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Redefining the Role of Government as it Affects the Lives of People with Disabilities
18
Disability Policy Consortium
June 18, 2012                     
Disability Policy Consortium  Weekly Update
 

 

Dear Bill,

  

Not much to say today.  It's beginning to feel like retirement is setting in.  

   

Marblehead Lily
Marblehead Lily 

  

Have a good week.  

 

 

Bill Allan

Disability Policy Consortium

wfallan@dpcma.org| 617-542-3822

 

Advocates Corner: AAPD on the ADA & Pools

 

Dear Friend:

 

The Americans with Disabilities (ADA) is under attack.  After almost 22 years, a rule requiring fully-accessible swimming pools was set to go into effect-- before the hotel industry launched an offensive to stop it in its tracks.

 

The rule was set to go into effect on March 15, 2012, but at the 11th hour businesses led by the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA)lobbied for extra time to get the federal government to reconsider the rule.  At the same time, they launched a lobbying effort in Congress to amend the ADA to exclude pools from its requirements or stop the Department of Justice from enforcing the rule if it did go into effect.

 

It's outrageous!

 

What's even more outrageous is that the AH&LA is trying to pass itself off as a friend of people with disabilities. Their website says that they invest in accessibility because they want "to make every guest feel comfortable and welcome." If this was true, then why has the AH&LA spent time and money to lobby Congress for a free pass out of the ADA requirements?

Make no mistake: people with disabilities are not "comfortable and welcome" when we're denied access to the facilities that we pay for.  That's discrimination, and it's anything but welcoming.

 

AAPD is fighting back. We're exerting economic and public pressure on the AH&LA and every one of their member hotels and demanding that they cease their assault on our rights once and for all.

Your contribution will help us win this fight.  Click here to donate NOW!

 

Thank you for supporting the rights of people with disabilities.

 

Mark Perriello
President & CEO

American Association of People with Disabilities 

 

 


 
 

Advocacy Alert:   Call Sen. John Kerry


 

Ask Senator Kerry to set a June hearing date for CRPD!  

 
Background: The United States signed the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2009, on the 19th anniversary of the ADA.  In May of this
year, the White House heard our voices and moved the treaty package to the Senate for its advice and consent to ratify the treaty, making the United States an official party to the treaty.  In order to get the treaty to a floor vote of the Senate, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee must first hold a hearing and vote the treaty out of committee.  Given the election cycle this year there is little time left in the 112th Congress, we must continue the momentum, confirm a hearing date, and move forward with ratification in this Congress! Please contact Sen. Kerry to urge him to set a June hearing date now!    
 
Who to Contact:  
 
Senator Kerry, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee 
 
By Phone:  (202) 224-4651
 
 
The Message: 
 
list of 4 items
* Senator Kerry, the disability community is thrilled that the CRPD has been transmitted to the Senate and received with bipartisan support
* Thank you for your ongoing commitment to Americans with disabilities and support of this important disability treaty  
* Please set a date for a June hearing on the CRPD
* Moving the CRPD in this Congress is vital so that the U.S. may participate in the September elections for the CRPD Committee (this opportunity will not arise again for two years)
 

 

 

Calendar:  MassHealth Hearings


 

Public Forum to Identify the Concerns
of MassHealth Members with Disabilities
 

Lawrence Public Library 

Thursday, June 21, 2012
1:00 pm-3:00 pm
1st Floor Auditorium
51 Lawrence Street
Lawrence, MA 01841


 

Springfield State Office Building

Friday, June 29, 2012
1o:00 am-noon
Conference Room B42 (Basement level)
436 Dwight St, Springfield
Metered parking available
 

Join Christine Griffin, EOHHS Assistant Secretary and
Dr. Julian Harris, Medicaid Director

This meeting is for
* people with disabilities
* family members of people with disabilities
* advocates
* community stakeholders active in disability rights
The forum is open for anyone to tell us what MassHealth can do better for
people with disabilities. It is important for MassHealth policy makers to hear
people with disabilities and their families express their concerns about current
services, describe needs that are not being addressed, and suggest ways to
improve services and expand opportunities. Call our Disability Accommodation
Ombudsman if you would like more information about this event, or to ask for
accommodations to help you take part in this forum.
Miriam Brathwaite
MassHealth Disability Accommodation Ombudsman
masshealthhelp@ehs.state.ma.us
617-847-3468
TTY: 617-847-3788 (for people with partial or total hearing loss)
Comments may be made in person during the hearing, or you can e-mail them
to masshealthhelp@ehs.state.ma.us.
We ask that you use unscented personal-care products. What may seem to
you to be a mild fragrance can be a toxic exposure for a person with an
environmental illness.
ASL and Spanish interpreters and CART will be provided.
Executive Office of Health and Human Services
PFN-L (06/12)                     

 

Calendar:   Employment Workshops

 

THE Metrowest EMPLOYMENT COLLABORATIVE and GREATER BOSTON EMPLOYMENT COLLABORATIVES Consumer Committee's invite you to our Jointly sponsored workshop entitled

 

Social Security and Mass Health Benefits and Employment

 

When: Tuesday, June 26 2012 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Where: The Morse Institute Library

14 East Central Street, Natick, MA 01760

Directions and Transportation:

The library is located on Rt. 135, in Natick Center, one block east of Rt. 27.

 

The Boston to Framingham/Worcester Commuter Rail stops in Natick Center. For paratransit customers, The Ride connects with the MWRIDE. For more information, contact www.mbta.com or your paratransit provider.

 

The Metrowest Regional Transit Authority (MWRTA) provides Bus and paratransit service to Natick Center. For more information, contact www.mwrta.com

 

Parking:

There are a limited number of free short-term parking spaces on Clarendon Street. Free 2-hour parking is available in the lot on Clarendon Street, behind the police parking lot. Metered parking is available on the street and in the East Central Street lot next to Town Hall.

 

Are you a person with a disability or have a lived experience of a mental health diagnosis? Do you know or work with individuals who are seeking employment and/or employed who would be interested in learning more about Social Security Benefits and Mass. Health Benefits?

 

On behalf of the Metrowest Employment Collaborative & Greater Boston Employment Collaborative we would like to invite you, as well as those of your consumers who have disabilities or with a lived experience of a mental health diagnosis to attend a workshop on retaining Social Security and Mass Health benefits upon entering or reentering the workforce. This workshop is a consumer-driven event, we would greatly appreciate if you can share this invitation with consumers you know or work with who would be interested in learning of this workshop.

 

The primary objective of the workshop will be to assist persons with disabilities to better understand the ins and outs of retaining Social Security and Mass Health benefits when considering entering or reentering the workplace.

 

Registration starts at 1PM and presentations begin at 1:30). There will be two presentations, followed by ample time for questions and answers and audience participation. Refreshments will be served.

 

A pre-registration form appears at the bottom of this announcement.

 

The registration deadline is June 25, 2012. If you require any special accommodations, you must let us know by June 19, 2012.

Please respond as soon as possible in order to ensure a place at the workshop.

Space is limited to 50 attendees so be sure to register early!

 

If you wish to attend the workshop, please fill out the pre-registration form below and Email your form to:

 

lizk@advocatesinc.org

 

Metrowest Employment Collaborative and Greater Boston Employment Collaborative activities benefit from strong consumer input. Please widely distribute to job seekers with disabilities.

 

You can learn more about Metrowest Employment Collaborative at:http://www.metrowestemployment.org /

And Greater Boston Employment Collaborative at

http://www.gbecollab.org/

 

 

Pre-Registration Form

 

Name:

 

Email:

 

Phone:

 

Mailing Address:

 

Organization (If Applicable):

 

Special Accommodation Requests:

 

How did you hear about the workshop?:

 

Are You Interested In Being Put On Our Mailing List?

 

The registration deadline is June 25, 2012. If you require any special accommodations, you must let us know by June 19, 2012.

 

 

Email your form to:

 

lizk@advocatesinc.org

 

If you have any questions, you can call Jini Fairley at:

508-875-7853


 

 

From the Net:   Community Preparedness   


 
Apply for the 2012 Individual and Community Preparedness Awards today!

 

Have you or a program been working to make your community safer, stronger and better prepared for any disaster or emergency event? If so, the Individual and Community Preparedness (ICP) Awards application window is open through July 31, 2012 for activities taking place during the period of January 1, 2011 through June 1, 2012. Apply today!


 

Winners of the 2012 FEMA ICP Awards will be chosen from ten categories and will be announced in September during National Preparedness Month. They will also be FEMA's honored guests at a community preparedness roundtable event in Washington, D.C.


 

At last year's event, winners were able to share their ideas, experiences and solutions as well as their advice on how to keep their communities prepared for emergencies. For example, honoree Michael Smith, Fire Chief for the San Manuel Band of Serrano Mission Indians, helped San Manuel develop a "Send Word Now" system which provides text messaging, email and voice alerts to tribal members during emergencies.

Several of last year's honorees also distinguished themselves by involving their entire community in emergency preparedness. Herman Schaeffer, the Director of Community Outreach for the New York City Office of Emergency Management, helped oversee the New York City Citizen Corps program, which collaborated with more than 60 community organizations, government agencies, private sector organizations and volunteer programs to promote emergency preparedness.


 

Do you know someone who is a preparedness trailblazer like these two individuals? Send your nominations to citizencorps@fema.gov by July 31, 2012 at 11:59 p.m.!


Visit the Awards page on our Citizen Corps website for information on how to apply!

           

 

 

Calendar:  Self Defense for Women

 

This self defense workshop is something which can really make a difference in the lives of girls and women who are blind and visually impaired.  Please share with your networks and encourage girls and women who are blind and visually impaired to attend.

 

Our Space Our Place, Inc. and the Multicultural Independent Living Center of Boston
are sponsoring a self-defense workshop for Women and girls age 12 and older who are blind and visually impaired.

The workshop is led by qualified Instructors in self-defense techniques for blind
and visually impaired individuals..

When:  Saturday June 23, 1:00 Pm - 3:00 PM
Where: The Tobin Community Center, 1481 Tremont Street, Roxbury MA.
Cost: $10

To Sign-up:
 Please send an email with your name, address, phone number and email to:
President@ourspaceourplace.org
OR Call and leave your name and contact information:
Phone: (617) 459-4084
                   

 

 

From the Net: Health in Massachusetts

 

Sick in Massachusetts:

Views on Health Care Costs and Quality

Massachusetts is currently engaged in legislative efforts to contain the growth in health care costs. Understanding the views and experiences of people who use the health care system the most is an important aspect of developing successful public policies in this area.

A new public opinion poll, conducted by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health, provides fresh insights into "sick" adults' views about health care costs and quality in the Commonwealth. The poll, Sick in Massachusetts: Views on Health Care Costs and Quality, finds that:

  • Nearly four in five sick adults (78%) say that health care costs are a serious problem for Massachusetts. Sixty-three percent of sick adults say the problem of health care costs has gotten worse in Massachusetts over the past five years.
  • More than one-third (36%) of sick adults say their overall health care costs were a serious problem for their family's financial situation in the past 12 months, and 40% say that out-of-pocket costs were a serious problem.
  • Sick adults are much less troubled about quality of care than cost of care. Only thirty-seven percent of sick adults think there is a serious problem with the quality of health care in Massachusetts and the majority think that quality has gotten better or stayed the same over the past five years.
  • Many sick adults did experience some problems with quality, however, especially around care coordination and communication. One in four sick adults (25%) say their condition was not well-managed, and 22% say they've had to see multiple medical professionals and no one doctor has understood or kept track of all the different aspects of their medical issues and treatments.

The poll was conducted in partnership with the Harvard School of Public Health, 90.9 WBUR, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Full results and discussion can be found in the report.


 

 

 
Calendar:  ASL in New Bedford   DEAF. Inc logo
 

DEAF, Inc. is currently accepting student registrations and money for the upcoming Summer Session of our Summer Session of ASL Classes, Level 1 & 2 in our New Bedford office.

 

Classes begin the week of July 9, 2012, and are 2 nights a week for 5 weeks. Cost: $200 per student (book not included).

 

 

The deadline to register is:

Monday, July 2, 2012---for all classes!!!

 

The classes are open to all adults who are interested in learning ASL or want to continue their studies in ASL.  For more information on the classes, and to complete the registration form, you can go to: www.deafinconline.org/education. Or you can contact Jennifer Glinos, Executive Assistant at: jglinos@deafinconline.org or call 617-254-4041 ext.102

 

 
 
 

 

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P.O. Box 77 Boston, MA 02133