In the neighborhood streets of Old Colorado City lies the Westside Community Center where the offices for the Therapeutic Recreation Program, TRP, can be found.
TRP is a year-round program that serves adults and children with disabilities through different fun classes and sports. From adaptive skiing and cycling, boxercise, golf and out-on-the-town dances, TRP provides a wide range of activities that people can choose from to gain the experiences and abilities to function in an active community setting.
“A lot of people say ‘Oh, you're the best kept secret in City government.’ And we don't mean to be. It just kind of happens that way,” says Felicia Barnhart, the Program Supervisor for TRP.
TRP offers programs for every person, regardless of age or disability. TRP tries to adapt their activities to those unable to participate due to their disability. If someone is physically unable to do a certain activity, TRP works to adapt the program to fit the person’s individual needs.
“There are opportunities for everybody here,” says Barnhart. “Whether it be through our inclusion assistance to do something with the typical programs or with the Therapeutic Rec Program, we're always willing to adapt and try to make things work to meet everybody's needs. And we work with folks, if there's ever a hardship for them to attend.”
Their adaptations don’t just come in the form of physical impairments, TRP is even able to help create payment solutions for people who might be unable to afford a certain activity.
“We do work with folks if there’s ever a hardship for them to attend,” Barnhart explains. “We have an adjusted fee policy where anything over $35 can be adjusted by 50%. And even if that’s too much, we will work with them more. We don’t want them to not attend because of the cost.”
TRP releases a new catalog for each season for people to browse their upcoming activities and register for classes. The classes are divided into five different categories; arts and culture, social enrichment, community integration, outdoor activities, and sports, fitness and aquatics.
Last year TRP offered nearly 150 programs with more than 5,000 participants. Each program design helps people with disabilities learn life skills and build their confidence in the community.
“We try to increase the skills that they're learning each time so they can take this and say, ‘I can do it myself,’” says Barnhart. “We’re giving them that confidence that can transfer into everyday life.”
Members can even define their own goals to accomplish. TRP sets up individual participation plans for those who want to participate in multiple programs throughout the year.
“We'll ask them first ‘what do you want to gain out of this?’ It is fun, but there is also a purpose behind everything that we do,” Barnhart says.
TRP has many volunteers to help run the activities. Last year 26 volunteers worked more than 3,000 volunteer hours. In addition to volunteer help, TRP employs four full time staff members. Each staff member is a certified therapeutic recreation specialist trained to help every participant. Some staff members even started as volunteers and built their way up in the program.
“One thing that's kept me here for so long is the variety of ages and activities. It's not the same thing every day,” says Barnhart, who has been with TRP for 24 years. “And it's really cool to see, as time has gone by, how more independent they've become and how they're trying new things.”
TRP has released their catalog for Fall 2023 with registration starting August 14. People who are interested in participating or volunteering can find their registration form online at ColoradoSprings.gov/TRP or on the back page of the TRP catalog. Registration forms can then be mailed or received in-person at the Westside Community Center.