Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Bad Access Flickr group
Have pictures of bad accessibility? Want to show the world? Share photos and info about poor accessibility in your community. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has been around for almost twenty years, but many places still have bad access. If we can't laugh about it, we might cry... share your photos and frustrations about ridiculous access. Check out the Flickr bad access group.
Monday, August 10, 2009
From Alabama Live (July 28, 2009):
Arrested in silence: Police use Taser, pepper spray on deaf man
By ROBERT McCLENDON and MARK R. KENT
Mobile, AL police used pepper spray and a Taser on a deaf and mentally disabled man Friday after they were unable to get him to come out of a bathroom at a Dollar General store, authorities said. After forcibly removing Antonio Love from the bathroom of the Azalea Road store, officers attempted to book the 37-year-old, on charges of resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and failure to obey a police officer, but the magistrate on duty at the jail refused to accept any of those charges......Police were called to the store at 12:22 p.m...When the officers arrived, they pounded on the door but got no answer, Bagsby said. They pounded again. No answer. Love...said he was in the bathroom because he was sick to his stomach. "I wait and sit toilet," Love's note read. "I think about someone try break door. I hold door hard." At that point, Bagsby said, the officers saw movement from under the door, indicating that there was someone inside. They then shot pepper spray under the door...
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Arrested in silence: Police use Taser, pepper spray on deaf man
By ROBERT McCLENDON and MARK R. KENT
Mobile, AL police used pepper spray and a Taser on a deaf and mentally disabled man Friday after they were unable to get him to come out of a bathroom at a Dollar General store, authorities said. After forcibly removing Antonio Love from the bathroom of the Azalea Road store, officers attempted to book the 37-year-old, on charges of resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and failure to obey a police officer, but the magistrate on duty at the jail refused to accept any of those charges......Police were called to the store at 12:22 p.m...When the officers arrived, they pounded on the door but got no answer, Bagsby said. They pounded again. No answer. Love...said he was in the bathroom because he was sick to his stomach. "I wait and sit toilet," Love's note read. "I think about someone try break door. I hold door hard." At that point, Bagsby said, the officers saw movement from under the door, indicating that there was someone inside. They then shot pepper spray under the door...
>>> For More or to Comment
Friday, August 7, 2009
Accessible Gardens
Planting seeds: Accessible gardens available for people with disabilities
Ron Hornsby demonstartes the tools and beds used at the Cache Community Garden in Hyde Park on Monday. (Meegan M. Reid/Herald Journal)
Published:
Wednesday, August 5, 2009 3:12 AM CDT
Arie Kirk Community gardens are places where locals can grow food and harvest friendships but Kate Stephens said often times, those gardens are not easily accessible to people with physical disabilities. For local residents that have physical limitations, members of the Utah Conservation Corps have changed that by constructing table top gardens, raised gardens and adaptive gardening tools available for use at the Cache Valley Community Garden.“This garden was designed with accessibility in mind so that people with disabilities, who represent about 20 percent of the population, can come out and be a part of the community garden so it’s truly representative of everyone in the community,” said Stephens, assistant director of Utah Conservation Corps. Located on about two acres of land west of the Saint Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in Hyde Park, the community garden features accessible gardens that were completed and ready for use this spring, Stephens said.
Designed to look like a native Utah orchid from an aerial view, the accessible gardens feature nine raised beds, two table top gardens, five transfer sit-down beds and hardened pathways, said Utah Conservation Corps member Luke Leclair-Marzolf. As Ron Hornsby worked in a raised garden Monday, he said, “I’m able to weed the garden, plant the garden, harvest the garden from my wheelchair. And down on the ground like that, that’s a little difficult, can do it but it’s uncomfortable and hard.” “And for some people, it’s impossible,” Stephens added.“Exactly,” Hornsby said. “And I’m very fortunate that I can get out of my chair. Some people cannot so they have a very difficult time trying to do their gardening. Gardening is work and, often times, hard work and for people in a wheelchair; they’re a little bit restricted.” Hornsby then began working on a bed that has tiled seating. Transferring from his wheelchair to a seat, he inspected the tomatoes, rhubarb, peas and cabbage that are growing in the plot.Cache Valley Community Garden opened two years ago. In respect to the accessible gardens, Stephens said they spent the first summer developing tools and some raised gardens. There are now 25-30 accessible plots. To have a plot, Stephens said there is a nominal fee.Over time, Stephens said about 40 people, including Conservation Corps members and community volunteers, have helped develop the area. The Utah Conservation Corps inclusive crew, which currently has eight members, was the driving force behind the adaptive gardens. Stephens said half of the group have physical disabilities which makes the group one of the first, if not the first, to have an inclusive crew.“The neat thing I guess about all of this is it’s an accessible garden that was designed by people with disabilities for people with disabilities so people with disabilities have been a part of the process from start to finish,” she said. The gardens may be ready for planting or already growing, but the crew still has plans to broaden its accessibility. Crew leader Quintin Williams said they are considering putting Braille signs in the garden. In addition to the basic gardening hand tools, Leclair-Marzolf said they also offer an adaptive wheelchair that works well in rough terrain. To raise awareness and encourage public use of the accessible gardens, Utah Conservation Corps is hosting a workshop Friday, Aug. 7 at the garden. Williams said they are hoping the workshop will be educational and also get people to the Cache Valley Community Garden.From 9 to 10 a.m. there will be a class about accessible gardening and the available tools. Afterward, from 10 a.m. to noon, attendees will be able to work in the gardens.Stephens said they will plant fall crops Friday. Hornsby said these could include lettuce or broccoli but will depend on who comes and what they’d like to plant. Hornsby will be one of the instructors at the workshop. Williams said the garden “gives community members an opportunity to serve and get involved and kind of see what they are capable of.” Members of the inclusive crew agreed the project has proved to be a learning experience for all who participated. “Even I, who have lived in the community of people with disabilities for a long time, had no idea what it was like for a wheelchair user or someone with limited mobility so it’s definitely been a learning experience for everybody involved, not just those with disabilities ... everybody comes to the table with something to offer and that’s sort of the whole joy of the project,” Williams said. Crew member Zak Young said working on the gardens has made him realize how much people take for granted every day. Having a crew that included people with physical disabilities also offered a much-needed perspective in the creation of the gardens and tools, he said. “It’s not just people with disabilities that we have. We’ve included people of diverse abilities in this crew and so I think those of us who are not disabled have learned so much,” he said. Even for new crew members, the accessible gardens have made an impression. Dan Varela, whose first day in the gardens was Monday, said, “I think it’s an amazing idea.”
Ron Hornsby demonstartes the tools and beds used at the Cache Community Garden in Hyde Park on Monday. (Meegan M. Reid/Herald Journal)
Published:
Wednesday, August 5, 2009 3:12 AM CDT
Arie Kirk Community gardens are places where locals can grow food and harvest friendships but Kate Stephens said often times, those gardens are not easily accessible to people with physical disabilities. For local residents that have physical limitations, members of the Utah Conservation Corps have changed that by constructing table top gardens, raised gardens and adaptive gardening tools available for use at the Cache Valley Community Garden.“This garden was designed with accessibility in mind so that people with disabilities, who represent about 20 percent of the population, can come out and be a part of the community garden so it’s truly representative of everyone in the community,” said Stephens, assistant director of Utah Conservation Corps. Located on about two acres of land west of the Saint Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in Hyde Park, the community garden features accessible gardens that were completed and ready for use this spring, Stephens said.
Designed to look like a native Utah orchid from an aerial view, the accessible gardens feature nine raised beds, two table top gardens, five transfer sit-down beds and hardened pathways, said Utah Conservation Corps member Luke Leclair-Marzolf. As Ron Hornsby worked in a raised garden Monday, he said, “I’m able to weed the garden, plant the garden, harvest the garden from my wheelchair. And down on the ground like that, that’s a little difficult, can do it but it’s uncomfortable and hard.” “And for some people, it’s impossible,” Stephens added.“Exactly,” Hornsby said. “And I’m very fortunate that I can get out of my chair. Some people cannot so they have a very difficult time trying to do their gardening. Gardening is work and, often times, hard work and for people in a wheelchair; they’re a little bit restricted.” Hornsby then began working on a bed that has tiled seating. Transferring from his wheelchair to a seat, he inspected the tomatoes, rhubarb, peas and cabbage that are growing in the plot.Cache Valley Community Garden opened two years ago. In respect to the accessible gardens, Stephens said they spent the first summer developing tools and some raised gardens. There are now 25-30 accessible plots. To have a plot, Stephens said there is a nominal fee.Over time, Stephens said about 40 people, including Conservation Corps members and community volunteers, have helped develop the area. The Utah Conservation Corps inclusive crew, which currently has eight members, was the driving force behind the adaptive gardens. Stephens said half of the group have physical disabilities which makes the group one of the first, if not the first, to have an inclusive crew.“The neat thing I guess about all of this is it’s an accessible garden that was designed by people with disabilities for people with disabilities so people with disabilities have been a part of the process from start to finish,” she said. The gardens may be ready for planting or already growing, but the crew still has plans to broaden its accessibility. Crew leader Quintin Williams said they are considering putting Braille signs in the garden. In addition to the basic gardening hand tools, Leclair-Marzolf said they also offer an adaptive wheelchair that works well in rough terrain. To raise awareness and encourage public use of the accessible gardens, Utah Conservation Corps is hosting a workshop Friday, Aug. 7 at the garden. Williams said they are hoping the workshop will be educational and also get people to the Cache Valley Community Garden.From 9 to 10 a.m. there will be a class about accessible gardening and the available tools. Afterward, from 10 a.m. to noon, attendees will be able to work in the gardens.Stephens said they will plant fall crops Friday. Hornsby said these could include lettuce or broccoli but will depend on who comes and what they’d like to plant. Hornsby will be one of the instructors at the workshop. Williams said the garden “gives community members an opportunity to serve and get involved and kind of see what they are capable of.” Members of the inclusive crew agreed the project has proved to be a learning experience for all who participated. “Even I, who have lived in the community of people with disabilities for a long time, had no idea what it was like for a wheelchair user or someone with limited mobility so it’s definitely been a learning experience for everybody involved, not just those with disabilities ... everybody comes to the table with something to offer and that’s sort of the whole joy of the project,” Williams said. Crew member Zak Young said working on the gardens has made him realize how much people take for granted every day. Having a crew that included people with physical disabilities also offered a much-needed perspective in the creation of the gardens and tools, he said. “It’s not just people with disabilities that we have. We’ve included people of diverse abilities in this crew and so I think those of us who are not disabled have learned so much,” he said. Even for new crew members, the accessible gardens have made an impression. Dan Varela, whose first day in the gardens was Monday, said, “I think it’s an amazing idea.”
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Freedom for people with disabilities
This week marks the 10-year anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court Olmstead decision, which admonished segregation, sought to put an end to discrimination and opened the door to freedom for thousands of people in the United States. It was not about race or gender, but about freedom for citizens who happen to have disabilities. The court ruled that “the unnecessary segregation of individuals with disabilities in institutions may constitute discrimination based on disability.”
Years ago, it was common for people with disabilities to be segregated in institutions. Today, citizens who happen to have a disability can live the life they want in the community because of two brave women in Georgia, living in an institution, who wanted to leave.
However, for many, the struggle continues. Missouri has six institutions. Ten other states have none. Medicaid is required to pay for expensive nursing homes and institutions. Almost 5,000 are waiting for community services. There is no demand for institutions.
Is this the year that people cry out against injustice and policy is passed that reflects what we all have a right to — a real life in the community?
Shelly Shetley
Self-advocate and chair Missouri Planning Council for Developmental Disabilities
Kansas City
Years ago, it was common for people with disabilities to be segregated in institutions. Today, citizens who happen to have a disability can live the life they want in the community because of two brave women in Georgia, living in an institution, who wanted to leave.
However, for many, the struggle continues. Missouri has six institutions. Ten other states have none. Medicaid is required to pay for expensive nursing homes and institutions. Almost 5,000 are waiting for community services. There is no demand for institutions.
Is this the year that people cry out against injustice and policy is passed that reflects what we all have a right to — a real life in the community?
Shelly Shetley
Self-advocate and chair Missouri Planning Council for Developmental Disabilities
Kansas City
Friday, June 19, 2009
Managing Chronic Illness at Work
Juggling work demands and sick time isn’t ever easy, but when you have a chronic illness like diabetes or multiple sclerosis, sick days can disappear quickly and bosses can become impatient. Read More.
Van Giveaway
Doctors group: Obesity not a disability
By MONIFA THOMAS
Sun-Times News Group
Chicago, IL - The American Medical Association Tuesday said obesity shouldn't be considered a disability, because it could limit doctors' ability to talk to patients about their weight.
Defining obesity as a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act would enable advocacy groups to challenge weight discrimination in the workplace and elsewhere.
But the AMA is concerned that it could also open the door to discrimination lawsuits if overweight patients take offense to a doctor discussing their weight.
The doctors group, in Chicago this week for its annual meeting, passed a formal resolution on the subject Tuesday.
"We have to have the freedom to talk to our patients and help them lose weight," said Dr. Domenic Federico, a member of the Michigan delegation that proposed the measure.
Also on Tuesday, the AMA's house of delegates pledged to lobby Congress to ban the sale of tobacco products in pharmacies nationwide, on the basis that pharmacies are part of the health care system and should not sell tobacco.
The AMA meeting concludes today with a vote on the organization's stance on a "public option" health insurance plan for the uninsured.
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