By: Diana Johnsen
djohnsen@kcautv.com
It was news that Gail Rider of South Sioux City was shocked to hear.
In 2010, her blind son Greg was working for Goodwill in Sioux City, but that year Greg's home state of Nebraska stopped paying for his disability services in Iowa.
"He was very upset and kind of lost and wondered why we couldn't. It was hard to explain politics to him," said Gail.
But now, Greg and his family see a sign of hope.
Camp Goodwill in South Sioux City is bringing those services back.
"Our staff gets calls on a regular basis from families in Nebraska trying to find out what kinds of things we could do. To know that there's that kind of demand for the expertise that Goodwill has, it's really exciting. It makes us feel really great about what we do," said Nathan Vander Plaats, Director of Mission Services for Goodwill Industries.
By early as next month, Camp Goodwill will have a program to help people like Greg develop better independent and social skills.
The camp's newly built Achievement Center along with the campgrounds will be used in the program.
"This big new facility in Nebraska is awesome," Gail said.
The camp said right now they are waiting for official certification of the program from the state.
They said there will be 10 slots open for the program, which Gail hopes to get Greg involved in.
When asked what Greg thought about it all, Gail added, "He would probably say, it's about time!"
