News at a Glance
Lawsuit alleges poor
treatment of passengers with disabliities
According to a lawsuit
filed recently, Detroit Metro Airport and Northwest Airlines (NWA)
dropped disabled passengers to the floor, denied them accessible
parking, damaged wheelchairs by tossing them in baggage storage and
failed to provide an area for guide dogs to relieve themselves. The
suit seeks no monetary damages, but asks the court to require the
airport and Northwest to follow federal disability and transportation
laws.
“What’s good for the disabled is good for everyone,
and by improving air travel for the disabled, it will make things
better for everybody,” said Farmington Hills lawyer Richard
Bernstein, who filed the suit on behalf of five passengers. Bernstein
is blind and travels weekly out of Metro.
The suit alleges NWA and the Wayne County Airport Authority, which
runs Metro, discriminate against people with disabilities by denying
them equal access to air travel as well as the terminals, parking
and van shuttle service, also alleging that they have forced people
with disabilities who cannot stand or walk for long periods of time
to wait in long lines and have provided improper boarding assistance,
among other charges. ![end of article bullet]()
Source: Detroit Free Press,
www.freep.com
Web site improved for deaf, deafblind users
New Web pages, with
enhanced features for deaf, hard of hearing and deafblind users,
have been launched at www.dhhsd.org, part of the Minnesota Department
of Human Services Web site.
The new design features more links with visual qualities that
make it easier for users to find information. Photographs, for
example, contain links to information about the subject of the
photographs.
“We believe the new design will make these pages a more
useful tool for those who are deaf, hard of hearing and deafblind,” said
Bruce Hodek, Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services Division director. “We
are grateful for the help and suggestions from our consumers, advisory
committee members and other agencies and individuals who contributed
to the content, design and layout of the Web pages.”
Hodek asks that users review
the Web pages and share their impressions in the following survey:
http://survey.dhs.state.mn.us/
Source:
MN Department of Human Services
New guide for emergency situations
The National Institute
on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) is pleased to
announce the release of a new online publication: “Emergency
Management Research and People With Disabilities: A Resource Guide.” This
resource is the culmination of cooperative efforts by NIDRR, the
Department of Education, and other government committees. The guide
provides a listing and description of research projects funded by
the federal government and nonfederal entities, research recommendations
that have come out of conferences on emergency management and disability,
and a bibliography of relevant research publications.
The authors hope that this guide will facilitate a
nationwide research agenda on emergency management and people with
disabilities, so that a strong evidence base about the best ways
to ensure the safety and security of people with disabilities in
emergency and disaster situations can be developed.
This report is available
on the U.S. Department of Education’s Web site at: www.ed.gov/rschstat/research/pubs ![end of article bullet]()
Source: www.adagreatlakes.org
U
of M disabled student center honored
The University of Minnesota
Disabled Student Cultural Center (DSCC) has received the Tony Diggs
Excellence Awards for Outstanding Undergraduate Registered Student
Organization of the Year 2007.
The award recognizes student groups for innovation, philanthropic
efforts, outstanding events and overall achievements.
Students with disabilities often report they feel isolated on
campus and find it difficult to meet other students who have disabilities
and share similar issues. As a result, the DSCC strives to help
students overcome this barrier by ensuring traditional student
programs, activities, and campus structures are accessible and
welcoming to students with disabilities.
DSCC’s goals include
fostering the culture of individuals with disabilities; providing
learning opportunities for all students; ensuring a completely
accessible campus; and increasing the level of disability awareness
on campus.
DSCC sponsors a monthly lunch-and-learn event to discuss disability
issues. Its members also speak to new students at orientation as
a way of welcoming the students to campus. DSCC also hosts many
annual events, such as the wheelchair basketball exhibition last
November at Williams Arena. ![end of article bullet]()
Source: DSCC
Local author looks at
caregiver burnout
Grant Watkins of Golden
Valley has written a book to help a growing number of people who
find themselves in the role of caregiver, entitled “CPR for Caregivers.” It
is a resources guide to help caregivers achieve life balance and
reduce stress.
Watkins says the book
is a guide for caregivers who need to care for themselves while
caring for a loved one. The title is an acronym that stands for, “Connect, Project and Reflect.” He
says the book explores topics for mind, body and spirit. Watkins
began his twenty plus year career helping people after his father
became legally blind; Watkins was seventeen at the time. He says
he learned to have powerful moments of experiencing love and living
a full life in the midst of caregiver fatigue. He now works for
a nonprofit organization promoting independent living and providing
low-income housing. He will be giving speeches related to care
giving around the area this spring. ![end of article bullet]()
Source: www.grantwatkins.com
Who
should get Low Income Housing Tax Credits?
Progress is slow but steady in ensuring that Federal Housing Tax
Credits are being used by the people who can use them most effectively.
In recent years, the Low Income Housing Tax Credits were typically
not being targeted to people with the lowest incomes, even though
the 2006 data shows some small progress. Once again, there are
tremendous discrepancies among the states.
As
background, every year each State’s Housing Finance Agency
receives a per capita amount of housing tax credits from the IRS
that a state can award. Then, each state must publish a “Qualified
Allocation Plan” in which “points” are awarded
to developers of rental properties who bid to receive the Low Income
Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC).
Please
remember that the “demand” for LIHTCs exceeds
the supply, by as much as three to one. Therefore, each state could
(if they wanted to) award “points” for projects that “target” units
to persons whose incomes are either at the social security income
(SSI) level (Pennsylvania, for example, does that), or at less
than 30% of their average median income (AMI). Clearly, developers
seek out these LIHTC, and are so competitive that they will agree
to target to the lowest income people only if the State Housing
Finance Agency provides an incentive to target the lowest income
people. (Keeping in mind that SSI is at about 18% of the AMI, it
is clear that we really need to target at the SSI level first.)
Advocates:
whether a State Housing Finance Agency awards points depends
on your advocacy skills! If your State’s QAP does
not award extra points to developers who agree to target a percentage
of the units to the lowest income (and agree to make those units
fully accessible), then developers will not do it.
Currently, data from the 2006 NCSHA Annual Survey Results shows
that 30% of the units targeted in Minnesota were at levels lower
than 30% of the AMI. This is higher than all states except Vermont
and New Jersey, but there is still plenty of work to do. ![end of article bullet]()
Source:
Housing & Disability Issues e-newsletter
Environmental consequences
of medical treatments considered among professionals and patients
Medical professionals
and patients must understand that the choices they make for treating
illness have lasting consequences for our environment and take responsibility,
according to Dr. Joel Kreisberg, DC, MA, founder and executive director
of the Teleosis Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to
sustainable medicine and a healthy environment.
Kreisberg recently announced
the results of the Teleosis Institute’s
Green Pharmacy program for 2007. Data on returned medicines
was recorded at 12 “take-back” sites, which operate
in partnership between Teleosis Institute and area pharmacies,
health care offices, public and private associations and local
communities. To date, Teleosis has diverted over 1000 pounds
of unused medicines from waterways.
Data from the program shows that, on average, 40-50% of a prescription
goes unused. Based on this finding, Kreisberg believes physicians
should consider prescribing smaller volumes initially to see if
a medication is tolerated and successful before prescribing larger
volumes for long-term use.
More sustainable medical practices
include placing a greater emphasis on stress reduction, wellness
and disease prevention, and using alternative medicines and methods
where practical or in combination with conventional treatments.
“Because nearly 25% of preventable illnesses are environmentally
related, as estimated by the World Health Organization, improving
the environment is one of the most important sustainable medicine
practices we can advocate,” Kreisberg said. “We
cannot afford to wait until we see devastating consequence to human
health before we act. If we’re going to create a sustainable
culture, we’ll need the medical industry to join the general “greening” of
our world.”
Historically, patients have
been advised to flush medications down toilets or wash down the sink
to prevent accidental poisonings or overdoses. These disposal methods result in millions of
pounds of drugs being emptied, full strength, into the water supply
each year. Trash disposal also represents a threat, since
drugs end up in landfills and eventually leech into the ground
water. ![end of article bullet]()
Source: www.teleosis.org/
Two bills make progress in congress;
further support needed
Two bills in Congress
could significantly improve the future of children and adults with
Down syndrome in the United States. They
are the Prenatally Diagnosed Condition Awareness Act, and the
Financial Security Accounts for Individuals with Disabilities
(FSAID) Act. The former bill increases the amount of scientifically
sound information and support services to patients receiving
a positive test diagnosis for Down syndrome or other prenatally
and postnatally diagnosed conditions. In addition, the
bill would fund grants, contracts and cooperative agreements
to collect, synthesize, and disseminate current scientific information,
as well as coordinating and providing access to supportive services
for patients.
The latter act, in tandem
with its companion bill (Financial Security Accounts for Individuals
with Disabilities Act of 2008 [S 2743]) would establish tax-exempt
financial security accounts for individuals with intellectual disabilities
and not jeopardize benefits. Funds
in the accounts will pay for important expenses such as education,
medical care and transportation. The purpose of these accounts
is to establish a savings instrument for individuals with disabilities
and their families to provide them with the same flexibility, portability,
and tax advantages that are available to all other Americans and
their families. The legislation is built on the premise that
persons with disabilities should be encouraged and supported in
their efforts to save in order to create an independent and meaningful
life just as other Americans strive to do.
If these bills are something
you’d like to see, contact
your Representatives and Senators today. Ask them to cosponsor
H.R. 3112 and S. 1810, as well as H.R. 2370 and S. 2743. ![end of article bullet]()
Source:
National Down Syndrome Society
