| The staff at United Spinal Association has been hard at work the past few months planning exciting one-of-a-kind events geared toward people living with disabilities and aging Americans that are sure to be of interest to you, your family members, and your friends. Please join us for an opportunity to discover a healthier lifestyle, make new friends, and learn more about the issues that matter most to you from the best minds in the disability community. |
| Americans With Disabilities Act The First 20 Years, The Next Generation and Beyond On Thursday, April 15th, from 4pm to 6:30pm, United Spinal will be hosting our Disability Leadership and Policy Summit at the National Constitution Center in historic Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, just a few blocks from the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. This momentous gathering will bring together disability advocates, community leaders, health care professionals, concerned citizens, United Spinal members, friends, and partners to discuss the progress made in the first 20 years of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), as well as ways to ensure that future generations of people with disabilities have access to improved rights and independence. |
| From Within Conference
On Saturday, May 22nd, from 10 am to 4:30 pm, United Spinal’s Women Without Limits program teams up with Independence Care System to present a conference program on self-esteem, self-awareness, and self-empowerment for women living with spinal cord injuries and other disabilities. You won’t find another event that provides this much useful information on issues facing women with disabilities. |
| 2010 NY Independence Expo
United Spinal’s Independence Expo returns this year to Long Island, New York and Orlando, Florida. United Spinal’s Expos have continued to grow in size and scope, bringing together a diverse group of consumers, family members, and social service and healthcare professionals under one roof. This year, attendees will be offered more than ever before, including information on the latest treatment strategies, adaptive equipment, lifestyle-enhancing information, therapeutic breakthroughs, as well as a full line-up of workshops. The Expos will take place on Friday, June 25th, from 10am to 4pm and Saturday June 26th, from 11am to 5pm at Suffolk County Community College’s Sports & Exhibition Complex in Long Island, NY and Friday, October 1st, from 10am to 4pm, and Saturday, October 2nd, from 11am to 5pm at the Buena Vista Palace Hotel & Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. |
| Kids Sports Spectacular
On Saturday, August 21st, from 10am to 3pm, United Spinal’s 6th Annual Kids Sports Spectacular (KSS) will take place at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Continuing its tradition of offering educational sports and recreation opportunities that leave lasting, positive effects on participants and their families, United Spinal created the first KSS event in August 2004. Ever since, the program has been bringing smiles to thousands of children’s faces offering them an opportunity to interact with their peers while participating in fun and games. |
| Ziggi Landsman VP of Online Relations United Spinal Association zlandsman@unitedspinal.org |
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
  |
United Spinal Association has created a “Disability Etiquette” webinar to assist United Way of America with its initiative to improve outreach and service to people with disabilities at community-based free tax preparation sites. The webinar will be shared with the entire United Way network to ensure staffs working at these sites are properly trained in disability etiquette. “The Disability Etiquette” webinar provides practical information that will help local United Ways and their partners during the tax season and throughout the year, better communicate and service people with disabilities,” said Laura Scherler, director of Income Capacity Building at United Way Worldwide. “United Spinal is grateful to have had the opportunity to raise disability awareness at United Way and to play a role in this wonderful collaboration that will bring free tax preparation education and guidance to the disability community across the country,” said Marlene Perkins, VP of Corporate Outreach at United Spinal who hosted the webinar. “We hope our Disability Etiquette webinar helps United Way successfully serve thousands of Americans that are not aware of the Earned Income Tax Credit.” For the 2010 tax season, United Way has partnered with the National Disability Institute, One Economy, and the Walmart Foundation to increase access to the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) through free tax preparation and filing services. The credit is a refundable federal income tax credit for low to moderate income working individuals and families. “Through its innovative training on Disability Etiquette, United Spinal Association has helped the National Disability Institute (NDI) and IRS identify how best to work with customers with disabilities. Because of the rave reviews this training has received from our staff in the past, we are now sharing it with our partner United Way Worldwide and its nationwide network to support free tax preparation for people with disabilities,” said Dr. Johnette Hartnett at the National Disability Institute. United Spinal regularly hosts training sessions and webinars with corporations and educational institutions focusing not only on improving interaction with people with disabilities, but also increasing sensitivity in the workplace and marketplace to issues facing people with all types of disabilities (i.e., spinal cord injuries, hearing and visual impairments, cerebral palsy, short stature, etc.). United Spinal also publishes an informative booklet called Disability Etiquette––Tips on Interacting With People With Disabilities with over 500,000 copies distributed worldwide. United Spinal Association and 12 other national organizations are taking up the fight to ensure that the promise of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) becomes a reality to all it protects.
The coalition’s goal: To enhance the lives of individuals with disabilities by creating a policy agenda that will safeguard human rights and respect human dignity, enhance self-determination, and make United Spinal’s 60-plus years of service to the disability community and involvement in drafting significant portions of the ADA is a valuable asset to JFAAN’s mission to spark change and influence future policy. United Spinal believes the time is now for politicians to get the job done! What are the changes United Spinal and JFAAN are advocating for? I. Safeguard Human Rights and Respect Human Dignity
II. Enhance Self-Determination
III. Make Technology Work for Everyone
Justice For All (JFA) was established in 1995 by the American Association of People with Disabilities to defend and protect disability rights and disability programs specific to the 104th Congress. The Justice For All Action Network is comprised of United Spinal Association, ADAPT, the American Association of People with Disabilities, the American Council of the Blind, the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, the Hearing Loss Association of America, Little People of America, the National Association of the Deaf, the National Coalition of Mental Health Consumer Survivor Organizations, the National Council on Independent Living, the National Federation of the Blind, Not Dead Yet, and Self Advocates Becoming Empowered. If you would like to sign on to this agenda and get involved with this campaign, email jfaan@aapd.com. Tom Scott The US housing market crisis and rampant foreclosures of residential properties is not only affecting typical homeowners. United Spinal Association is supporting people with disabilities that are also being stung by our nation’s recent economic woes, as more and more rental properties, which many rely on, are boarded-up or deteriorate to the point of being uninhabitable. When owners of rental properties can no longer pay their mortgages, they also typically stop paying for repairs, utilities and other maintenance. The end result is renters living in substandard conditions being forced to abandon their homes and to live on the streets or in shelters. This presents an even bigger obstacle for those with disabilities, who may also require home care assistance, close proximity to accessible transportation and medical services, and other critical needs, jeopardizing their health and potentially their lives. And it’s not only the lack of available housing–people with disabilities also have difficulty in finding landlords willing to rent to them and make appropriate accommodations to support their needs. Recent Housing Statistics
There is, however, hope on the horizon. The federal government’s U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has authorized a new program called the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) to distribute funds to every state and territory and over 250 local communities to increase housing options for people with disabilities, as well as people who are homeless or have special needs. The funds will be utilized to renovate and rehabilitate foreclosed and abandoned properties and support a community-wide response to neighborhoods significantly impacted by this crisis. United Spinal Association is supporting NSP initiatives through its participation in The Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) Housing Task Force, which advocates on behalf of people with disabilities that are facing housing issues. The task force is actively involved in developing strategies to create permanent supportive housing by working with NSP grantees. The welcoming news is that although grantees create their own programs and funding priorities, they must use at least 25 percent of the funds appropriated for the purchase and redevelopment of abandoned or foreclosed homes or residential properties that will be used to house individuals or families whose incomes do not exceed 50 percent of the area median income. This is an important regulation because many within the disability community live below the median income. Permanent Supportive Housing For permanent supportive housing to be successfully integrated into communities, two or three key funding components listed below must be met:
The United Spinal and CCD Housing Taskforce believes that by combining available housing units in NSP-funded projects with some form of operating or rental subsidy, along with access to flexible services for those being served in the units, will help make the inclusion of permanent supportive housing units a successful component of a jurisdiction’s use of their NSP resources. As members and advocates of the disability community, United Spinal urges you to learn how NSP funds will be spent in your local area. For more information on how NSP funds are distributed and how you can get involved, please visit . To find out what agencies received NSP funding in your state or community, as well as a contact listing of NSP grantees, click here. Tom Scott New York City’s federally-mandated Access-A-Ride program that costs the public an estimated $451 million per year is confronting some critical issues in scheduling the transportation of 20,000 people with disabilities who use the system per week (40,000 round trips per week). But United Spinal Association believes that the City can relieve the growing pressure placed on Access-A-Ride by making all subways and taxis accessible, along with encouraging people with disabilities to use mass transit. “I think Access-A-Ride is run by people who are committed and dedicated to providing transportation, but have an almost impossible job,” said Jim Weisman, general counsel for United Spinal Association. One of the major issues faced by Access-A-Ride is scheduling drop-offs and pick-ups around customer appointments and activities. That huge task is placed on New York City Transit, part of the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA), who also contracts private carriers to provide transportation and drivers for the program. According to Weisman, making all subways and taxis accessible would alleviate this burden. New York City’s paratransit costs the MTA $66 per person per ride in comparison to a $2.25 mass transit fare. Even long expensive taxi trips would still amount to less than half the cost of a paratransit trip. As Weisman points out in an October 2009 blog post on www.spinalcordadvocates.org titled If All New Taxis Were Accessible, riders who would otherwise use demand-response paratransit vehicles (i.e., Access-A-Ride) would be able to travel more freely without scheduling delays and reduce the demand for publicly-operated paratransit, in turn saving taxpayer money and increasing trip capacity. Even more savings would be realized by state vocational rehabilitation agencies, Medicaid, the Department of Veterans Affairs and other government entities that provide benefits-related travel through ambulette services that cost $80-150 per trip in the New York region. Further, people who use paratransit that live with mobility impairments that make it difficult to get to mass transit, would be chauffeured to bus and rail lines by local taxis. A Fox 5 News New York investigative report, which aired on Tuesday, January 26th, uncovered a few rather embarrassing situations for Access-A-Ride, including its vans being spotted traveling around New York City’s boroughs for hours without passengers and drivers sleeping on the job while passengers awaited pick up. Focusing more on the ramifications instead of the underlying causes for Access-A-Ride’s problems, the Fox News report painted a very ugly picture of what many already consider a broken system. The Taxis For All Campaign (www.taxisforallcampaign.org), a coalition of disability rights organizations and advocates formed in 1996, including United Spinal Association are on the front lines of the fight to fix accessible transportation in New York City. Its goal: to make all yellow cabs wheelchair accessible and many black car and car service cars wheelchair accessible following the principles of universal design. Terry Moakley, a United Spinal board member who also represents the organization on the Taxis For All Campaign, discussed the most recent initiatives to increase availability of accessible taxis in New York City. “Taxis For All continues to work with the City Council and the State Legislature on accessible taxi legislation. It has been Taxis For All advocacy that led to the 231 wheelchair-accessible taxis now operating in New York City. In addition, manufacture of the Vehicle Production Group’s MV-1 accessible taxi and paratransit vehicle (formerly the Standard Taxi) begins in October of this year. New York City Transit’s Access-A-Ride paratransit program has placed an order for 25 MV-1s, and Taxis For All expects that the New York City Taxi & Limousine Commission will quickly approve the MV-1 for taxi service in the City. Since the company that will manufacture the MV-1 has worked closely with New York City taxi industry leaders, we expect the MV-1 to become the ‘taxi of choice’ in New York City and other metropolitan areas in the United States and Canada in 2011,” Moakley said. In another attempt to improve Access-A-Ride service, last fall New York State Assembly Member Micah Z. Kellner proposed to the MTA that Access-A-Ride users be issued debit or credit cards to use in City taxis, black cars, and liveries that could potentially save $50 million per year–$10 million more than the MTA reports it must cut from its budget. The MTA showed initial interest, but has yet to take action on the proposal. “I have heard from the for-hire vehicle industry that they are excited about what this could mean for their businesses, and they have worked out a plan with credit card providers to make it work. Instead of proposing outrageous cuts, how about using this crisis as an opportunity to spur innovation?,” Kellner commented in a recent press release. Beginning in July of 2008, the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (NYCTLC) also selected United Spinal to train taxi drivers in proper use of wheelchair securement devices (i.e., safety and tie-down procedures) and provide tips on interacting with people with disabilities. The program was created to assist in driver education for the City’s new Accessible Dispatch Program which links passengers who use wheelchairs and other mobility devices with accessible vehicles through a central dispatcher. Tom Scott
Located in Queens, New York, United Spinal Association (United Spinal) is a national 501 (c)(3) dedicated to enhancing the lives of people with spinal cord injuries and disorders. Founded in 1947 as Eastern Paralyzed Veterans Association, United Spinal operates a wide variety of programs focused upon disability rights, veterans advocacy and public policy that promotes the full inclusion of people with disabilities in their communities. As a member of the Executive Management Team (EMT), the CFO shall direct the financial affairs of United Spinal and its affiliated entities. Working closely with the CEO and a small accounting staff, the CFO will assess organizational performance, develop tools and systems to provide critical financial and operational information to the CEO and EMT. This hands-on manager will implement creative investments and operational strategies throughout the organization. The CFO will oversee all compliance and recognition activities for all contracts and grants. Qualified military veterans and people with disabilities are encouraged to apply. Qualifications:
How to Apply:
A sloppy, wildly inaccurate story about power wheelchairs by Jim Toedtman that appeared in the November 2009 issue of AARP Bulletin was rebutted in the December issue of the Bulletin by Paul Tobin of United Spinal Association. Tobin writes in a letter to the editor, “‘The Case of the Expensive Wheelchair’ compares prices Medicare paid for wheelchairs versus the cost to suppliers and assumes the difference is due to fraud. We’re dead set against Medicare fraud, but this assumption fails to recognize that wheelchairs–like people–are not fungible. A person with permanent paralysis needs an individualized wheelchair. Someone 6 feet 4 inches tall, paralyzed from the neck down with little use of hands, who depends on a breathing tube, needs a power wheelchair with individualized electronic controls and room for oxygen supplies. Adapting wheelchairs to an individual is essential and requires professional consultation. That’s why they cost more than something bought off the shelf.” Tobin was being polite. The AARP story was extraordinarily misleading. AARP Bulletin incorrectly assumed that the only cost of providing a wheelchair in the home of a person with disabilities is the acquisition cost. AARP Bulletin inaccurately claimed that “efforts to address the excess have been stymied,” citing campaign contributions from the “medical equipment lobby.” It failed to account for the numerous, deep reimbursement reductions for wheelchairs and other durable medical equipment over the past 10 years. AARP Bulletin apparently bought the canard that the durable medical equipment sector killed the competitive bidding program and escaped scott free, again, a wildly inaccurate notion with no basis in reality. AARP Bulletin failed to mention that a long list of disability groups in the US also advocated the delay in the bidding program, including American Association of People with Disabilities, the American Foundation for the Blind, the American Medical Rehabilitation Providers Association, the American Occupational Therapy Association, the America Physical Therapy Association, the Brain Injury Association of America, the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, Easter Seals, Lutheran Services in America, the National Association of Social Workers, the National Disability Rights Network, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, the National Rehabilitation Association, the National Spinal Cord Injury Association, Paralyzed Veterans of America, United Cerebral Palsy, and the United Spinal Association, among others. AARP Bulletin careered back and forth between the issue of rate setting by Medicare and criminal fraud, very effectively blurring the two distinct issues. The legitimate wheelchair providers in the HME sector suffer when policymakers and the media disparage them and conflate honest homecare operators with criminals engaged in fraud. Finally, AARP Bulletin ignored the real story-that a robust home medical equipment sector that competes on the basis of speed and quality helps to move patients out of hospitals more quickly into quality post-acute care at home, reducing hospital length of stay and saving the healthcare system money. It’s also one of the reasons why Medicaid systems can successfully “rebalance” their beneficiary population out of institutions and into home and community-based settings. Above article from AAHomecare Blog As the Holiday Season grows near, it’s a time for many of us to reflect on the blessings we have received in our lives. United Spinal Association hopes you also take a moment to welcome into your heart some of your fellow Americans who are struggling each day to cope with the tremendous adversity and challenges of living with spinal cord injuries and disorders including multiple sclerosis, ALS, spina bifida, Lou Gehrig’s disease, and post-polio. Continue reading Give the Gift of Empowerment |
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Home | About Us | Donate | Publications | News | Membership | Contact Us | Online Store | Disability Etiquette | Contact Webmaster |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
United Spinal Association produces flyers that provide information on parking laws that citizens can place under the windshield wipers of vehicles that are illegally parked in reserved spaces without permits.
