Meeting The Need

Near Alexandria, winter weather conditions diminished visibility. With Dallas driving and his wife watching the side of the road to keep them out of the ditch, a semi-truck rear-ended their car.

The truck hit the family's car and pushed it 450 feet. Killed in the accident were their children, Deric, 21, and Dawn Dietrich Krutsky, 26, and her husband, Joe, 26.

Dietrich suffered injuries to his back and spinal chord. With extensive rehabilitation, he walked for about 10 months after the accident. But he now uses a wheelchair.

"We switched to help disabled people," he said of the camp.
They formed a nonprofit organization, Meeting the Need. They, with a core of volunteers, converted the mining camp into a vacation haven for people with disabilities.

For the second straight year, Meeting the Need has hosted three people with cerebral palsy at its Otho Lode disabilities camp.

Clients of DakotAbilities of Sioux Falls, Brad Dewes, Rob Geyerman and Kyle Mueller, arrived Aug. 15 for a four-day vacation in the Black Hills. With caregivers Peg Carmichael and Emily Simonson of DakotAbilities, the men have traveled to Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Crazy Horse Memorial, Deadwood and Custer State Park.

On Monday, SunCatcher Therapeutic Riding Academy helped the guys into the saddle for an afternoon of horseback riding at Central States Fairground in Rapid City.

"It was awesome," Dietrich said of the riding session. "They were so tickled."

Dietrich, 56, also had planned photographs at an antique photography shop with the touring group in Western period costumes.

"That was really a hit," Dietrich said.

But the biggest hit is the camp itself.

"These guys wouldn't have any chance of a vacation if it wasn't for us," Dietrich said.

While two white-walled tents like the historic mining tents captured in old photos of the mining town's past are available for sleeping, the group opted to bunk down in the cook house, he said. The group had enough room for sleeping arrangements and to charge up their electric chairs, Dietrich said.

With 22,000 square-feet of decking and ramps, the camp offers its disabled clients accessibility into restrooms, dining area and bedrooms. Equipment to help people into the shower or out of bed is also available. Wide doorways, heightened sinks and counter space are some of the details that make the camp different from the others.

"I use a wheelchair myself, this is ADA-plus," Dietrich said.

A $5,000 Christopher Reeves Foundation grant hired on Jasper "Ketch" Tibbs of Faith as a tour guide for the group.

Tibbs, 19, has used a wheelchair for four years after a pickup accident left him paralyzed. Driving his own modified truck, Tibbs arrived at the Keystone camp at 7:30 a.m. to begin another day of activities. Dietrich wondered how the young man would react to the group with such severe disabilities.

One of the men can eat solid foods, but the other two are fed through stomach tubes. Unable to speak, they rely upon their attendants to communicate for them, he said.

Each day, Tibbs helps coordinate the road tour and assists with photos and documentation. He also keeps people on track and the van on schedule, Dietrich said.

The camp owner has enjoyed the man's enthusiasm and willingness to help.

"Ketch was amazing," Dietrich said. "This could be so overwhelming if you're not used to it."

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