If you received my door knocker this week, thank you for actually reading it and coming here in search of more information! This means you are indeed in my neighborhood, and I know that we get a lot of realtor advertisements. This time, it's no "sell your house faster," or "your current angent is incompetent and I can do a much better job." This time it's just a call to action for our community to do something for the kids.

What is Treat Accessibly?

The treat accessibly movement started in Ontario in 2017 by an average Canadian family, the Padulo family, who noticed a child in their neighborhood was wheelchair bound. Unfortunately that child could not participate with their friends in trick-or-treating activities due to most houses having stairs to the front door, so the family moved their trick-or-treat station to the street to make things easier. Since then it's grown to over 100,000 homes in participation, with neighborhoods setting up entire trick-or-treat villages for kids.

Why Participate?

While treat accessibly was founded initially for those who may be physically impaired, it is also great for younger children, or kids with sensory sensitivities where flashing lights or scary sounds, or those animatronic giant spiders that pop out at you make trick-or-treating impossible. Having at least a few houses on the block that makes things easier for kids that can't access houses with steps, or make it easier for younger or more easily frightened kids can make all the difference for some children.

It's also great for the community. You get to hang out and see everyone come by, say hi to everyone, see some neighbors you maybe haven't seen in a while. 

Will Greystone be a 'Halloween Village'?

Not this year, at least. Although that would be amazing in the future. Greystone crescent is a great place to do this as we are relatively closed off to main arterial traffic. I'd love to see this movement grow and create one of those spooky but fun villages where everyone can be out on the street and really get into the halloween vibe.

How do I participate?

It's really simple! First of all, start with putting up a lawn sign indicating your home is participating in Treat Accessibly. You can order them from the Treat Accessibly website at http://treataccessibly.ca or, even easier, you can get them directly from me, any RE/MAX office, or any Pet Valu store. You can even download the PDF from the Treat Accessibly website and print it yourself, although I feel like dealing with a home printer is probably the most difficult option here.

If you read this, and you're on board, thank you so much for making our community a little more friendly for all the kids on Halloween!