Three Rivers Center for
Independent Living
900
Rebecca Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15221-2938
(412)
371-7700
Toll Free
(PA Only): 1-800-633-4588
Fax: (412)371-9430
TTY: (412) 371-6230
www.trcil.org
Disability Pride
Newsletter
Volume 3, Issue 1
August/September 2006
In this issue:
Disability Pride Day Dinner a Success!
Governor’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities Conference
SSA to Implement New Disability Process
TRCIL Training Department
Victory for All
On 6/14/02 TRCIL
and 3 consumers filed a complaint (“Class Action”) in the U.S. District
Court for Western PA against the Housing Authority, City of Pittsburgh (HACP)
alleging housing discrimination on the basis of disability. After 3 years of
deliberation, TRCIL and HACP developed a settlement agreement that was
accepted by Housing & Urban Development (HUD) on 7/17/06. Some highlights of
the agreement are: HACP will develop a minimum of 321 Uniform Federal
Accessibility Standards (UFAS) accessible units by June 15, 2010; 10% of
existing public housing units leased or available for leasing in senior
communities will be UFAS accessible by June 15, 2006; 10% of the number of
existing units for which private owners of mixed income communities receive
public housing subsidies from HUD through HACP will be UFAS accessible by
June 15, 2006; and a strong collaborative partnership has been developed by
TRCIL and HACP. This collaborative group meets on a monthly basis going over
construction plans disability training for staff and other related housing
issues or initiatives. As TRCIL and HACP continue to work closely together,
the housing needs of people with disabilities will begin to be met in a way
that is unique to the city of Pittsburgh.
Disability Pride Day Dinner a Success!
TRCIL held its third annual Disability Pride Day Fundraising Dinner on July 19 at the Heinz History Center. The theme of the event, which celebrated the 1990 passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), was “History of the Disability Rights Movement”. A time line showing major events in the movement was shown and awards were presented to Dr. Kate Seelman, professor at the University of Pittsburgh and disability advocate, and Westinghouse Electric Company whose employees have volunteered their time and effort to TRCIL for many years.
Advocacy Calendar for August/September 2006
August
August 2nd & 30th
CHC Disability Committee
Meeting
Please RSVP to Leslie at
412-456-1877
4:00 to 6:00 pm
UCP, 4638 Center Ave.
August 21st
City County Task Force on Disability
1:00 to 3:00 pm
Civic Building, 200 Ross St., Pittsburgh
August 25th
New Advocate Roundtable
Come learn about this year’s
exciting new initiatives including community, accessibility, and employment.
11:00 am to 2:00 pm
TRCIL, 900 Rebecca Ave.
August 28th
D.A.R.E. Meeting
Disability Advocates for
Rights & Equality
1:00 to 3:00 pm
September
To Be Announced
Job Exploration Workshop
Lean about employment
opportunities for people with disabilities
TRCIL, 900 Rebecca Ave.
September 18th
City County Task Force on Disability
1:00 to 3:00 pm
Civic Building, 200 Ross St., Pittsburgh
September 20th
CHC Disability Committee
Meeting
Please RSVP to Leslie at
412-456-1877
4:00 to 6:00 pm
UCP, 4638 Center Ave.
September 25th
D.A.R.E. Meeting
Disability Advocates for Rights
& Equality
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.
A new advocacy handbook has been developed by the TRCIL Core Services Working Group. This powerful tool is now available to help you create change in your community! Contact Brenda Dare at 800-633-4588 for more information.
“Only our individual faith in freedom can keep us free.” -Dwight D. Eisenhower
“Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish.” -John Quincy Adams
By Cindy Williams, Information & Referral Specialist
HOPE Network promotes community integration of individuals with cognitive and/or physical disabilities in southwestern Pennsylvania through programs, services, and leisure activities. HOPE Network is comprised of services and programs including Healthsports, which offers sports, fitness, and recreation opportunities for people with disabilities who want to be active in life. Children and adults are served in a way that integrates family and friends into the activity. Programs & activities are held throughout Western Pennsylvania and include water skiing, snow skiing, self-defense, golf, track, musical/ theater arts, fishing, tennis, quad rugby, and basketball. Contact them at 412- 826-2771 or e-mail at hsports@city-net.com. A calendar of upcoming events, a newsletter, and tips on safe exercise is available at www.hopenetwork-pa.org.
www.copecaredeal.org is a mental health website for teens. It includes tools for taking care of yourself, exploring feelings, learning to recognize personal strengths, understanding warning signs, and education and facts on mental illness.
Medicare Rights Center (MRC) is an independent source of health care information and assistance for people with Medicare. MRC helps older adults and people with disabilities get good, affordable health care. Their enrollment projects help people with limited incomes access benefits that can help pay their Medicare premiums, deductibles and co-pays. Their telephone hotline services answers Medicare questions and helps callers get the health care they need. The Education Department educates people with Medicare and those who counsel them- health care providers, social service workers, family members, and others about Medicare benefits and rights. Through public policy efforts, MRC also brings the consumer voice to the national debate on Medicare reform. Their website is www.medicarerights.org.
Finding a Job that is Right for You: A Practical Approach to Looking for a Job as a Person with Disability is a new Employment Guide from Job Accommodations Network for people with disabilities entering the workforce. The guide provides four-steps with easy-to-use information, tools, and resources on subjects encountered when job seeking. These include disclosing a disability, requesting an accommodation, and career exploration designed to help people with disabilities find the job which is a good fit for them. It can be found at: http://www.jan.wvu.edu/job/.
GoodSearch.com is an internet search engine powered by Yahoo!. Three Rivers Center for Independent Living is now on Goodsearch, so every time someone searches the internet from this site and specifies us as a charity, we earn $0.01! The more people who use this site, the more money we’ll raise! So please spread the word to your friends and family. The web site is www.goodsearch.com and we are listed as Three Rivers Center for Independent Living.
Exciting news!
TRCIL has recently created a Training Department within the agency in
response to requests by TRCIL staff for a standardized training curriculum
and for expanded, more diverse educational opportunities. Currently the new
department’s primary focus is the enhancement of the New Hire Orientation
process and increasing professional development opportunities for all staff.
Future plans include offering training for consumers and a fee-for-service
training menu of informative disability-related topics for the community at
large.
Any organization or person interested in discussing training
opportunities for TRCIL staff or consumers should contact Terri Adams, the
Manager of Training and Contract Compliance at (412) 371-7700 ext. 147 or
via email at
tadams@trcil.org.
EveryOne an
Artist Gallery (4128 Butler Street, Pittsburgh, 15201) is holding their
second annual Open Call Art Exhibit from October 27th to January 5th and is
looking for submissions.
“Any individual who has a developmental, physical, or mental
disability and is over the age of 18” is invited to participate. One piece
of artwork may be submitted and all media will be accepted including paint,
pencil, sculpture, clay, pastels, photography, and mixed media.
To find out more about participating in this event, please contact
Ellen Filar at 412-681-2404 or
efilar@aemhmr.org.
(The Artist Registration Packet must be completed and submitted by
September 1st.)
Social Security Administration to Implement New Disability Process
In late March,
the Social Security Administration announced new regulations that will
establish a new disability determination process. The agency hopes the new
process will shorten the time it takes for people with disabilities to
receive benefits.
Agency commissioner Jo Anne B. Barnhart said the changes would
ensure “that we make the right decision as early in the process as
possible.” The new process will be implemented in the six-state New England
region beginning in August. SSA said it will wait at least one year before
phasing in the system nationwide.
A full in-depth analysis of these changes can be viewed at
http://www.allsupinc.com/pdf/examiner06v1.pdf (pdf
format).
August 29th, 1930–
Justin Dart was born.
September 26th, 1973– President Nixion signed Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act into law.
Governor’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities Conference
Each year the Governor's Committee on Employment of People with
Disabilities, (GCEPD) sponsors a conference. This year it will take place in
Pittsburgh on October 4th at the
Greentree Radisson.
The GCEPD is affiliated with the Pennsylvania State Government
through the Department of Labor and Industry, Office of Vocational
Rehabilitation. The purpose and objectives of the Governor's Committee on
Employment of People with Disabilities is to promote an accurate perception
of the abilities and performance of Pennsylvanians with disabilities, and to
improve their quality of work life by promoting opportunities to work and
live in an environment free of barriers imposed by architecture,
communication, or attitude. This group also looks to increase the awareness
of persons with disabilities about rehabilitation, training, and placement
services available to them and to encourage them to use these services as
well as promote increased employment of persons with disabilities, including
the retention and advancement of those already employed.
The one day conference entitled “It’s Simply Doable!” looks to
attract 250-300 employers and community leaders and will offer attendees a
variety of tools and resources to help attract and retain talent in our
region.
For more information about the conference, please contact Larry
Powell at 412-268-2013.
James Magill has always been a writer, but found his niche in writing poetry 13 years ago when one of his poems was published. Although James had no formal training, he has worked tirelessly to expand his vocabulary as well as his understanding of form. “Writing poetry seems to have given me the opportunity to express my deepest emotions with using only a few words, and I feel that this takes a lot of work as well as talent.” James has become a widely published poet and currently resides in Bloomsburg, PA. He is retired from the United States Department of Justice (Federal Bureau of Prisons) and has earned his BA and MS from Bloomsburg University of PA. James is a person with multiple physical disabilities and was appointed to be a member of the Statewide Independent Living Council (SILC) by former Governors Thomas Ridge and Mark Schweiker. James also enjoys numismatics and shortwave radio monitoring. To learn more about James and to view his poetry, please visit www.firststrikepro.com/poetjamesmagill/, http://hometown.aol.com/jwm2125, or www.vsarts.org.
TRCIL would like
to thank the following people for their generous contributions…
Ruth & Chuck
Blatchford
Andrew Hladio
Al Martini
Gordon Page
Roberta White
“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” –Aesop, The Lion & the Mouse
To make a donation, please visit our website at www.trcil.org/donations.htm.
We are currently recruiting VOLUNTEERS to assist TRCIL in many areas. If interested, please contact us at 412-371-7700 to request more information regarding volunteer opportunities both inside and outside of the building. If you are interested but don’t think you’ll “fit in,” please call us FIRST! Dates and times are flexible and reasonable accommodations can be met. We need assistance in all areas, so CALL TODAY!
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.
To subscribe to the online Disability Pride Newsletter, please email DPN@trcil.org with “subscribe” in the title of the email. To unsubscribe, email DPN@trcil.org with “unsubscribe” in the title of the email.
Email the Editor at DPN@trcil.org
The Disability Pride Newsletter is available in alternative formats upon request.