Category: Advocacy
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Madison – Disability Rights Commission – Sidewalks
Recently, I joined the City of Madison’s Disability Rights Commission. It’s a nice opportunity to have discourse in making the City more accessible, and working with the City to share suggestions and ideas for improvement. During a recent discussion, the City Engineer’s office shared notes of how they plan street and sidewalk repair projects. Some…
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Living with a Fear
I’ve been living with a fear. My fear, a fear many face, is one of losing something. A fear of losing my cares if my income creeps one cent over the limit. A fear of losing more caregivers due to lousy hours, lousy pay, and no benefits. A fear of losing my home when…
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Celebrating Diversity
In this difficult time where the nation is being reminded of the violence and discrimination that the Black community faces on a daily basis, I want to take the time to celebrate diversity. As someone who needs daily cares, I have caregivers four to six times a day. As such, this need has to be…
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A Time To Care
Growing up I used to assume that any time I was sick my parents would take me to the doctor. That any time I need leg braces, a new chair, or any other equipment, that it would be covered, as I needed these things to function in daily life. Over the years I’ve come to…
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Instutionalized
A friend shared a link to this sad situation that has befallen Karen Vaughn, confining her to a nursing home after a hospital stay, due to bureaucracy and technicalities. Though I personally do not know Karen, and have only recently learned of her via this article, as someone with a lifelong disability, the fear of…
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Financial Woes
In September of 2009 I had run out of hours in my Limited Term Employment job. Finding myself unemployed I was left with my only subsidization being a choice of either a monthly check from Social Security or Unemployment Insurance. Social Security would pay around $800 a month, while Unemployment would pay roughly $1200. However,…
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Sleeping In? … Not so much
Nothing is nicer than sleeping in on the weekends. A rainy morning resting in your bed to the gentle sound of rain drops. A rainy morning, such as the one this morning, felt like a perfect morning to stay in bed. However, like everyone else, I had to be to work. 7:30 came far to…
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Student Loan Aid for the Disabled
A week ago I saw a friend post a story noting that President Obama is pursuing giving student aid for the disabled. This program would provide student loan relief to individuals with permanent disabilities. Details of an already existing program to help with student debt relief, for those with a permanent disability, can be found at…
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Air Travel Accommodations
I found an interesting link, on the MDA Advocacy site, regarding Accessible Air Travel. This page lists the Accessibility information pages for many major airlines, which is quite handy, as tracking down the accessibility and accommodation information for airlines and other transportation companies can be quite difficult. Happy flying.
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I Want to Work
Having a disability does not stop me from wanting to work. However, I require caregivers to come in and aid me with most every task of getting ready in the morning. These cares are costly, with private pay costs of around $25/hr (as quoted by one agency). Since I personally require 4 to 5 hours of visits daily,…