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 4
March/April 2007
In this issue:
New Drop-Off Spot for Paper Recycling at TRCIL
Locate Advocate Creates Governor's
New Assistive Technology Demonstration Center
Are You a Person with a Disability who is a Good Listener?
March is Brain Injury Awareness Month
TRCIL's 2007 Fair Housing Festival
The Fair Housing
Department Needs Your Help
Fair Housing-Equal
Opportunity for All
New Drop-Off Spot for Paper Recycling at TRCIL
Everyday Americans buy 62 million newspapers and throw
out 44 million! What can you do to help recycle paper in your area? Well,
Three Rivers Center for Independent Living, located at 900 Rebecca Avenue in
Wilkinsburg wants your paper! We have partnered with the
Abitibi-Consolidated Paper Retriever Program and will now accept paper
products at our Center in Wilkinsburg. Help the environment and help TRCIL
raise money by dropping off your paper products.
Acceptable items to be recycled include magazines,
mail, newspapers, catalogs, folders, and shredded and non-shredded
papers. Staples do not have to be removed and please keep shredded paper in
a bag when it is dropped off. Please do not
deposit telephone books, kitchen or bathroom products,
cardboard, metal, plastic or trash.
There is a designated location inside TRCIL for you to
drop off your items and soon there will be an Abitibi Paper Retriever bin
(dumpster) outside on TRCIL’s property. Please read the follow-up article
about the Abitibi Paper Retriever in the next newsletter for information on
the arrival of the bin. For more information call TRCIL at 412-371-7700.
Advocacy Calendar for April 2007
April
10th
OVR Consumer Advisory Committee Meeting
6:00 to 8:00 pm
Lifeswork, Forbes Ave.
April
11th
Training
Learn how to do community
accessibility surveys.
1:00 to 3:00 pm
TRCIL, 900
Rebecca Ave.
April
13th
New Advocate Round Table
Come
learn about this year’s exciting
new initiatives including community,
accessibility, and employment.
11:00 to 1:00 pm
TRCIL, 900 Rebecca Ave.
April 18th
CHC Disability Committee Meeting
Please RSVP to Leslie at
412-456-1877.
4:00 to 6:00 pm
UCP, 4638 Center
Ave.
April
23rd
D.A.R.E. Meeting
Disability Advocates for Rights
& Equality.
1:00 to 3:00 pm
TRCIL, 900 Rebecca Ave.
April
26th
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.
TBA:
Job Exploration Workshop
Learn about employment
opportunities for people with
disabilities.
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.
By Cindy Williams, Information & Referral Specialist
www.mobileWOMEN.org
is an online magazine created by women who use
wheelchairs and who have had difficulty finding answers to their health,
fashion, and other questions. Their mission is to bring together current
and accurate information on issues of interest and to enable women to
share and learn from each other in an interactive forum.
www.accessiblesociety.org/casindex.html
is
The National Center for Accessible Society’s communications
clearinghouse that provides journalists with credible
information and quotable sources on national disability policy. Its goal
is to focus
public attention on disability and independent living issues. Topics
include: the ADA, Demographics, Education, Employment, Independent
Living, Healthcare, Housing, Universal Design, and Visitability.
www.icdri.org
is the
International Center for Disability Resources on the Internet,
ICDRI, which 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.
Local Advocate Creates Governor's
Office for People with Disabilities
Advocate for people with disabilities and TRCIL’s Advocate of the Year
in 2005, Evelyn Stypula, worked to create the Governor’s Office for
People with Disabilities. The Office helps make recommendations on
policies that help the disability community and serves as a liaison
between the Governor’s Office and people with disabilities. Evelyn has
been an advocate for an astonishing 48 years and resides in Morningside
Pennsylvania.
On November 21, Governor Ed Rendell signed Executive
Order Number 9 of 2006 creating the Governor’s Office for People with
Disabilities. The Office will be chaired by the Secretary of the
Department of Public Welfare and will include the Secretaries of Labor
and Industry, Health, Education, Transportation, Budget, Aging and
Policy, and representatives of the Office of Health Care Reform, the
Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, Office of Housing and Community
Revitalization and the Pennsylvania Developmental Disabilities Council.
The order also creates a Governor’s Advisory Committee
for People with
Disabilities to advise the Governor’s Office. The Governor will appoint
members of the Advisory Committee which will be made up of 60% of people
with disabilities and some family members who have children with
disabilities. For a copy of the Executive Order, got to http://www.oa.state.pa.us/oac/cwp/view.asp?A=351&Q=211655
TRCIL has opened a new and exciting Demonstration Center for assistive
technology devices. In the Demo Center you will find a wide variety of
devices that range from “Low Tech” to “High Tech,” such as reachers, eating
utensils, telecommunication equipment, CCTVs and other low vision products,
and computer access alternatives. The purpose of the Demo Center is to give
consumers a “guided exploration” of a specific device or a category of
devices to match the right device with the right person and to help users
make an informed decision about a device.
The Demo Center is funded through Pennsylvania’s Initiative
on Assistive Technology (PIAT), a program of the Institute on Disabilities
at Temple University, Pennsylvania’s University Center for Excellence in
Developmental Disabilities Education, Research, and Service. Funding is
provided through the Assistive Technology Act of 1998 as amended, under a
grant for the US Department of Education.
PIAT and TRCIL have also joined with Recordings for the Blind
and Dyslexic (RFB&D) to promote access to print information. RFB&D, a
national non-profit
organization serving individuals who cannot effectively read standard print
due to a visual impairment, learning disability, or other disability,
provides access to an audio book library of over 100,000 titles.
Pennsylvania is one of only five states selected for this partnership. PIAT
is able to offer free demonstrations of the specialized digital reading
devices, as well as a sampling of books from the RFB&D.
The hours of operation for the Demo Center will be: Monday,
Wednesday and Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.. Nights and weekends by
appointment only.
For more information, please contact Kevin Huwe at
412.371.7700 Ext. 111 voice, 412.371.6230 TTY, or khuwe@trcil.org.
Are You a Person with a
Disability who is a Good Listener?
You know the experience with disabilities is priceless. There are some
things that only life can teach you. Now is your turn to share that
wealth with consumers who need you.
Wanted: a few good men and women who happened to have
disabilities. We're looking for outgoing, motivated, dependable
individuals to share practical tips, a
listening ear, and one-on-one peer support for other people with
disabilities.
You must be willing to travel and visit with people. Personal
transportation is
preferred. Call Rob Robertson at: 412 371-7700 extension 123 or e-mail
rrobertson@trcil.org for more information. We’d especially like to hear
from people in Butler, Armstrong, and Beaver Falls who have their own
transportation. This part-time job opportunity pays $10.50 an hour.
March is Brain
Injury Awareness Month
Some facts about Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI)…
· Traumatic
Brain Injury has reached epidemic proportions; yet, is undetected,
misunderstood, misdiagnosed and under funded. Many Americans are not
familiar with the term "brain injury".
· The incidence of TBI is higher than other serious conditions such as multiple sclerosis, breast cancer and spinal cord injuries; yet, public funding is far behind and needed.
· A TBI occurs every 23 seconds and they lead to more than one million emergency department visits each year.
· High
school students, 15-19 years of age, are in a major group at risk
for TBI.
Students who sustain a TBI have the right in their school system to
create an
individualized education and transition plan.
· 1.4
million people sustain a TBI every year in the United States. The
leading causes are falls, motor vehicle-traffic accidents, being
struck by or against
something/someone and assaults. Blasts are a leading cause of TBI
for active duty military personnel in war zones.
· TBI can happen anytime, anywhere and to anyone.
· Life is forever changed following a brain injury. A person with a brain injury may find learning harder, have difficulty with life skills, may lose his/her job, and be lonely, stressed or depressed.
· There
are 5.3 million Americans who live with a disability resulting from
a TBI.
Services are needed but are often unavailable to them.
“Creating a better future through brain injury prevention, research,
education and advocacy" is the Brain Injury Association of America's
commitment to individuals and their families as they experience and
recover from a brain injury.
For more information, visit the national BIAA website at
www.biausa.org or call the National Brain Injury Information Center
at 1-800-444-6443. For information from the BIAA of Pennsylvania,
visit the website at www.biapa.org or call 1-866-635-7097
(in PA only).
Have a disability and, or simply looking for housing?
Three Rivers Center for Independent Living
Invites you to:
THE 2007 FAIR HOUSING FESTIVAL
12 pm to 6 pm Thursday & Friday, April 26 & 27
Join us as we
celebrate and educate!
FREE!
Find out your Housing Options, Learn about Rentals and For Sale
Housing, Options for People with Disabilities, Landlord Tenant Law,
Fair Housing and Accessibility, Learn about Financing, Credit Repair
& Buyers, HUD Complaint Center, Accessible Housing Signup Booth,
Disability Sensitivity & Awareness Exercises, Home Decorating and
Design Booth, Home Modification Demonstrations, Assistive
Technology Demonstrations, Bingo & 50/50, Door Prizes, Face
Painting & Kid’s Table, Food & Games, Special Presentations
Accessible Location and Assistance
900 Rebecca Avenue (at Swissvale Ave.), Wilkinsburg
For more information call: (412) 371-7700 ext 170
Sponsored by: Three Rivers Center for Independent Living and
supported by a Fair Housing Initiative Program Grant from the U.S.
Dept of Housing & Urban Development
The Fair Housing Department Needs Your Help
Do
you have good phone and computer skills, and are reliable? The Fair
Housing Department needs a volunteer to enter data and make phone calls to
prospective housing providers to determine accessibility of their units and
their
willingness to modify their units (a script will be provided). If interested
please call Arnell White for more information at 412-371-7700.
Fair Housing-Equal
Opportunity for All
(Part One of Three)
The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination
in housing
because of race or color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status
(including children under the age of 18
living with parents or legal custodians; pregnant women and people securing
custody of children under 18), and being a person with a disability.
The Fair Housing Act covers most housing.
In some circumstances, the Act
exempts owner-occupied buildings with no more than four units, single-family
housing sold or rented without the use of a broker and housing operated by
organizations and private clubs that limit occupancy to members.
In the Sale and Rental of Housing,
the actions that are prohibited to be taken based on discrimination issues
include refusing to rent or sell housing, refusing to negotiate for housing,
making housing unavailable, denying a dwelling, setting different terms,
conditions or privileges for sale or rental of a dwelling, providing
different housing
services or facilities, falsely denying that housing is available for
inspection, sale or rental, for profit, persuading owners to sell or rent or
denying anyone access to or membership in a facility to the sale or rental
of housing.
In Mortgage Lending,
the actions that are prohibited to be taken based on
discrimination issues include refusing to make a mortgage loan, refusing to
provide information regarding loans, imposing different terms or conditions
on a loan, such as different interest rates, points, or fees, discriminating
in appraising property, refusing to purchase a loan or setting different
terms or conditions for purchasing a loan.
Additional Protection for People with Disabilities:
There is
additional protection if you have a disability. If you or someone associated
with you have a physical or mental disability (including hearing, mobility,
and visual impairments, cancer, chronic mental illness, AIDS, AIDS Related
Complex and mental retardation) that substantially limits one or more major
life activities, have a record of such a disability or are regarded as
having such a disability, you are protected. Your landlord may not refuse to
let you make reasonable modifications to your dwelling or common use areas
at your
expense if necessary for the person with a disability to use the housing.
Although, where reasonable, the landlord may permit changes only if you
agree to restore the property to its original condition when you move. The
landlord can not refuse to make reasonable accommodations in rules,
policies, practices or services if necessary for the person with a
disability to use the housing.
...part two in next issue
TRCIL would like
to thank the following people for their generous contributions…
Newsletter Donors:
Maria Cillo
Judy Baker
Gordon Page
Darryl Mance
“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.
Email the Editor at DPN@trcil.org
The Disability Pride Newsletter is available in alternative formats upon request.