Disability Futures

This past winter taught many harsh lessons about the lack of readiness of local communities for supporting people with disabilities during an infrastructure emergency:

• Lists of people with disabilities who need help don't have a good method for recruiting, updating, or correcting information.
• There is a lack of coordination among first responders about people with disabilities
• Telling people to go to a warming shelter is pointless if you can't get out of your building and have no viable mode of transportation
• There aren't nearly enough accessible hotel/motel rooms for the number of people with disabilities that can be affected in a sizable emergency.

The primary lesson we at MDRC have taken is that the top down model of emergency preparedness for people with disabilities needs to be parallel to a bottom up model that takes into account the known needs of individuals with disabilities.

MDRC is partnering with a variety of local emergency preparedness and disability organizations to help create and maintain that bottom up model. We are also looking to increase the number of shelters that are accessible for people with disabilities by bolstering the infrastructure of disability organization buildings that are already physically accessible to include independent electricity generation, floor level beds, food stuffs and the ability to deal with medication issues.

I will be updating our progress beyond the #ruready initiative (continuing to use the same hashtag) as we begin to flesh out this change effort.

The 25th Anniversary of the ADA is coming up next year! Start Planning a celebration....

http://adaanniversary.org/

On the ADA Anniversary - July 26 and throughout the year, celebrate the progress made through implementation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in your workplaces, schools and communities. While much progress has been made, much remains to be done.

Questions on the ADA?

The ADA National Network and its ten regional ADA Centers located throughout the United States are your comprehensive "one-stop" resource for ADA information, guidance and training.

• Explore & bookmark: Tool Kit, Videos, Resources, Training and Learn about the ADA.
• Contact your ADA Center at 1-800-949-4232 (voice/tty).

These are some resources we have run across recently:

SAMHSA Disaster App: http://ht.ly/vcUVo

NCIL Position Paper: Emergency Preparedness and Response within the Disability Community: http://goo.gl/Ovir3q

Emergency Preparedness at Disability.gov: http://goo.gl/v4tJQO

Free Michigan Courses and Training in Emergency Preparedness: http://goo.gl/NHzw6t

Feeling Safe, Being Safe workbook will help you make a plan that you can use in case of an emergency: http://goo.gl/VWuMAI

Planning for Disaster If You Have a Disability: http://goo.gl/QX9JnD

Emergency Evacuation if you have a disability: http://goo.gl/Ogd2b2

Medical Devices, Disasters, and Power Outage: http://goo.gl/EmzZuc

There are many more. I hope these will whet your appetite for becoming involved in local emergency preparedness. The truth is that without stakeholder presence by people with disabilities, these suggestions will fail for lack of planning depth.

#ruready

http://www.portlight.org/are-you-ready/

Portlight Strategies is coordinating a national blog-a-thon on emergency planning and prevention issues of people with disabilities. Each day for the next week, I'll be publishing information and commentary on these issues as part of Portlight's effort.

We got a wake up call this last winter especially in the large area of the southern peninsula that underwent the ice storm in mid-December. Staff and friends were without power for up to 10 days, and all rooms, not just accessible ones, in local hotels were filled by mid morning of the day after the storm. We ended up using our accessible office to supplement individual efforts to cope because for whatever reason, the office still had power.

The struggle of the local disability community told us that emergency planning and prevention had to be a part of the Michigan Disability Rights Coalition mission. We have begun working with local and regional organizations to more deeply integrate disability issues into general emergency planning efforts, all of which are being updated because of this last winter. We are also looking into beefing up our office emergency response capability with a building wide generator, air mattresses, short term food supply, and similar infrastructure changes. We will also be asking ourselves hard questions about the realities of implementing emergency preparedness in an actiual emergency as part of our collaboration.

Portlight has asked that the hashtag #ruready be used on all blog posts that focus on emergency response of people with disabilities. If you wish to participate, check out the URL at the beginning of this post.

http://goo.gl/ivBvw6

For the first time in more than a decade, the CRDC contains information on approximately 16,500 school districts, 97,000 schools, and 49 million students. The data shines a spotlight on educational equity in areas such as discipline, access to preschool, teacher equity, and access to college- and career-ready courses.

To coincide with the most recent data release, the Office for Civil Rights has created four new snapshots to help understand the data:

http://goo.gl/I4zoaa

The State Board of Education (SBE) wants school districts to review their zero tolerance policies on suspensions and expulsions in an effort to reduce the number of times they are used to discipline students for minor problems.

The Michigan Department of Education (MDE) gave the SBE a draft document incorporating changes to the current policy. After public comments, the SBE is expected to approve the changes in May.

The draft language encourages school districts to use suspensions and expulsions only for serious offenses like “individuals who possess weapons, commit arson, engage in criminal sexual conduct, make bomb threats, and those who commit physical assault against another.”

In its rationale for the policy change, MDE cited research that shows minority students, special education students, and students from low-income families are most often targeted for suspensions and expulsion and are disproportionately affected both academically and socially.

http://goo.gl/w4WPJG

The policy was laid out in the Virginia’s 1924 Eugenical Sterilization Act, and found constitutional by the Supreme Court three years later -- a decision cited by Nazi doctors as part of their defense during the Nuremberg trials. Officials estimate that more than 7,000 Virginians were sterilized under the law, which remained on the books until 1979. Approximately 65,000 forced sterilizations were conducted nationwide. 

“I wish I had a family,” said Lewis Reynolds, 86, who suffered seizures after a head injury. He was forcibly sterilized at the age of 13. Reynolds went on to serve his country for 30 years, in Korea and Vietnam.

“I just wonder what kind of daddy would I be if I had any children," he said. 

http://nysna.blogspot.com/

The ADAPT activists who have occupied the offices of the New York State Nurses Association appreciate the outpouring of support from the disability community and others across the nation. It has been over 100 hours since members of NYS ADAPT started the occupation of the NYSNA offices because the union opposes amending the Nurse Practice Act to allow attendants to do health related tasks. Throughout the occupation, we have negotiated with the nurses’ union in good faith to get their support for nurse delegation so people who need assistance with health-related tasks - including medication administration, ventilator care, assistance with catheters, suppositories and feeding tubes - can get that assistance in the community from attendants

http://goo.gl/H48cgW

Portlight Strategies, Inc wants to invade the internet with the importance of emergency preparedness and people with disabilities with the “R U Ready” media blitz. April 1st to April 7th. Portlight will use social media to spread awareness through blogs and status updates. Portlight is asking bloggers to blog about emergency preparedness and people with disabilities and then share your blog on Facebook and Twitter using the hashtag #ruready.

http://goo.gl/nedp1B

Alphonso Swain (1957 – 2014) Haslett, Michigan Alphonso Swain, age 56, had an incredible sense of humor. He was very skilled at trivia as well. He felt very strong about making the most of your life. "He thought laughter made the world a better place." His passion for helping others kept him involved and participating in many boards and committees in many capacities. He built a career in management within the social work industry. Alphonso served on the State of Michigan Governors Commission and the Michigan Community Service Commission.