Editor's Column
by
Tim Benjamin
Happy holidays to every
one! We at Access Press hope your New Year is far better than all
your previous years. The days are passing faster then I can keep
up with and much faster then I remember them doing when I was younger.
Maybe, that is the way it’s supposed
to be. I know if the days were as long as they were when I was 12
years old, I would be too worn out to do anything past noon. But
wait a minute; I’m already too tired to do much after noon!
Here’s to more energy for all of us as we head into the New
Year!
I mentioned in last
month’s column that our Web site is doing
great. Our Web master, Alice Oden, has written in much more detail
this month on the status of www.accesspress.org. I ask you all to
visit the site and give us your thoughts on how we could make it
more enjoyable, more informational, and easier for you to access.
Please call us or write with any input.
Lisa Schmidtke has committed
to writing a new regular column on products and services available
for making life easier while living independently. In her first
installment Lisa looks at home-delivered foods and groceries. She
has given us some excellent resources and insights on costs and
accessibility of these services. We look forward to Lisa’s
new column; she has some great ideas for the coming months.
Jane Hampton has also
been contributing frequently, and this month, in time for holiday
visits to family and friends, she offers some helpful thoughts
and tips on making a visit to someone’s house
that may not be as accessible as you would like or are accustomed
to. Jane presents some inexpensive alternatives.
Starting in 2006, the “DOT” area
on the top of the front page will feature Disability Access
Symbols.
Our topic this month is Braille and the universal sign for Braille
availability. Herb Drill contributes a very interesting article about
Braille and its history. Along with this article we have some other
articles pertaining to low vision.
I don’t want to be a nag but, with only a few weeks left,
don’t forget about Medicare
Part D. Do your research and make
an informed decision on what plan is right for you.
The Minnesota Department
of Employment and Economic Development along with several other
disability organizations did an in-depth survey on employers and
disabled employees. The survey didn’t
find any new startling information but the survey did tell me that
we need to continue spending a lot more time teaching employers how
successful their businesses can be when they employ people with disabilities.
The survey makes me think that the cost of employing
someone with a disability is far outweighed by the loyalty, compassion and productivity
of a person who hasn’t always had good job opportunities. One
way we could all help is by getting more involved with the Minnesota
Business Leadership Network (MnBLN). The Minnesota’s BLN has
been struggling but is doing fabulous work and needs our support.
There is talk that the national BLN conference could be held here
in the twin cities and with community support that would be a great
opportunity to bring awareness and add more business participation
to the BLN which in turn will create more job opportunities.
