Website is best
viewed in a display
size of 1024 x 768
Free DHTML scripts provided by
Dynamic Drive
-
Make a
- Tax Deductible
- Donation Now !
|
-
-
Hurricane
Irene Feedback
-
- A questionnaire
was sent to all Center participants and other
- interested
persons and was placed on the ECI Website and
- Facebook page.
In addition, a forum was held on September 16th
- where people
with disabilities told their "story" about how
- Hurricane Irene
affected them and changes they would like to
- see as it
relates to emergency preparedness.
-
- The primary
issues were:
-
- Transportation
was not available because providers
- would not alter
their policies and had shut down and
- was unavailable
when people needed them.
-
- Shelters opened
when most public transportation stopped.
-
- Lack of
information about medical/functional needs
(special
- needs) shelter
locations and their capabilities.
-
- A report of all
issues along with recommendations was
- prepared and
sent to FEMA and was presented at the Medical
- Special Needs
Sub-Committee for People with Disabilities
- which is
comprised of emergency managers, regional
planners,
- health
department, Red Cross and other agencies.
The
- Sub-Committee
appreciated the time and valuable information
- that was
contained in the report and will review the
report to
- work on
addressing concerns. ECI will continue to
address
- these
recommendations at future meetings of this
group.
-
My Medicaid Matters Rally!
-
Over a thousand disability
advocates gathered at the US
-
Capitol
for
a My Medicaid Matters rally. About 70
people
-
traveled with the Endependence Center to
Washington, DC
-
on
September 21st for the rally to protect Medicaid
services.
-
Included in the group were people with
disabilities, families
-
and
other advocates. Two accessible buses made
the trip to
-
Washington, DC providing an opportunity for
people to be a
-
part
of this large and important rally.
-
-
"With my Medicaid I can pay my Personal Care
Assistant so
-
I can give back to my community by volunteering,
public
-
speaking,
getting a job, etc. The Olmstead Decision
says I have
-
the right to live in my community. Living
at home saves the government money, because
institutions cost three times
-
as much. Medicaid makes that a reality."
-Ivy Kennedy
-
-
"Witnessing so many people from a multitude of
-
different backgrounds come together to fight for
their lifeline
-
was very moving. I was honored to be a
part of the
-
event and show my support" -Chip
-
-
"The rally was a great experience. It was
wonderful to hear all
-
of the Congressmen and Senator Harkin lining up
with all of
-
us who would suffer because of cuts in Medicaid.
Congress
-
and the President need to know that there are
advocates
-
willing to fight for this cause and this rally
is one way of
-
showing our determination to let them hear our
voice." -Mary
-
CapTel Forum
-
Thursday, October 13, 2011
-
10:00 am to Noon at
-
Endependence Center
-
-
Presenter:
Marta Cagle, Hamilton's Virginia CapTel
-
-
Outreach Coordinator
-
- Don't
miss this exciting forum! Hear from
people that
- have the
CapTel phone and how it helped them to enjoy
- telephone conversations again and learn the
differences
- in the
two CapTel model phones. Please come
and share
- your
experiences with us and learn how to obtain
- a CapTel
phone if you don't have one.
-
- Light
Refreshments and Captioning provided
- To register,
call Brenda Estes at 461-8007, 351-1582 or
Endependence Center
30th Anniversary
-
The Endependence Center
will be celebrating its 30th
-
Anniversary this year and it has
been an amazing journey
-
for both staff and
participants. Over the years, hundreds
-
of participants have opened
the door to opportunity and are
-
leading productive,
independent lives.
-
-
The News Team, along
with the Consumer Advisory
-
Committee, would like to
hear your story of independence which
-
will be included in an Anniversary book that
will be shared
-
with everyone at the 30th Anniversary
celebration later this
-
year. You can share a goal you accomplished,
whether it was
-
big or small, or something that inspired you
along the way; we
-
want to hear from
everyone. If you have been a participant
-
for a long time, or if you
just came through the door
-
yesterday, everyone has a
story to tell.
-
-
The deadline to
submit articles is October 31, 2011, so we
-
may create the book in time
for the celebration on Friday,
-
December 9, 2011. More
details will follow at a later date as
-
to time and location.
-
-
There are members of
the News Team and Consumer Advisory
-
Committee who will be happy
to assist you, if needed. Please call
-
Everline Brewer at 855-6526
for further information.
To access information on
upcoming events,
click here.
To sign up or request accommodations,
contact Emily Fisher
at 461-8007 or 351-1587 Voice, 461-7527 TDD
or email at
PLEASE
NOTE: If ECI does not have at least
5 people signed up
for any of the workshops/groups with a
deadline to sign up,
we will cancel the workshop/group.
If we cancel a
workshop/group, we will notify those that have
signed
up of the cancellation.
"Opening Doors To Opportunities With
The Disability Community"
What is
Independent Living?
-
What is Independent Living? Essentially, it is living just like
-
everyone else having opportunities
to make decisions that
-
affect one’s life, able to pursue
activities of one’s own
-
choosing—limited only in the same
ways that one’s non-
-
disabled neighbors are
limited.
-
-
Independent Living should not be defined in terms of living on
-
one’s own, being employed in a job fitting one’s capabilities
-
and interests, or having an active social life. These are
-
aspects of living independently. Independent Living has to do
-
with self-determination. It is having the right
and
the
-
opportunity to pursue a course of action. And, it is having the
-
freedom to fail—and to learn from one’s failures, just as non-
-
disabled people do.
|
|
|
Items Of Interest
ECI 30th
Anniversary
For information about
advertising or
exhibiting,
Announcing
Project Touch:
Free Apple iTouch
to Needy Virginia
Children with
Autism
For more information,
Justice Department
Settlement
The Justice
Department
announced a
settlement
was reached in a
lawsuit over alleged
ADA violations
against students with
disabilities by Nobel
Learning Communities,
Inc. private schools.
To review the
settlement,
ECI Media Center
The room can be
scheduled by
calling
461-8007.
Virginia Easy
Access
Virginia's
"No Wrong Door"
initiative
launches
"Virginia
Easy Access".
For more information,
Money Follows
the Person (MFP)
Virginia launches
website
describing
community
living choice
project for
seniors and
individuals
with
disabilities.
For more information,
-
click here
PIER Meetings
for 2010-2011
PIER (Protecting
Individuals with disabilities
Educational Rights)
provides information
on special education
rights, regulations,
evaluations and more.
For more information,
FREE Online
Course on the
American with
Disabilities Act
For more information,
|
