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 3
January/February 2007
In this issue:
Advocacy Group Celebrates 1st Anniversary
Core Services Consumer Advisory
Wanted: Motivated, Energetic Advocates
Pittsburgh has Large Population of People with Disabilities
Let Everyone Face Inspection
By Stephanie Tate, Nursing Home Transition
Coordinator
As a person with a
disability, I feel that it is imperative that this information be
distributed.
On April 21, I entered the Erie County Courthouse with my parents,
using the West Sixth Street entrance. My parents were asked to go through
the metal detector, but I was not. I use a power wheelchair for mobility,
and I assumed that the security staff did not see me as a threat. Therefore,
I was allowed to go through security without being searched. I was also
carrying a small bag attached to my wheelchair, and that was not searched,
either.
This disturbs me because, what if I faked a disability? What
if I were sitting on a weapon? I feel that the deputies let me through
because I am a young woman who uses a
wheelchair.
I work for Three Rivers Center for Independent Living. I
advocate for people with disabilities and express that people with
disabilities need to be treated with equality. Everyone who enters the Erie
County Courthouse should be searched,
regardless of appearance.
I sent a letter to the editor of the Erie Times newspaper and
to the Mayor of Erie regarding this serious security issue and also,
regarding the poor condition of Erie’s sidewalks.
The sidewalk and accessible curb cut to Perry Square was so
bumpy and in need of repair that when a co-worker of mine and her consumer
tried to use it, it was inaccessible for a wheelchair user. They had no
alternative and had to walk on the road instead.
As a result of my letters, the Mayor’s assistant contacted me
and said that the city is given a certain amount of money to designate where
curb cuts should go or be repaired. He told me that they were keeping those
in mind for the next time around. Also, a small portion of my letter was
published in the Erie Times newspaper.
Regarding the security issues at the courthouse, the Erie
County sheriff who is also head of the courthouse security, told me that he
read my letter to the editor and had since stepped up security measures at
the courthouse. He said staff is not to have sympathy towards people with
disabilities, and they will be searched like
everyone else.
Advocacy Calendar for February/March 2007
February and March
February & March 9th
New Advocate
Round Table
Come learn about this year’s exciting new initiative including
community, accessibility, and employment.
11:00 to 1:00 pm
TRCIL, 900 Rebecca Ave.
February & March 14th
Training
Learn how to do community accessibility surveys.
1:00 to 3:00
pm
TRCIL, 900 Rebecca Ave.
February & March 19th
Job Exploration Workshop
Learn about employment
opportunities for people with disabilities.
1:00 to 3:00 pm
TRCIL, 900 Rebecca Ave.
February & March 21st
CHC Disability Committee Meeting
Please RSVP to Leslie at
412-456-1877.
4:00 to 6:00 pm
UCP, 4638 Center Ave.
February & March 22nd
Let Your
Voices Be Heard
Cross Disability Advocacy group in partnership with Mental Health
Association in Allegheny County.
10:00 am
Heinz Room, 1 Smithfield St.
February & March 26th
D.A.R.E.
Meeting
Disability Advocates for Rights&
Equality.
1:00 to 3:00 pm
TRCIL, 900 Rebecca Ave.
Other March Dates:
March 13th
OVR Consumer
Advisory Committee Meeting
6:00 to 8:00
pm
Lifeswork, Forbes 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.
“The
ultimate measure of man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and
convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”
-Martin Luther King Jr.
By Cindy Williams, Information & Referral Specialist
TAX TIPS
LIVE TELEPHONE ASSISTANCE
For general
information call 800-829-1040 V or 800-829-4059 TDD.
RECORDED INFORMATION
IRS TeleTax
topics are pre-recorded tapes and can be heard at 800-829-4477 or read
at
www.irs.ustreas.gov/taxtopics/index.html.
§
TeleTax
Topic 102 Tax Assistance for People
with Disabilities & the
Hearing
Impaired is a brief overview of IRS services related to
people with disabilities.
§ TeleTax Topic 603 Credit for the Elderly or the Disabled
PRINT PUBLICATIONS & FORMS Order IRS forms and publications at 800-829-3676 V, or 800-829-4059 TTY, or download at www.irs.gov/formspubs/index.html
§
Publication
907 Tax Highlights for People with
Disabilities is a booklet that
highlights the part of the tax law that are of particular interest to
people with
disabilities. Topics include income, itemized deductions, tax credits,
household
employees, and business tax incentives.
§ Publication 524 Credit for the Elderly or Disabled provide information about this credit for people 65 and over, or retired on permanent and total disability.
ACCESSIBLE TAX PUBLICATIONS: IRS Publications and forms are available in Braille and Text formats at www.irs.gov. Selected publications are available from regional libraries for the blind and visually handicapped. The Pittsburgh area library is at 412-687-2440. Titles include Publication 17 Your Federal Income Tax; Publication 334 Tax Guide for Small Business; and Forms 1040, 1040A and 1040EZ.
FREE TAX SERVICE & ASSISTANCE: People who need assistance due to a physical disability can get help from an IRS office or the IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (VITA). For more information see TeleTax topic 101 or Publication 910 Guide to Free Tax Services, or to find the nearest VITA site to you call 800-829-1040.
Advocacy Group
Celebrates First Anniversary
By Brenda Dare, Advocate
A year ago,
a small group of people began getting together once a month at
Westmoreland Manor. The purpose of the group was to assist its members
in finding their voices to create change.
A lot of time was spent getting to know each other and
understand the problems we have in common as people with disabilities.
It can be hard work learning to speak up and use our voices. The group
recognized that every member had contributions to make and a story to
tell.
One of the ways we decided to find out more about one another
was to work on small biographies. This helped us to know more about one
another, including our dreams and frustrations.
One of the common problems people experience is a lack of
access to transportation that would allow them to participate more in
the community. The group decided to design and complete a transportation
survey that would help pinpoint specific difficulties. Information from
the survey was passed on to the Pennsylvania Auditor General's office,
and was made part of a report calling for the expansion of shared ride
services to every county in Pennsylvania.
The group is very proud of the progress it has made throughout
this past year. At the December meeting they decided to begin calling
themselves the Westmoreland Advocacy Group.
Important Dates:
January 3, 1982
Telecommunications for the Disabled Act was signed
January 15
Martin Luther
King, Jr. Day
January 23, 1932
Ed Roberts was
born
More Information:
The Telecommunications for the Disabled Act
requires
telephone access be available for deaf and hard-of-hearing people in
public places.
Ed Roberts
is known
world wide as the father of Independent Living.
CORE SERVICES
CONSUMER ADVISORY BOARD
As
YOUR CIL, Three Rivers Center
for Independent Living (TRCIL) wants you to actively participate in
improving the 4-Core Services TRCIL provides.
4-Core Services:
Skills Training– develop the skills needed to live independently
information and referral– provide referral for specific services offered by
TRCIL or other agencies
advocacy– work to address discrimination issues and promote systems change
peer supporT– provide one-to-one informal support and advice
Last year, TRCIL formed a consumer advisory board to:
-Educate people with disabilities and the general public about CIL
Core Services.
-Ensure
that TRCIL Core Services are truly consumer controlled.
-Make
formal recommendations to TRCIL management on improving and
enhancing the quality of Core Services.
-Follow-up
on recommendations.
-Maintain
an open dialogue between management and consumers.
-Provide
a resource where management can gain insight on consumer needs.
If you are interested in applying and interviewing for this board or would like to know more about it, call Cindy Williams at 412-371-7700, extension 136 or 412-371-6230(TTY).
WANTED: Motivated,
Energetic Advocates
Three Rivers
Center for Independent Living needs to hear from people with
disabilities and allies who care about their civil rights in Armstrong
County! We would like to begin new advocacy efforts in your area to help
you identify things that would make your community a more livable place
for people with disabilities. We need motivated, energetic, action
oriented people to let us know about the barriers you face to accessing
your community. When people come together to create change, great things
can happen. Please call Systems Advocate Brenda Dare at 1-800-633-4588
extension 148.
Some examples of things we can work to change are access to
transportation, employment opportunities, and community accessibility.
All we need to get started are three committed people who want to learn
more about their rights in order to make positive change. We'll be
waiting to hear from you!
Pittsburgh has Large Population of People with Disabilities
Pittsburgh Business Times-June 29, 2005
A new
study funded by the FISA Foundation which advocates for people with
disabilities, found that Pittsburgh, Fayette, and Greene counties
have the highest rates of residents with disabilities in
Southwestern Pennsylvania. These counties also have lower employment
rates than populations with disabilities at the state and national
levels, and the state is not doing enough to help them find jobs or
develop necessary skills, according to the study.
The city of Pittsburgh, having much higher rates of people
with disabilities living in poverty than any other area, has a
poverty rate among children with disabilities almost double the
national average, according to the study by the University of
Pittsburgh.
Adopting a new approach towards people with disabilities
is a must, “not as a burden but as a large underutilized human
capital pool with the potential to greatly contribute to the
economic and social development of the region,” researchers say.
The 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act, passed by
President George Bush Senior, defines “disability” as a “physical or
mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major
life activities.”
The Pitt study examines six types of disabilities: sensory
disability (blindness, deafness, or a severe vision or hearing
impairment); physical disability (a condition that substantially
limits one or more basic physical activities, such as walking,
climbing stairs, reaching, lifting, or carrying); mental disability
(learning, remembering, or concentrating); self-care disability
(dressing, bathing, or getting around inside the home); going
outside the home disability (going outside the home alone to shop or
visit a doctor’s office); and employment disability (working at a
job or business).
Making Choices is about Taking Chances
http://www.tiesthatbind-nfb.ca/themes/index.php
“Choice”
When
we make a choice, the future is ahead of us and we can’t be sure
how things will turn out. We make a decision, and then live with
the consequences – this is the nature of freedom and it’s how
each of us writes our life story.
While choice is about risk, it is also about personal
expression. Making choices is how we define ourselves, and it’s
also how we learn. Everyday choices like what to wear, and
lifetime choices like which dream to follow, all contribute to
making us who we are. Safety is important, but not as an end in
itself. Rather, safety is the foundation upon which a meaningful
life can be built, and a meaningful life means getting to make
choices.
Assistive Media
www.assistivemedia.org
Featured in the New York Times and by C-SPAN’s 25th
anniversary celebration, assistivemedia.org provides free audio
access to reading materials for anyone with a reading access
barrier. By using the World Wide Web, Assistive Media provides
copyright cleared, spoken-word recordings available to hear on
the internet. The internet enables Assistive Media to distribute
audio effectively, inexpensively, and efficiently.
Currently, Assistive Media focuses material from
reputable mainstream periodicals and independent writers,
providing an assorted mixture of interesting and educational
material. There are hundreds of recordings to choose from.
It is easy to access and easy to listen to the
recordings too! Go to assistivemedia.org, click on audio
archives, and click on the recording you want to listen to.
Then, click on the MP3 link and you are ready. For more
information and to listen to your favorite publication go to
assistivemedia.org now!
LLow-Calorie,
Oatmeal-Blueberry Muffins
Ingredients:
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup rolled oats
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 beaten egg
- ¾ cup milk
- ½ cup packed brown sugar
- ¼ cup cooking oil
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- ¾ cup frozen blueberries
Directions:
1. Grease twelve 2-1/2-inch muffin cups, or line them with paper
cups; set aside.
(Refrigerate remaining batter.)
2. Stir together flour, rolled oats, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.
3. Combine egg, milk, brown sugar, oil, and vanilla in another
bowl. Add egg mixture to
flour mixture. Stir just until moistened (batter should be
lumpy). Fold blueberries into
the batter. Spoon batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling
each three-quarters full.
4. Bake in a 400 degree F oven for 16 to 18 minutes for 2-1/2-inch
muffins) time may
vary). Cool in muffin cups on a wire rack for 5 minutes; remove
muffins from cups.
Serve warm. Makes 12 regular-size muffins.
Calories: 160 per muffin
TRCIL would like
to thank the following people for their generous contributions…
Tina Calabro
Robert Hoak
Florence Karras
William Karolyi
“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.
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Email the Editor at DPN@trcil.org
The Disability Pride Newsletter is available in alternative formats upon request.