Public housing needs a PR boost.

Posted on September 29, 2008

By Leah Farrel, Policy Analyst
With the issue of housing fresh on our minds following the recent ADAPT action (www.DUHcity.org), I was intrigued by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities’ report on the state of public housing. (See Preserving safe, high quality public housing should be a priority of federal housing policy, Sard and Fischer, September 18, 2008 http://www.cbpp.org/9-18-08hous.pdf).  There is a longstanding stigma that public housing is strictly for the welfare dependent, is located in impoverished communities, and is perpetuating a system of dependence.  One of the goals of the report is to dispel these misconceptions in an effort to shift the discussion of public housing toward more productive approaches.  This got me thinking…how can we convince legislators to support an affordable housing platform when few understand the context and complexities of affordable housing?  Read more

Thoughts on Privacy

Posted on September 26, 2008

By Peter Kline, Systems Administrator
Perhaps it is the mindset of a computer professional – ‘how can this data be used’ – that gets my thoughts running.  I think it takes a special mindset that comes from years of seeking out relationships and connections in data sets to understand just how powerful they can become.  You see, today I had to submit to a drug test.  It was nothing out of the ordinary – place a swab in your mouth and hold it there.  And it was for an innocuous reason.  But the form that accompanies it to the lab is what struck me as odd. Read more

A Call to Civil Disobedience

Posted on September 22, 2008

By Anita O’Brien, Recreation Director
“Did you see we were in the newspaper?” calls out a 10 year old girl as she arrives at the Recreation center.  “You were in the paper?”  I asked.  “Yes, from when we went to Albany and met with Governor Paterson!” she exclaimed with great pride as she took out the article in the newspaper to show me.

A ten year old is growing up understanding the importance of advocacy.  She is seeing first hand the impact speaking out can have on influencing legislation and creating systemic change.  She was there chanting along with a hundred other voices, calling on the governor to resist making budgetary cuts that will directly, and drastically, impact the Read more

Where’s the “bailout” for people with disabilities?

Posted on September 18, 2008

By Chris Hilderbrant, Director of Advocacy
It’s been all over the headlines.  Banks are in crisis.  The extraordinary number of home foreclosures and bankruptcies are bringing massive financial institutions that have operated for a century or more to their knees.  Stocks that were worth $70+ per share can now be purchased for pennies.

It’s a crisis in need of a hero… and the government is stepping up to save the day.

People with disabilities have a housing crisis, too.  We have far too few housing options.  There is not enough housing that is accessible for people with mobility limitations.  There is not enough housing that is affordable to people with extremely low incomes.  And there is not enough housing that is integrated in the community, so people with disabilities can have a real life, instead of living in a facility or group home and depending on the whims of staff to be able to simply go for a walk down the block.  Read more

Affordable Housing for the Man with Seven – or so – Homes

Posted on September 15, 2008

By Chris Hilderbrant, Director of Advocacy
The headline will read something like “Disability Activists Arrested at McCain HQ”, but that’s such a vague silhouette of the reality of what took place in Washington, DC, today.

At about 4:30 AM, 500 ADAPT activists took over the plaza in front of the headquarters of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).  There were no cops in sight… ADAPT was up too early and had been too secretive about what they were doing and when they’d be doing it.  The one security guard at HUD reportedly tried to get ADAPT to not set up shop on his watch, but he was one little speck in a swarm of ADAPT. Read more

They Have Served Us, Now It’s Our Turn

Posted on September 12, 2008

By Michael Volkmer, Community Information Specialist

I have always had the utmost respect for anyone who has served our country as a participant in our nation’s armed forces.  As far as I’m concerned, American War Veterans should be given a free ride in almost every aspect of their lives upon returning home.  Unfortunately mental health services for returning servicemen have not been prioritized and funding for these services continues to be cut.  One hundred thousand (and counting) of our soldiers have returned or are returning home as operations in Iraq and Afghanistan continue.  Consequently the number of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans seeking treatment for mental health services continues to increase exponentially.  Read more

Normal Memory Loss

Posted on September 9, 2008

By Celia Brown, Outreach Coordinator for the Elderly
Just because you are a senior does not mean that you do not have the mental capacity to make your own decisions.  My mom just turned 90 years old in July and her memory is better than mine.  When you first look at her she appears to be physically frail due to various health problems that have affected her mobility.  During one of her doctor’s appointments that I took her to, the doctor was reviewing the list of medications that she is taking.  As he was going down the list, he read a medication that she is no longer taking.  My mother corrected him and said “I don’t take that one anymore.  You changed it at my last visit with you.”  She was able to tell him the name, dosage and number of times a day of the new medication he gave her at the last visit.  She also did not have a list of medications with her; she relied totally on her memory.  The doctor had this surprised look on his face and said, “Her memory is better than mine!”

As we age, experts say that mild memory loss is normal.  Memory is the ability to normally recall facts and events.  This happens in three stages: a person takes the information in; the brain processes it and stores it; then a person recalls the stored information. Read more

The Value of Community-Based Recreation Programs

Posted on September 9, 2008

by Anita O’Brien, Recreation Director

Just last week, adults in our recreation program were spotted outside shooting hoops with neighborhood children and youth.  The week before, several young folks were asking to play outdoor bowling with our group.  The same several brought along a friend or two the next day as they searched for us inside our center – and, yes, they wanted to stay and join our Skip Bo tournament.

What kind of program is this?  It happens to be a community-based recreation program, housed within one of the various City of Rochester community centers around the Rochester.  We’ve existed for more than two decades now at the Edgerton Community Center and it is interesting to note the impact of this arrangement.  Read more

Impressions of the Special Session

Posted on September 8, 2008

By Lara Kassel, Advocacy Coordinator, Medicaid Matters
By now you have likely seen or heard about the results of the special legislative session that took place in Albany in August.  The Governor called for significant across-the-board cuts that, after negotiations, resulted in a 6% cut in state funding (with some exceptions), which hit many programs, including independent living centers.  Home care will be subject to a 2-year elimination of the trend factor, which means that the home care agencies that provide the services necessary for allowing people to stay in their homes will not get an increase in state funding to account for inflation and increases in expenses.  While we were relieved that the proposed cuts did not include cuts to Medicaid eligibility or benefits, we remain concerned that the outcome of the final agreements does not adequately reflect the push toward reforming the health care delivery system.  Across-the-board cuts were what some thought was necessary in these tough economic times, but we know that using a meat cleaver when a scalpel would have been more appropriate hits the providers that serve the most vulnerable populations disproportionately.  Home care and other community-based services will feel this action much more significantly than hospitals and nursing homes will. Read more

A Small Group Can Make a Big Difference

Posted on September 5, 2008

by Terrie Lincoln, Systems Advocate

While the larger action was going on, two teams went to distribute flyers to the Assembly and the Senate so we could make them aware of our strong opposition to these cuts.

I was on the team that went to the Assembly. On our brightly colored flyers was written “Don’t Target Us” and “Don’t Target Independent Living and Home Care”. As Assembly members and visitors were approaching the room we had many of our people handing off the flyers. Read more

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