From our friends at United We Ride: www.UWRdialogue.org
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It took more than nine years and two federal lawsuits, but Francis Wenke and his wife Diane are finally getting justice. [...] | LEGISLATIVE NEWS By Peggy Hathaway, Vice- President for Public Policy In 1999, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the civil rights of people with disabilities were violated if they had to be in an institution in order to receive needed services and supports. Commonly known as the Olmstead decision, the ruling requires states to provide community-based services to people with disabilities in most instances. Only two days left in the United We Ride National Dialogue! New York City transit users with disabilities loose a friend as Howard Roberts moves [...] Eleanor Smith, founder of Concrete Change, believes all new residences can be—and should be—made basically accessible to people with disabilities, including those who acquire disabilities as they age. And the time to require it is now! By Tamar Asedo Sherman Visitability is a simple concept: every home should have one entrance with no steps and a door that is wide enough for a wheelchair to pass through (at least 32 inches wide) with a half bath on the first floor (that also has a 32-inch wide door) and enough space for a wheelchair to get in and turn around. That’s [...] In May, New York City honors one of the pioneers of the disability rights movement. By Amy Meisner-Threet Most people involved in the disability rights movement since the 1970s know the name Frieda Zames—not just in New York, where Zames lived all of her life, or even the United States, but all over the world. She was not large in stature, but her spirit and influence were huge. I did not have the privilege of knowing Frieda in life, but I have heard her name since I entered the disability community. I spoke at length with her partner of 32 years, Michael [...] A United Spinal Member is appointed to the nation’s highest accessibility post. By Dominic Marinelli and Tom Scott In November 2008, United Spinal member David M. Capozzi, was named the new executive director of the United States Access Board, the independent Federal agency created in 1973 to help enforce the accessibility of federally funded facilities and encourage accessible design practice through public outreach, technical assistance, training, published guidance, and research. “I am honored to be your Executive Director and will work hard to meet and exceed your expectations,” Capozzi, a native of Buffalo, New York, said in remarks to the Board following [...] Can the right bed do the right things for your quality of life? Rosemarie Rossetti, PhD is convinced that it [...] Disability rights activists make some news getting arrested for the cause. But is anyone in Washington listening to the call for more affordable adaptive housing? By Amy Meisner-Threet, MSW “I’d rather go to jail than die in a nursing home.” That was just one of many chants heard resounding in the nation’s capital as more than 200 protesters, including this reporter, from ADAPT (Americans Disabled for Attendant Programs Today) came together for political action September 12 to 16. We descended upon Washington, DC, from all over the United States with a clear message: We need accessible, affordable, integrated housing! That’s “we,” as in [...] The situation on the Gulf Coast of Texas for people with disabilities in the wake of Hurricane Ike. United Spinal Board member Lex Frieden reports in from [...] Justice for All’s Anne Sommers relayed this breaking news yesterday evening from the disability rights group ADAPT. 11 Disability Activists Arrested at McCain Headquarters after Staff Refuses to Accept Disability Housing Platform From Bob Kafka, National Organizer, ADAPT: Civil Rights done in a different way. 500 ADAPT activists have set up DUH City on the HUD Plaza in DC. WITHOUT A PLACE TO LIVE IT IS HARD TO GET A JOB. Low income people with disabilities are about 15 percent of medium income. ADAPT has developed a housing platform that they want Obama and McCain to endorse. As I write this ADAPT [...] A Florida family was shocked to discover the inadequate options for people with severe disabilities in major emergencies. By Kelly Rouba Laura George, of Coral Springs, Florida, was three months pregnant when her husband Greg became paralyzed from the waist down as a result of a hit-and-run accident in March of 2006. As Greg recuperated in the hospital, the couple began to plan for the accommodations he would need upon returning home. The Georges also started questioning staff about how they could best prepare for hurricane season, which was just a couple months away. “And they kept saying, ‘We don’t [...] Boundless Playgrounds® give children of all abilities a place to play and learn together. By Tom Scott Shouldn’t playgrounds be for everyone? That’s a question Amy Jaffe Barzach and her husband Peter had asked as they sought a meaningful way to honor the memory of their nine-month-old son Jonathan who had passed away in 1996 after being diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy, a rare motor neuron disease that affects one in 6,000 births and causes severe muscle weakness. “We had met with a hospice counselor who asked us to think of something we can do in memory of our son,” Amy says. [...] Historic Governor’s Island in New York Harbor is now open to the public-and a lot is accessible to everyone. By William Clarke Before I even knew I had multiple sclerosis, I worked as a futures trader in an office high above the city streets that had a fantastic view of lower Manhattan. I usually didn’t pay much attention to it. But sometimes I would stare at Governor’s Island, a mysterious piece of land owned by the federal government that once served as a military base and then became a Coast Guard station and wonder what it was like. Long ago, the island [...] By Rosemarie Rossetti, PhD
Accessible Home Design: Architectural Solutions of the Wheelchair User When I’m looking for an answer to a question about a specific dimension for a universal design feature in a home, I pick up my copy of Accessible Home Design. This book is comprehensive, taking the reader through the front door and exiting them out the rear door into an accessible garden. There is considerable detail and illustrations included to show various ways to create ramps, bridges, and sloped walkways for [...] Senator McCain will participate by live satellite feed in the National Forum on Disabilities Issues and Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), a long time disabilities leader, will stand in for Senator Obama (who is out of the country). Join the webcast Saturday, July 26, 2008 – the 18th anniversary of the Americans w Disabilities Act. The National Forum on Disability Issues will feature a live, simultaneous webcast, complete with pass-through captioning and American Sign Language interpreting. United Spinal’s Accessibility Services team is fielding access questions for New York’s new state-of-the-art major league ballparks. By Rob Ingraham “Our challenge is doing the right thing by the disabled community and our clients. Other consultants don’t have that dual obligation. That’s the tightrope we walk.” Tightropes notwithstanding, Dominic Marinelli, director of United Spinal Association’s fast- growing Accessibility Services department, is inspired by his team’s accomplishments and excited about its prospects for the future. Accessibility Services is currently juggling “between 15 and 20″ major accessibility consulting projects while also coordinating professional accessibility training seminars across the country and serving on a number [...] |
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