DPN Volume 2, Issue 2

On September 15th, the “Emergency Health Care Relief Act of 2005” (S. 1716) was introduced to present solutions for the health and long term service needs of Hurricane Katrina survivors. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Ranking Member Max Baucus (D-MT) created this bill so that people who need Medicaid services would have immediate coverage. It would also serve as a response to the need for mental health and home and community-based services for the victims. This bill would assure that coverage and services would be in place the next time such a disaster occurs.
To help this bill pass, contact your legislators, Senator Santorum and Senator Spector, and urge them to support this bill. You can do this by writing a letter or calling Families USA at 1-800-828-0498, which will connect you to the capitol switchboard.
To learn more about the bill, visit http://thomas.loc.gov. To learn more about how to contact your legislator, call Brenda DaRe at 412-370-7700, extension 148.

Advocacy Calendar for October/November 2005

October

October is National Disability Awareness Month!

October 7th
Legislative Breakfast & Educational Event
8:00 am to 12:00 pm
Holiday Inn, Oakland, 100 Lytton Ave.
Please RSVP to Lynn Best @ 412-391-3820, ext. 10

October 17th
City County Task Force on Disability
1:00 to 3:00 pm
Civic Building, 200 Ross St., Downtown

October 21st
New Advocate Roundtable
Come join us for lunch and discuss
issues that affect the disability
community. We need to hear your voice!
11:00 am to 2:00 pm
TRCIL, 900 Rebecca Ave.
Please RSVP by October 18th.

October 24th
D.A.R.E. Meeting
1:00 to 3:00 pm
TRCIL, 900 Rebecca Ave.

October 28th
Finding A Way Home
(See Description Below)
1:00 to 3:00 pm
TRCIL, 900 Rebecca Ave.
Please RSVP by October 25th.

November

November 18th
New Advocate Roundtable
11:00 am to 2:00 pm
TRCIL, 900 Rebecca Ave.
Please RSVP by November 15th.

November 21st
City County Task Force on Disability
1:00 to 3:00 pm
Civic Building, 200 Ross St., Downtown

November 28th
D.A.R.E. Meeting
1:00 to 3:00 pm
TRCIL, 900 Rebecca Ave.

RSVP is requested for all events. Other events may occur after printing. Please contact Brenda DaRe at 1-800-633-4588 x148 or bdare@trcil.org for details.

Finding A Way Home

Three Rivers Center for Independent Living is proud to launch a new effort to empower people with disabilities to have and make better choices about the places we each call home. Please come join us on October 28^th from 1-3pm at TRCIL, 900 Rebecca Ave., Pittsburgh, 15221 for a discussion about how we all can work together to create strong communities that are accessible to us all. This will be a chance to voice your concerns about the housing systems we deal with and the help create a plan to address them. We need to hear from you! Please call Brenda Dare by October 25^th to RSVP: 1-800-633-4588 x148.

Are you or someone you know missing out on the joy of reading because of visual or physical difficulties? Carnegie Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (LBPH) can help. Through LBPH, readers with low vision can take pleasure in large print books. Individuals who are not able to hold books or turn pages can benefit from audiocassette books and magazines, while those who are blind can use the audio materials along with Braille books and magazines. Described videos (movies and documentaries that carry audio narration) can be enjoyed by all, free of charge by mail, in 36 counties of Western Pennsylvania.
          LBPH offers more than 60,000 books available on loan: mysteries, bestsellers, biography, westerns, romance, history, cookbooks, and more. Magazines include National Geographic, Newsweek, Sports Illustrated, Good Housekeeping, Guideposts, and People, along with many others.
          Nearly 10,000 borrowers rely on LBPH to stay informed and involved and for leisure reading. Explained one reader, “LBPH gives me freedom - freedom to learn. Previously, I was dependent on people reading to me. With talking books, I’m able to educate myself.”
          For convenience, all the tapes and playback equipment are mailed to and from readers postage-free, so a visit to the library isn’t necessary.
          Registration for library service can also be done by mail. All that’s required is a signature by a professional, such as a family doctor, social worker, librarian or optometrist to certify a disability.
          Customer convenience is high priority for the specially trained library personnel. Requests can be placed by phone during regular Library hours or via a voice answering system during evenings and weekends. Readers can also correspond by U.S. mail, e-mail, or fax.
          Do you have internet access? Use the Library’s OPAC (Online Public Access Catalog) to browse LBPH collections. Readers without internet access can do the same with Vo-PAC (Voice-Activated Public Access Catalog) by simply calling a toll-free number, using a password, and speaking their requests in response to verbal prompts.
          Librarians are also on staff to answer questions and to provide assistance and information about disability services.
          Playback equipment is designed for ease of use and accessories such as key extenders are available to make using the players even more convenient.
          To find out more about LBPH, call (800) 242-0586 or contact lbph@carnegielibrary.org. You can visit the Library online at www.carnegielibrary.org or in person at 4724 Baum Boulevard in the North Oakland section of Pittsburgh.

Long Distance is more expensive for TTY users than it is for non-TTY users. This is because when you use a TTY, you must type all of your conversations. Even when you use the Relay Service, you must type your conversation and wait for the CA to type back to you. In an effort to help equalize this problem, Verizon offers a small discount (10 cents per minute) on Long Distance to their customers who use TTY’s.
In order to sign up for this small discount, you may call the Verizon Center for Customers with Disabilities at 1 800 974-6006 Voice/TTY. However, if you do choose this service, you may not have any other calling plan. Depending on the amount of Long Distance calls you make per month, it may be more economical to sign up with a traditional Long Distance plan.

Additional Listings—allows you to list other members of your household on your main number or list additional telephone numbers, including your TTY line, separately in the Verizon phone book.

Distinctive Ring—gives you an additional number for your current phone line with its own signature ring. With special equipment, you can distinguish between callers and identify whether an incoming call is a TTY or voice call.

Do Not Disturb—temporarily prevents some or all of your incoming calls from ringing on your phone.

Air Travelers with Disabilities Hotline at 800-778-4838 voice and 800-455-9880 TTY, is available for anyone who experiences a disability related air travel problem. The Hotline is staffed from 7 am to 11 pm eastern time, 7 days a week and provides general information on the rights of air travelers with disabilities and assists callers in resolving problems.

The International Center for Disability Resources on the Internet, ICDRI, at www.icdri.org has extensive links and resources, and the latest news affecting the disability community. ICDRI is committed to a cross-disability philosophy and is
consumer controlled.

The TRCIL Library was created and organized in 1989. Its scope is cross disability with an emphasis on independent living and advocacy.
          It is known to be one of the most comprehensive disability libraries in the eastern US. The collection consists of books, magazines, journals, and videos. Presently, the library regularly receives eight periodicals (magazines). A monthly current awareness packet is distributed to all staff so they can make requests for copies of current magazine articles.
          The library has accessible furniture, A PC with Windows XP, printer, and an Optelec 500 CCTV. The file drawer contains topics of interest on independent living. One section of the library contains advocacy materials only.
          The library is open to any consumer and other users, but it is preferred that non-employees call in advance or make an appointment. Contact the librarian at 412-371-7700 x159 (voice), 412-371-6230 (TTY).

Calling all single people with MS! Join this group from 6:00 to 8:30 pm on the last Tuesday of each month for an evening of fun, sharing, and support at Abate Restaurant in the Waterworks Mall in Fox Chapel. The next meeting dates are October 25th, November 29th, and the holiday party on December 20th.

Your CIL wants you to have more opportunities to actively participate! You are probably most familiar with the services we provide through CSPPPD and PAS waivers. Did you know Centers for Independent Living (CILs) are also charged with providing four “Core Services?” Those Core Services are Peer Support, Skills Training, Advocacy, and Information and Referral. As a CIL, TRCIL provides these Core Services for all people with disabilities and is forming a consumer advisory board to partner with us. This board intends:

To reach out, identify and support people who, for one reason or another, are not eligible for waiver services.

To educate people with disabilities, the general public, and relevant service providers about CIL Core Services.

To make formal recommendations to TRCIL management on improving and enhancing the quality of independent living supports provided through our Core Services.

Family Trust is a non-profit organization that counsels people with disabilities in financial and estate planning and in establishing trusts. Trusts can be established which will not effect your government benefits and supports. Family trust is affiliated with Achieva.
For more information, please call Kathy Hendrickson at 412-995-5000, ext. 405.

Did you know that people with disabilities, parents of children with disabilities, and businesses wishing to accommodate people with disabilities may qualify for some tax deductions, exemptions, income exclusions, and credits? To learn more, visit www.irs.gov or call 1-800-829-1040, 1-800-829-4059 (TTY).

Project Freedom is an education-to-work organization that “trains people with disabilities and provides a talented pool of professionals to fill positions within the regional business community.”
          Since being founded in 1998, it has trained over 2,00 people with disabilities for jobs in help desk technology-customer support services, and also as Web production specialists.
          “Many Project Freedom graduates are employed by its founding partners: Highmark Inc., Blue Cross Blue Shield, Bayer Corporation, and Bender Consulting Services.”
          If you are interested in learning more about Project Freedom, please contact Ted Pugh at 412-371-7700, extension 126, 412-371-6230 (TTY), or tpugh@trcil.org.

Three Rivers Center for Independent Living is looking for qualified people who would like to serve on one of our three Boards of Directors.
          The Foundation Board recruits members who have experience in fundraising or who are willing to help to help solicit, as well as manage, major funds for the agency.
          The TRCIL Services Board deals with programmatic issues and is looking for people who are interested in having input into the programs and services that TRCIL provides.
          The TRCIL Real Properties Board oversees the property that the agency owns and approves projects related to the upkeep and maintenance of the building that houses the agency.
          Board members serve designated terms and are expected to have input into the vision and goals of the organization and to abide by the board by-laws. If you are interested, please contact Coleen Vuono at 412-371-7700, ext. 124, or cvuono@trcil.org.

Monica Moshenko said “there was a huge void in talk radio for people with disabilities and their families. I am just filling it.” Now she has her own radio show to talk about disability issues.
Her “DisAbility News & Views” radio show is hosted live at 10:00 am every Sunday. Tune in at www.disabilitynewsradio.com where you can listen to past radio shows or browse many disability resources.

MURDERBALL
The highly acclaimed documentary on wheelchair rugby.
October 18th, 2005, 6:00 to 9:30 pm
Melwood Screening Room in Oakland

Tickets are being pre-sold for $10. Please call 1-877-755-5222 to purchase. Seating is limited.
This event will be hosted by the Allegheny County Department of Human Services Disability Connection and proceeds will benefit the Disability Connection’s special projects.

Remember, your donation will help TRCIL continue to empower people with disabilities to lead self-directed and productive lives within the community.

Ensuring Equality…
Expanding Opportunities…
Increasing Independence…
For People with Disabilities

“Sometimes I wonder if the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on or by imbeciles who really mean it.” -Mark Twain

“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen, nor touched… but are felt in the heart.” -Helen Keller

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TRCIL would like to thank the following people for their generous contributions...

“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”
–Aesop, The Lion & the Mouse

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Mission Statement
To empower people with disabilities to enjoy self-directed, personally meaningful lives by providing outstanding consumer controlled services and by advocating for effective community change.

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