Lives Well Occupied: OTA Katie Halek and Right to Recreation
Katie Halek (L), assists in finding the right recumbent bike for recreational interests of a Minnesotan. Their smiles tell the story.
Introducing Katie Halek, occupational therapy assistant and founder of Right to Recreation
(0.00): Today’s conversation brought us back to the United States and home to Minnesota for a conversation with occupational therapy assistant and founder of Right to Recreation, Katie Halek. Katie shares how her work and personal life weave in nature and outdoor recreation in every season, whether working at Hold Your Horses equine assisted therapy, connecting people with disabilities to resources to increase accessibility to outdoor recreation equipment or connecting with community members about how they can assist with funding or donating equipment, or going for a walk outdoors herself— connecting with nature is core to who Katie is and the opportunities she seeks to create for fellow Minnesotans.
She’ll walk us through who qualifies, what we can do to help the cause, and what she hopes to see in the future.
(01:00):
OT recap
(31:42) One of the primary roles of occupational therapy professionals is to notice what makes living life fully possible, as well as what barriers are getting in the way. We partner with individuals and collectives to combine knowledge, experiences, and resources to make living in a way that honors current circumstances and future dreams possible.
In this conversation we heard how an occupational therapy assistant and non-profit founder did just that. Katie is aware of her gratitude for nature and recreation, as well as its influence on all humans. When people have various abilities that make participation in recreation more difficult, we experience less of humanity, less richness in understanding and appreciating all the ways of being human. Katie’s awareness of the decreased access combined with her knowledge of what facilitates that access led her to take actions as a citizen, turned non-profit founder.
If you or someone you love has a disability and are looking for ways to increase accessibility— you’ll find a link for Right to Recreation below. Or, if you would like to support the well-being of your fellow Minnesotans and their families, you can reach Katie to learn more about how to donate time, money, or resources through the link as well. Looking for a way to take action right away- simply sharing this interview is also a helpful way to give back to our community members and their loved ones who may have more barriers to outdoor recreation.
We hope this conversation helps us notice what we can do, there is no action too small— to make the right to recreation possible for everyone.
Thanks for listening and joining us on the journey—
To a life well occupied
