Archive for the ‘Disability Issues and Culture’ Category

Sailing through rough times

Monday, August 23rd, 2010

Quite a bit has been going on! I returned home from the NCIL Annual Conference to an ugly situation. Monroe County had terminated it’s contract with the Center for Disability Rights (CDR) to administer the Consumer Directed Personal Attendant Services (CDPAS) program. That action resulted in a week-long vigil outside the County building. Today is the day that we will know how things pan out.

There are numerous articles about what happened on the CDR website, as well as articles I’ve written for Associated Content that will outline the full story. Needless to say, it was quite nasty (and possibly illegal) on the County’s part!

Thank you to ADAPT folks from Binghamton, NY, Philadelphia, and Georgia who came to Maggieville to support us!

UPDATE

It looks like the judge reserved his decision, so it could take up to another two weeks before we hear what the final decision will be.

Just as I was getting back into the swing of regular workdays, I was rushed to the hospital with horrible pain in my legs, from my hips to my ankles. At first, it was thought that there were blood clots in my legs, but thank goodness, that’s not the case. My doctor says that there are a number if things going on simultaneously, but he has to figure out what they are. I do have arthritis in my hips and knees, but that doesn’t account for all the pain that I’m in. The doc thinks that something neurological is going on, and wants me to get a nerve conduction test, or EMG in my legs as well as an MRI of my brain, as he thinks that there could be lesions on the brain due to Multiple Sclerosis.

I am at home for now. The doctor will not release me to return to work until he sees me again in early September. It’s just as well, since I can neither sit nor stand for any length of time. Hopefully, the three new pain meds that I’m now on will kick in and start to work. I’ll keep you updated on what is going on.

I’m off to NCIL!

Sunday, July 18th, 2010

In a few minutes, I’m leaving to catch my flight to Washington, DC to attend the NCIL Annual Conference. There are ten of us going, but the rest of the folks are driving in the van.

I’m excited because I’ll be assuming the duties of the sitting Region II Rep, and beginning my own two-year term as Region II Rep!

I also will be doing two presentations – one with our Transportation Advocate, and one with my friend, Cliff Perez, from Albany, NY about the fight for accessible public transit in the US. This is the twentieth anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and accessible public transportation is an important part of the ADA.

I’m looking forward to seeing my ADAPT friends there!

My Interview with Fox News

Thursday, June 17th, 2010

The day following ADAPT’s protest of Nancy Pelosi, I was interviewed by Fox News for the Fox and Friends show, a program that is aired nationally. I got home at 4:30 am and at 6:00 am, was taken by limousine to Fox’s studios here in Rochester. I was placed in an empty room with a camera, and microphones were affixed to my clothing, and on placed in my ear, so that I could hear and respond to the interview. It was all done remotely, and the Fox reporters were nice to me. I was afraid that they would try to make me look foolish. Anyway, here is the link to the interview.

My Interview with Fox News

Nancy Pelosi Heckled by Disabled During Speech

Thursday, June 17th, 2010

On June 7-8, 2010, 25 ADAPT folks were in Washington, DC for the America’s Future Now! 2010 Conference, organized by the Campaign for America’s Future. I wrote an article for Associated Content describing what happened.

Nancy Pelosi Heckled by Disable During Speech

Public Restroom Etiquette and the Wheelchair Accessible Stall

Thursday, June 17th, 2010

I published this article on AC the other day to vent my frustration about apparently non-disabled people who make use of the accessible stalls in the presence of people who need them. This is a primer on what NOT to do in the Loo.

Public Restroom Etiquette and the Wheelchair Accessible Stall

Killing Children with Disabilities is Murder, Not Mercy!

Friday, April 23rd, 2010

I find the murder of any child reprehensible, but the murder of kids with disabilities simply because they are disabled, pisses me off! Its the main reason that I am against abortion and euthanasia.

I was checking out some of the writings of my fellow Contributors at AC, when I came across an original poem that described the murder of a disabled child by his mother. It was extremely difficult for me to read, and I made a comment to that effect. Later, I saw that other folk’s comments reflected sympathy for this woman, and my blood boiled!

I was born premature, and almost died at birth. The first years of my life were spent in and out of hospitals and clinics. There were obvious differences in the way that my twin, who is non-disabled, and I were treated. Cruel things were said to my parents about me in my presence, things that remain with me to this day. To see people trying to romanticize the murder of a child with a disability, and sympathize with his murderer made me physically ill.

I decided to write an article about my feelings about this, rather than blast the Contributor and his supporters – after all, the word needs to get out that the murder if a child with a disability is just that, murder!

Go here to see what I wrote at AC, and the response I got.

Disabled Riders Protest RGRTA, Say Stop Violating Federal Law!

Friday, April 23rd, 2010

Last week our disability community in Rochester said enough is enough! We were so sick and tired of dealing with RGRTA and their shenanigans that we organized a protest. Folks who use wheelchairs are still being passed up at bus stops. Lift Line users are still being denied rides. It is well know that RGRTA doesn’t deal well with folks who complain about them, particularly if you work for, or are in any way associated with CDR.

Want to know what happened? Find out here.

ADAPT Celebrates Community First Choice Option in Health Care Reform

Wednesday, March 24th, 2010

News Release

For more information, contact:
Mike Oxford, (785) 224-3865
Bob Kafka, (512) 431-4085
http://www.adapt.org

ADAPT Celebrates Community First Choice Option in Health Care Reform

ADAPT, the national cross-disability grassroots group, today celebrates the inclusion of the Community First Choice (CFC) Option and other long term care-related provisions in the health care reform package passed by the House on Sunday, March 21.  These provisions bring people with disabilities across America one step closer to home and community-base supports and ending the institutional bias in Medicaid.  Twenty years ago, with the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, people with disabilities realized the beginning of a civil rights dream of access to all levels of society.  Today, ADAPT continues to fight to protect that dream, re-committing to the enforcement of the ADA-based Olmstead Supreme court case, which holds that no person can be forced to remain institutionalized against their will.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and its companion legislation, the Reconciliation Act of 2010, together include several items related to home and community based services.  For example, starting in October of 2011, the CFC Option will give states the choice of providing home and community based services to Medicaid recipients instead of simply forcing them into nursing homes.  The federal Money Follows the Person program will be extended until 2016.  Provisions of the CLASS Act are also included in the new legislation. States will have increased federal funding matching incentives to fund community services.  Yet while passage of this legislation is a social landmark, much remains to be done.

ADAPT recognizes that ensuring community choice for all will require a variety of efforts, from both the grassroots and the government.  ADAPT’s Defending Our Freedom (DOF) Campaign seeks accountability for enforcing Olmstead from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Civil Rights. DOF demands that the Obama administration aggressively support legislation and pursue litigation that ensures Olmstead enforcement across the country. Finally, DOF calls on grassroots people with disabilities to document their struggles to secure home and community based services.

ADAPT re-commits to fighting together with allies such as Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa and other members of Congress towards the vision of meaningful community integration for people with disabilities and seniors across America. For more information, see http://www.adapt.org and http://defendingourfreedom2010.blogspot.com.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION on ADAPT visit our website at http://www.adapt.org/

The CCA Resolution Project

Monday, March 22nd, 2010

At the end of 2008, the CCA Resolution Project was launched by the Center for Disability Rights Advocacy Department. Read about this very important project to gain support for the Community Choice Act.

The Community Choice Act Resolution Project

No Matter What You Call It…It’s Still a Cap!

Friday, March 12th, 2010

On Wednesday, March 10, 2009, a busload of us from Rochester joined disability rights activists from around the state to protest Governor Paterson’s proposed budget cuts that would cap personal care services at twelve hours per day. Read about what happened here.