Disability Futures

Sean Mc Govern, who sits on the TUC as one of the disabled reps, gave the following speech at the TUC demo on March 26th. Sean is well known to me and is an activist in UNITE and also Chair of the Lambeth Pan Disability Forum. At a time when the government and right wing press are attacking disabled people like never before, it is very important to support them.

“HELLO WEMBLEY!!!

WHOOPS – SORRY WRONG GIG!

Hello Comrades, I’m Sean McGovern, a disabled trade union activist; and, I’m honoured to be here today part of this anti-cuts movement. Which is growing daily!

If you're in a wheelchair, you know how tough it is to get around if you're trying to do some errands, or just go to work. Well, a Tyler Cab company realized this and is trying to do something to help. Jamal Moharer is buying a dozen Vehicle Production Group Autos, a new car company that purposely builds the MV-1 for easy handicap access.

He said, "The beauty of this product is it is US made, meets all the standards of Buy America Act, and it's green, it operates on compressed natural gas. We'd like to take the lead and be the first city in Texas to have a fleet that is 100% compatible and accessible, and meets the Americans with Disabilities Act standards."

Accessible cabs are a great model for community transportation access. Language in this article isn't great, but the idea is.

I'm embarrassed to admit that when I was a medical reporter for The Boston Globe in the '90s, I (along with many other journalists) would unthinkingly use the $800 million that the pharmaceutical industry said it cost to develop a new drug product. Industry apologists routinely threw out that exorbitant figure whenever anyone complained about high drug prices, and they made sure to note that it was based on "real research," studies done by the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development.

Big Pharma spends more on marketing than drug development.

For a man whose life has been built around communication, the loss of the ability to speak is a particularly cruel fate. But it's one that film critic Roger Ebert demonstrated that he could overcome, in a talk at the TED 2011 Conference in Long Beach, California, in February.

"These are my words, but this is not my voice," Ebert told the audience of nearly 2,000. "This is Alex, the best computer voice I've been able to find, which comes as standard equipment on every Macintosh. For most of my life, I never gave a second thought to my ability to speak. It was like breathing. In those days, I was living in a fool's paradise. After surgeries for cancer took away my ability to speak, eat or drink, I was forced to enter this virtual world in which a computer does some of my living for me."

Assistive Technology and humor

Since its launch in November 2008, InvisiblePeople.tv has leveraged the power of video and the massive reach of social media to share the compelling, gritty, and unfiltered stories of homeless people from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C. The vlog (video blog) gets up close and personal with veterans, mothers, children, layoff victims and others who have been forced onto the streets by a variety of circumstances. Every week, their on InvisiblePeople.tv, and high traffic sites such as YouTube, Twitter and Facebook, proving to a global audience that while they may often be ignored, they are far from invisible.

The Seen But Forgotten has been written based on nearly twenty years of personal experience of mental illness, 'schizoaffective disorder', as well as on many of my observations and other ideas, and related research on mental illness. It is based also on my observations of many of my friends and associates with mental illness, over the years, and their stories and experiences relayed to me. It describes some insights into some of the thoughts and feelings one can experience in certain states of mental illness. It also offers an overview of both known and other hypothetical considerations of some of the possible causes of mental illness; and includes some consideration of the medical model of the more current psychiatric practice of 'chemical drug therapy'. The dangers and error of this practice is emphasized, and exposed are some of the serious and early death-inducing side-effects of most anti-psychotic medications, the dangers associated with the misuse of benzodiazepines, and why there is a need for more research in new directions in order for psychiatrists, researchers and drug companies to come up with safer treatments.

Thanks and a Hat Tip to "Truth and Reconciliation in Psychiatry"

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Benton Harbor Emergency Manager Takes First Step to Strip Away Rights

Joseph L. Harris issues an order prohibiting all action by all city boards, commissions, authorities and other entities, except as authorized by the emergency manager

CONTACT: Jesse Sipe 517-515-3242

In the wake of a bill that was signed into law with high objection from the people, as it was a bill that threatened local communities, schools, townships, and municipalities, the first order has been officially issued in Benton Harbor.  Joseph L. Harris has used his emergency manager powers to “exercise any power or authority of any office, employee, department, board, commission, or similar entity of the City, whether elected or appointed.” In addition, the Emergency Manager has the power to supersede any officer or entity and the power to act on behalf of the city.

“This is sad news for democracy in Michigan.  It comes after the announcement of Robert Bobb in Detroit ordering layoff of every single public school teacher in the Detroit Public School system,” says Mark Gaffney, President of Michigan AFL-CIO.  “With the stripping of all power of duly elected officials in Benton harbor and the attack on Detroit school teachers, we can now see the true nature of the Emergency Manager system.”

This is a real life instance of taking away our fundamental rights.  In fact, the only thing City Boards, Commissions, Authorities or other entities may do without the approval of an Emergency Manager is to:

1) Call a meeting to order
2) Approve of meeting minutes
3) Adjourn a meeting

Everything else is under the Emergency Manager’s control.  These new powers are taking away the will and voice of the people by stripping away the rights of public officials elected by Michiganders.  By exploiting the current crisis situation, these emergency managers are able to ascertain unreasonable rules to completely control a city.  This is a true case of political over-reach, and will simply add to the hardships of an already suffering populace in Michigan.

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Lawyers, Lead On: Lawyers with Disabilities Share Their Insightsis an inspiring collection of letters of encouragement and advice from lawyers with disabilities. The book features authors with a range of experiences that honor different perspectives on work and disability, including people with non-apparent disabilities, people of color, women, LGBT lawyers, older lawyers, and others. Their moving stories help foster a cross-disability community and offer hope and encouragement to students, young lawyers and all who face adversity in the legal profession.

LANSING INFORMATIONAL MEETING on TIMEBANKING

COME FIND OUT HOW TIMEBANKING CREATES HEALTHY COMMUNITIES

Kim Hodge, Executive Director of MI Alliance of TimeBanks

Monday, April 11th at 7 pm, Michigan Disability Rights Coalition, 3498 East Lake Lansing Road

East Lansing, Free, but RSVP to jan_day@ymail.com

 

For more information on how TimeBanking is being used to deal with a variety of social challenges including community development and regeneration, seniors and health, youth, mental health, and criminal justice, see www.mitimebanks.org. MI Alliance of TimeBanks, funded by the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, is focused on building TimeBanks throughout the state by providing technical and practical assistance.

 

Directions:  From US-127, take Exit 79 for Lake Lansing Rd, turn east onto Lake Lansing Road and travel 1.6 miles to the intersection of E. Lake Lansing Road and Abbott.  Watch for Marco’s Pizza and turn into parking lot.  MDRC’s office is to the left of Marco’s.

Zona Roberts, of Berkeley, remembers the early discussions about how to best honor her late son, Ed Roberts, who has been called the father of the disability rights movement.

When someone at an early meeting suggested they put his likeness on a U.S. postage stamp, "someone spoke up and said, 'Ed would never go for that,' " she recalled of the discussion back in 1995.

He'd want something inclusive, a place to bring different types of people together to do good works. He'd want something that would benefit as many people as possible, she said.

It took 15 years, but the Ed Robert Campus, a one-stop center for disability services, opened last November and is expected to serve at least 30,000 people annually at the Ashby BART station.

The grand opening celebration with Mayor Tom Bates and Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, is from 1-4 p.m. Saturday at the campus, 3075 Adeline Street. Parking will be available.

The first-of-its-kind center is named for Roberts, who had polio and slept in an 800-pound iron lung, but was also the first student with severe disabilities to attend UC Berkeley.