Missliz's Page2010-09-09T18:47:45ZNo AuthorCopyright 2010, No AuthorSPHPBLOGBrooklyn!! Women with DisabilitiesA conference program on Self-Esteem, Self-Awareness, and Self-Empowerment for Women Living with Spinal Cord Injuries and Other Disabilities presented by & Saturday, May 22nd, 2010 - 10am to 4:30pm Independence Care System Brooklyn Center 25 Elm Place - 5th Floor Brooklyn, NY 11201 (Btw. Fulton Mall and Livingston) Free and Open to the Public (lunch is provided) Breast Health • Nutrition • Parenting Abuse & Domestic Violence • Sexuality • Fashion & Make-Up Relationships / Dating & Socializing • Fitness Plus… A panel discussion on Self-Esteem & Empowerment and “The Raw Beauty Project” To register or for more information, visit www.unitedspinal.org/from-within-conference/ or www.icsny.org or call 1-800-404-2898 ext. 7203 Special accommodations provided upon request. Space is limited, so please register in advance]]>http://www.missliz.org/blog/index.php?entry=entry100409-1057162010-04-09T00:00:00Z2010-04-09T00:00:00Z**URGENT-NYC PwDs!!
Greetings, all ...
Following the Network's testimony at the MTA Board meeting this morning (nice placement I spoke immediately after Speaker Quinn), I was interviewed by Dave Evans at Channel 7 re: the service cuts.
He is interested in doing more on the AAR aspect of the story and would like to get some video footage of -- and possibly interview -- an AAR user today to accompany the larger story on the service cuts/budget hearings, etc.
If anyone has a trip scheduled today (the earlier the better) and is ready for their 15 minutes of fame, please contact me and I'll make the connection. Manhattan is preferred. Thank you. Much appreciated.
All best,
Lawrence Carter-Long Executive Director, Disabilities Network of NYC Become a fan and get updates on Facebook at: http://www.facebook .com/pages/ Disabilities- Network-of- NYC/261969564334 Tired of sappy, safe and sentimental depictions of disability? So are we! Become a fan of the disTHIS! Film Series at: http://www.facebook .com/pages/ disTHIS-Film- Series/692567878 5 ]]>http://www.missliz.org/blog/index.php?entry=entry100324-0858572010-03-24T00:00:00Z2010-03-24T00:00:00ZApology to members I apologize. I do now feel like a true politician.]]>http://www.missliz.org/blog/index.php?entry=entry091217-0622132009-12-17T00:00:00Z2009-12-17T00:00:00ZStudy; PWD's and Violence October 05, 2009 First National Study on Crime Against Persons with Disabilities Press Release from the Department of Justice (10/1/09):
FIRST NATIONAL STUDY ON CRIME AGAINST PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
Young and middle-age persons with disabilities experienced higher rates of violence than persons of similar ages without disabilities
WASHINGTON – The first national study on crime against persons with disabilities was released today by the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), Office of Justice Programs. In 2007 persons age 12 or older with disabilities experienced about 716,000 nonfatal violent crimes, including rape or sexual assault (47,000), robbery (79,000), aggravated assaults (114,000) and simple assaults (476,000). They also experienced about 2.3 million property crimes during the year.
Based on interviews for the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), the study identified six types of disabilities among persons who experienced criminal victimization: sensory, physical, cognitive functioning, self-care, go-outside-the-home and employment. A disability was defined as a long-standing (six months or more) sensory, physical, mental or emotional condition that makes it difficult for a person to perform daily living activities.
To compare victimization of persons with and without disabilities, the study generated age-adjusted rates for persons with disabilities, who typically are older than persons without disabilities. The age-adjusted rate of nonfatal violent crimes against persons with disabilities was 1.5 times higher than the rate for those without disabilities (32 per 1,000 persons age 12 or older compared to 21 per 1,000).
Examining specific age groups, the risk of violence was higher for young and middle-age persons with a disability than those of similar age groups without disabilities. Persons age 12 to 19 and those age 35 to 49 with a disability experienced violence at nearly twice the rate as persons of the same age groups without a disability. The rate of violence did not differ by disability status for persons age 50 or older. Persons age 65 or older, with or without a disability, had the lowest rates of violent crime.
The age-adjusted rate of violent crime against females with a disability (35 per 1,000 persons age 12 or older) was almost twice the rate for females without a disability (19 per 1,000 persons age 12 or older). Males with a disability also experienced higher age-adjusted rates of violence than males without a disability (30 per 1,000 compared to 24 per 1,000).
Sixteen percent of violent crimes against females with a disability were committed by an intimate partner, defined as a current or former spouse, boyfriend or girlfriend. Five percent of violence against males with a disability was committed by an intimate partner. Among persons without disabilities, intimate partners were responsible for 27 percent of nonfatal violence against females and 3 percent of nonfatal violence against males.
More than half of violent crimes against people with disabilities were against those with more than one type of disability. Persons with cognitive disabilities had a rate of nonfatal violent crime higher than the rates for persons with other types of disabilities.
Nearly one in five violent crime victims with a disability believed that they became a victim because of their disability. Victims with disabilities perceived offenders to be under the influence of either alcohol or drugs in about a third of all violent crimes against them. Violent crime victims with or without a disability were equally as likely to face an armed offender, report the crime to the police or suffer an injury during the crime.
The 2.3 million property crimes against households with a disabled person included 527,000 household burglaries, 107,000 motor vehicle thefts and 1.7 million thefts; however, these estimates are believed to be an undercount as information about a disability was obtained only for if the person interviewed reported a disability.
Data in this report represent the first estimates of victimization of people with disabilities produced in response to the Crime Victims with Disabilities Awareness Act. Disability was measured in the NCVS using procedures developed for the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.
The report, Crime Against People with Disabilities, 2007 (NCJ 227814), was written by BJS statisticians Michael Rand and Erika Harrell. Following publication, the report can be found at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/capd07.htm.
For additional information about the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ statistical reports and programs, please visit the BJS Web site at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs.
# # #
The Office of Justice Programs (OJP), headed by Acting Assistant Attorney General Mary Lou Leary, provides federal leadership in developing the nation's capacity to prevent and control crime, administer justice, and assist victims. OJP has five component bureaus: the Bureau of Justice Assistance; the Bureau of Justice Statistics; the National Institute of Justice; the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; and the Office for Victims of Crime. In addition, OJP has two program offices: the Community Capacity Development Office, which incorporates the Weed and Seed strategy, and the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking (SMART). More information can be found at http://www.ojp.gov.
>>> For the Report ]]>http://www.missliz.org/blog/index.php?entry=entry091005-1339282009-10-05T00:00:00Z2009-10-05T00:00:00ZADA! Important, Take Action!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FOR INFORMATION CONTACT:
DBTAC National Network of ADA Centers
1-800-949-2432
PUBLIC COMMENT INVITED ON PROPOSED CHANGES TO ADA REGULATIONS
The public has been given 60 days to comment on proposed revisions to regulations implementing the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), as amended by the ADA Amendments Act of 2008. The regulatory changes, contained in a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking just announced by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), focuses on providing individuals seeking protection against employment discrimination under Title I of the ADA with a more expansive definition of “disability.”
The ADA is an antidiscrimination statute passed by Congress and signed into law by the President in July 1990. The EEOC is responsible for enforcing Title I of the ADA, which prohibits employment discrimination against individuals with disabilities. The ADA requires employers to make reasonable accommodations to employees and job applicants with disabilities.
“We encourage the public to contact us with suggestions, recommendations or comments, or submit them directly to the EEOC” said Susanne Bruyere, director of the Region II Disability and Business Technical Assistance Center, part of the National Network of ADA Centers. “People with disabilities will be the winners when the new regulations are fully implemented and extensive public comment will ensure they are the best that they can be.”
The ADA Amendments Act, which went into effect Jan. 1, 2009, and the regulatory revisions embedded in the proposed rule now available for public comment, make it easier for an individual alleging employment discrimination based on disability to establish that he or she meets the ADA’s definitions of “disability.” The ADA Amendments Act also modifies the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which prohibits employment discrimination in the federal workforce on the basis of disability.
The regulatory changes in the proposed rule emphasize that the definition of disability—an impairment that poses a substantial limitation in a major life activity—must be construed in favor of broad coverage of individuals to the maximum extent permitted by the terms of the ADA, and should not require extensive analysis.
The regulatory changes expand major life activities to include “major bodily functions, and clarify that mitigating measures, such as medications and devices that people use to reduce or eliminate the effects of impairment, are not to be considered when determining whether a person has a disability. They also clarify that impairments that are episodic or in remission, such as epilepsy, cancer, and many kinds of psychiatric impairments, are disabilities if they would “substantially limit” major life activities when active.
Finally, the regulation revisions provide a more straightforward way of demonstrating a substantial limitation in the major life activity of working, and implements the ADA Amendment Act’s new standard for determining whether someone is regarded as having a disability.
The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking containing the regulatory changes is posted on the EEOC website, www.eeoc.gov, along with a question-and-answer guide about the proposal and instructions for submitting public comments to the Commission. Comments may also be provided to Larry Featherston at the Region II DBTAC – Northeast ADA Center, lwf27@cornell.edu.
"Disability is not a “brave struggle” or “courage in the face of adversity” …disability is an art. It’s an ingenious way to live."
-Neil Marcus
]]>http://www.missliz.org/blog/index.php?entry=entry090923-1011302009-09-23T00:00:00Z2009-09-23T00:00:00ZSeptmeber 11, 2009 It is raining in New York today. It is raining hard and the winds are high. The surf is rough. It seems apropos for my mood this day. This Day of Remembrance.
I purposefully needed silence. It seemed the best way for me to honor those who were taken from this World on September 11, 2001. It is hard to believe 8 years have gone by and we still believe violence is the answer. There is a poll on facebook (and I am sure other social networks) asking whether September 11th should be a holiday.
I did not answer the poll as many of my “friends” were answering in the positive and my answer stating “no” seemed unfeeling without an explanation. I do not think it should be a holiday. Look what happened to Memorial Day. It is now the unofficial start of Summer and sales at Wal-Mart for barbeque aprons and coolers. The beaches open. Veterans of Foreign War stand in front of Waldbaums selling plastic poppies to remember the veterans who passed. We toss a dollar in the can and feel as if we have contributed to the memory of the dead while carrying a red, white and blue sheet cake to the annual Memorial Day Pool Party at Jim’s house.
Will September 11th become the unofficial closing of summer? Celebrated by many but the meaning lost for just a surviving few? I do not know. I don’t think I want to know.
So, in my silence I took a ride in my van to the Boardwalk. I drove up and parked just so that I could see the surf pound and not get wet by the rain driving sideways against the passenger side of the van. A few runners went by as they touched the iron rail in their ritual of finalizing their two and ¼-mile stretch of wooden planks.
Then I saw him. A man I first thought was a local cop. He then moved and I read his shirt, FDNY. He looked out at the angry Atlantic standing between two benches as the rain just continued to fall. I felt I was intruding on his silent grief. New York City Fireman have a unique bond. They are made of stuff the Universe sprinkles on a select few.
A runner passed, touched the rail and flitted by. He stood so still. He looked up and let the rain attempt to wash some of his sadness. He bent down at the bench, pulled out a can of Budweiser from a black plastic deli bag, and opened it saluting the water, saluting his friends. He seemed so young to me. He drained the can, walked it over to the nearby garbage can, and then tried to light a cigarette between drops.
I felt compelled to get out of my stupid warm dry van and say something to him. He turned and noticed me being a voyeur on his Remembrance. I nodded. We did not share any particular moment just an acknowledgement that there was another person nearby. I felt so inadequate I couldn’t do something to help him through this moment. We were both so isolated even though we were so close.
I drove home and needed to do something. So I zipped in the house, grabbed a towel, and returned to the same spot, hoping to offer some silly trivial comfort like a dry towel.
He was already gone not even a sign of the deli bag that held the beer. The surf was still high. The waves continued to be angry; as so many are when senselessness overwhelms the silence.
]]>http://www.missliz.org/blog/index.php?entry=entry090915-0732352009-09-15T00:00:00Z2009-09-15T00:00:00ZOnly in Wisconsin?Some things just strike me as funny ]]>http://www.missliz.org/blog/index.php?entry=entry090915-0730172009-09-15T00:00:00Z2009-09-15T00:00:00ZPhilly Elevators By Allison Steele Philadelphia Inquirer Staff Writer
After six years of legal wrangling, a judge has ordered SEPTA to install elevators for disabled passengers at two major stations.
Ruling Friday in a lawsuit by Disabled in Action of Pennsylvania, U.S. District Judge Gene E.K. Pratter ordered SEPTA to build elevators in the courtyards at 15th and Market Streets and in the center of City Hall. Those areas have staircases or escalators leading to the Market-Frankford and Broad Street lines.
"This is, purely and simply, about civil rights and equal access," Steve Gold, the attorney for the disability-rights organization, said yesterday. "Disabled Americans have the right to access these stations."
SEPTA spokesman Gary Fairfax said yesterday that he had not seen the ruling and could not comment yet.
Nancy Salandra, president of DIA's board, said she was thrilled. "The judge did the right thing," she said. "This was a very frustrating process for us."
The lawsuit argued that SEPTA should have installed elevators in 2002 and 2003, when escalators and stairways in those areas were replaced. SEPTA argued that disabled passengers could get to the 15th and Market station by taking an elevator on 16th Street between JFK Boulevard and Market Street, which takes passengers down to a concourse.
That elevator is about 340 feet from the station, DIA argued, meaning that disabled people would have to travel significantly farther than other passengers.
"When you're talking about equal access and discrimination, it's not a money issue," Gold said.
According to the ruling, SEPTA's director of engineering said installing the elevator at City Hall would cost about $2 million and said in a deposition that as far as he knew, it could be done.
Disability-rights organizations have been battling SEPTA over compliance with the American With Disabilities Act since the law was enacted in 1990. In 1993, a group of people in wheelchairs sued SEPTA because buses were not always equipped with working lifts. In 2001, a judge ordered the agency to improve access to its paratransit vans, which transport disabled passengers and seniors, and implemented steep fines if SEPTA failed to provide a rider with a requested trip.
Contact staff writer Allison Steele at 215-854-2641 or
asteele@phillynews. com.
SEPTA ordered to install elevators for disabled | Philadelphia Inquirer | 09/13/2009
]]>http://www.missliz.org/blog/index.php?entry=entry090915-0622242009-09-15T00:00:00Z2009-09-15T00:00:00ZTarget gets sued. http://eeoc.gov/press/8-24-09.html]]>http://www.missliz.org/blog/index.php?entry=entry090826-1127482009-08-26T00:00:00Z2009-08-26T00:00:00ZStudy needs help The Reeve-Irvine Research Center is conducting a research study to determine more details about the perceived barriers to exercise experienced by men and women with spinal cord injuries. The information gained from this study will provide valuable information to scientists who study how exercise influences different aspects of health, specific to SCI. They need this information in order to better create exercise programs that a large majority of people with SCI can participate in and that are effective for their health. For more information please contact Dr. Kim Anderson at kanderso@uci.edu
All information will be kept strictly confidential.