Well,
I’m no Gene Larkin, but I’ll
do my best to pinch hit for Tim while he is laid up for a bit.
Our Editor-in-chief is recovering from a bout of pneumonia and
related complications. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Tim and
his family. I would like to take this opportunity to publicly thank
Tim Benjamin and Terri Ricci for the unbelievable job they do by
creating a paper each month that is invaluable to the entire community.
If people only knew how much work is involved in producing Access
Press every month? In the past three-weeks, I have found out that
it is a great task!
Socrates
Café by
Mike Cohn is yet another reminder of how societal fears can be
diminished if people with disabilities are given a chance to participate
and how we can all be accepted as having value and something to
add to the group if just given a chance.
Medical Assistance for Employed Persons with Disabilities (MA-EPD)
allows working people with disabilities to qualify for Medical Assistance
(MA) using higher income and asset limits. Linda Wolford reports the
findings of a survey of MA-EPD recipients. Some very interesting figures
are reveled. I, myself, thought transportation would be a bigger barrier
than it was discovered to be. I commend the respondents on an 80% response
rate, which is phenomenal. I encourage anyone currently on MA and thinking
about getting into the workforce to please look into MA-EPD.
Jeni
Mundl writes about some very useful Assistive Technology products
regarding mathematics. Check out these suggestions and maybe you
will be inspired to register for that trigonometry class you’ve
been putting off. Jeni + Access Press = Great information.
If
you are in need of accessible housing, I hope you’ll check
out HousingLink’s Housing Referral Service described by Sue Speakman-Gomez
and yours truly in the article titled “Accessible Rental Info:
Housing Referral Service.” It is a great tool for finding a
place that best suits your individual needs.
Please
take the time to read Anne Henry’s article on the Governor’s
proposed cuts and the individual stories regarding the cuts to the
Consumer Directed Community Services (CDCS) program. As Mary Fenske
perfectly summarized in her story about Paul; “We had a program
that provided self-determination, a high quality of life, and was cost-effective.
Paul will now have essentially the same life with another layer of
bureaucracy that will cost two and one-half times as much.” These
are the kind of stories that need to be heard in St. Paul and in Washington
D.C. One way to get involved is to attend “Lobby Day at the Capitol” sponsored
by Courage Center, the Metropolitan Center for Independent Living
and the Minnesota Association of Centers for Independent Living.
This event will be held on March 15, 2005. Look for more information
in the mail and in Access Press next month.
Mike Chevrette, Access Press, Chair
