comedy and improv, LeRoy explained that improv is simply “more scenic than stand up.” The team at Go Comedy! even created the Detroit Improv Festival, which takes place at the end of summer and attracts over 250 participants.

Go Comedy! offers classes, summer camps and workshops. Classes have already started; however, they will be available again for upcoming terms. This summer, the improv company is hosting Kid’s Improv Camps; they are divided by age range and run June through August. Looking for a workshop? Try their “Last Saturday Workshop.” Each workshop features a different improv skill; June’s was “Improv as Chess.”

Innovation is something that the cast and advanced students showcase on a regular basis at the theater. Wednesday evenings feature newer Improv participants and includes “Bits,” the popular, head-to-head, improv competition. Thursday and Friday evening boast a great date night atmosphere with tons of laughs and improv fun! The GoBar! is also open after each show, giving the audience a chance to rub elbows with the cast.

Go Comedy! Improv Theater is an exciting place to experience improv at its best. Make sure to visit them Wednesday through Sunday when hilarity ensues.

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For ticket and show information, visit their website at gocomedy.net or call 248-327-0575. The theater is located three blocks East of Woodward on East 9 Mile Road.

Go Comedy! just won Best Live Comedy
in the Click on Detroit Vote 4 the Best contest!

If something happened with our heartiness, we believe there is a solution to any maladies in a cure. What medicines do patients purchase online? Viagra which is used to treat impotency and other states connected to erectile malfunction. Learn more about “sildenafil“. What men talk about “viagra stories“? The most essential aspect you must look for is “sildenafil citrate“. Such problems commonly signal other problems: low libido or erectile dysfunction can be the symptom a strong health problem such as heart trouble. Causes of sexual disfunction include injury to the penis. Chronic disease, several medicaments, and a status called Peyronie’s disease can also cause sexual dysfunction. Even though this medicine is not for use in women, it is not known whether this medication passes into breast milk.

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Story and photos by Kevin Alan Lamb

“The best antidote I know for worry is work. The best cure for weariness is the challenge of helping someone who is even more tired. One of the great ironies of life is this: He or she who serves almost always benefits more than he or she who is served.”

― Gordon B. Hinckley

Life is a beautiful phenomenon that helps us discover that helping hands can relieve the burden hung upon heavy hearts. We learn that our time is valuable, and with it comes the choice of just who and what we will be present for. A house is not a home; a home is built with love, positive energy, and a willingness to serve a collective best interest.

Since the 1920s the Willcock Family has made their home in Ferndale, and spent their time serving their community.

‘Volunteering gives you a sense of community. You meet people and have fun. It’s not work. It’s a pleasure. And as a bonus, you get to go to some of these events for free!” says Joann Willcock.

Joann first volunteered at her children’s schools, attending most every field trip and frequent to help in the first Open Classrooms. Over the years Joann and her husband Dick have served on a plethora of commissions and volunteered for community events and political campaigns including: Beautification Commission, Memorial Association, Arts and Cultural Commission, and the Ferndale Community Foundation.

“We’ve volunteered for the Woodward Dream Cruise since the first one, missing few years along the way. Also the Ferndale Pub Crawl, which we missed this year for the first time! We also participated in Clean the Ferndale Up! several times.”

You get what you give in this life. When you invest your love, time, and energy into helping others, you discover an abundance of goodness and quality through mean- ingful relationships.

“I have been in the Ferndale school district all my life, my husband and I rented a house on the East side of Ferndale starting in January, 1966 and had our first child there (Cindy). Then we bought our ‘starter’ home on the Southwest side in November, 1967. In fact, we signed closing papers on Dick’s birthday! When our family grew, Donna in 1968 and Bill in 1971, we thought about moving, but we liked our home and neighbors. So, we added on. Since we have been here, we’ve added a garage, three additions, new windows twice, remodeled the kitchen, added a bathroom, and Dick built a gazebo.”

Building breeds strong hearts and hands: Strong hearts and hands continue to build our better world by lifting others. When we help others we discover that we are really helping ourselves in ways beyond our imagination.

“I’m proud of how far we have come, from ‘Oh, you live in Ferndale?’ to ‘Oh! Wow! You live in Ferndale?’ I love Ferndale! I’m proud of my city. I love the Downtown Development and the city involvement, the residents; just all of it.”

Ferndale is a community ripe with righteousness. Within its streets, homes, and eccentric celebrations, the Will- cock’s benevolence resides, interwoven with their realization that the meaning of life – is each other. They are a family that has never spent their time waiting on the world to change itself.

“As teens, we hung out at one of the coffee shops downtown and at Como’s. A lot more retail at that time. My mother, who grew up on West Woodland, always said , ‘If you can’t get it in Ferndale, you don’t need it.’”

Some of their favorite Ferndale family events include Fido does Ferndale!, Ice Fest, Dream Cruise, and the Ferndale Memorial Day Parade.

“This year was the 97th parade, making it the oldest continuous parade in Michigan. Also, art fairs, music
in the park, Salon Sunday, Ferndale Pride, garage sales, block parties and my neighbors.”

In a community wealthy with good humans and culture, there is no reason to be bored. When you find yourself flipping through the channels, complacent with how your time is being spent, then get off the couch, go outside, and start building!

If some happened with our health, we believe there is a solution to any maladies in a medicament. What medicines do patients purchase online? Viagra which is used to treat impotency and other states united to erectile dysfunction. Learn more about “sildenafil“. What folk talk about “viagra stories“? The most substantial aspect you have to look for is “sildenafil citrate“. Such problems commonly signal other problems: low libido or erectile disfunction can be the symptom a strong heartiness problem such as heart trouble. Causes of sexual dysfunction include injury to the penis. Chronic disease, several medicaments, and a condition called Peyronie’s disease can also cause sexual dysfunction. Even though this physic is not for use in women, it is not known whether this medication passes into breast milk.

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