I was at a bar & grill in St. Louis having dinner and listening to music with a coworker, when a young man approached me and said, “I hope this doesn’t sound rude, but I am really happy to see you out.” I was highly impacted by his simple observation. I usually go out of my way to ease the discomfort of others with a friendly smile or words of encouragement as they stumble through awkward situations. In this particular situation, I was taken back and didn’t have words. Instead, we sat in awkward silence. Logically, I understood he had good intentions and was trying to be friendly and make conversation. Emotionally, I felt very awkward and uncomfortable. Imagine how it might feel to inspire others by having dinner with a friend.

People sometimes ask, “What is it like being in a wheelchair?” Of course, I can explain the obvious accessibility barriers or the inconvenience of depending on others for everyday tasks. I believe that is the sort of answer people expect. However, I imagine using a wheelchair is much like walking through life. I have good days and bad days. I feel happiness, joy, laughter, desire, sadness and disappointment. I experience success and failure.

Personally, I don’t see the advantage of separating my life from the lives of others without disabilities—with maybe one exception. My life feels different when people expect different things from me. Attitudinal barriers, particularly in the form of different or low expectations, continue to be the largest barrier

IN THIS ISSUE...The Measuring Cup of Justice, What Employers Have to Offer, Dragon Training, SIL’s New Development Director

MAY / JUNE 2012

to my independence. I want people to expect to see me in any community. I am committed to SIL’s vision of changing society’s perception of disability. We envision an inclusive community that promotes equality, self-determination and the elimination of all barriers to independence.

Was the young man rude for expressing happiness for “seeing me out”? Absolutely not. Could he have improved the interaction? For me, yes. He could have started with “Hi!” We can all be a part of creating an inclusive community. Please call for more information on how you can become involved in education and outreach. Thank you for your efforts to maximize independence.

EXPECT MOREby Aimee Wehmeier, Executive Director

INDEPENDENT LIVING

THE NEWSLETTER OF

Centers for Independent Living were founded on the principles of systemic advocacy and the importance of stirring things up when policies create discrimination and barriers. Writer and statesman Frederick Douglass cautioned “[f]ind out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have the exact measure of the injustice and wrong which will be imposed on them.” To quietly submit is to conform to arbitrary and capricious decisions that oppress certain populations and impose misperceptions. SIL is highly visible to lawmakers and policymakers to change perceptions and myths about disability-related issues.

To meet one of goals in the State Plan for Independent Living, SIL assisted with the coordination of the Steve Gold Advocacy on Olmstead educational program in Feburary. Over 200 advocates, policy analysts and policymakers, lawyers,

SIL Board meetings are held the fourth Wednesday of each month and are open to the public. The next meeting will be announced. If you are interested in serving on the Board of Directors for SIL, please contact Aimee Wehmeier at the Columbia Office.

SIL Board Meetings

THE MEASURING CUP OF JUSTICE by Leslie Anderson

and self-advocates learned the importance of the ADA, the relativity of the 1999 Olmstead decision to the ADA, and applicability of both bodies of law to enforce the least restrictive environment clause. In the future, SIL will assist with the coordination of additional educational programs to teach

advocates how to prepare individuals with disabilities for legal actions when their rights have been violated.

On March 14th, SIL hosted Gov. Jay Nixon, who discussed his plan to restore health care coverage eliminated from the Blind Pension program. Our

parking lot was full of advocates and self-advocates detailing the devastating effect of losing health care coverage!

You can be involved too! Join us on April 4th at the Capitol to demonstrate the power of our vote! For more information, call 573-874-1646.

Recently Services for Independent Living hired a new Accessibility Specialist, Jeff Pilgram. He is a recent graduate of Hickey College with an associate’s degree in computer programming. Jeff joined our team in February and has jumped in with both feet.

One of the services now offered to consumers is assistance with the computer program Dragon Naturally Speaking. This is a speech to text computer application that can help a user write a word document or email, navigate the web and much more, all with voice control. This program takes a short time to set up and some additional training time to be able to use proficiently. Jeff is quickly becoming a first-rate Dragon trainer. This is a great tool for those with limited mobility, but this simple yet powerful software can be used by anyone-students, professionals, anyone who writes. Jeff is available for assistance to consumers who are ready to train their Dragon.

Dragon Naturally Speaking is one of the items offered through the TAP-I program. Jeff is also getting lots of experience on phone demonstrations with the TAP-T program. These are state supported programs and you can find out more information about them at www.silcolumbia.org or at www.at.mo.gov.

DRAGON TRAINING

In empowering people with disabilities to become gainfully employed we recognize the need for Community Rehabilitation Providers (CRP) to match the skill sets of potential employees with the hiring needs of employers in the community. This requires an understanding of what, specifically, those needs are. Ultimately, the question of whether or not an employer hires an individual/s comes down to whether a match can be made to that employer’s need (employer is seeking candidate/s with XYX attributes) under these hiring circumstances (employer’s recruitment and hiring policy).

With this need in view, last month, SIL and fellow Missouri Rehabilitation Association – Heart of MO Chapter partners collaborated with Missouri Vocational Rehabilitation on a joint project to host the Columbia Employment Summit, held on the 18th at Boone Electric Cooperative. This free event was offered to rehabilitation professionals, school staff, consumers of VR/CRP services, and anyone else with interest. Several Columbia-based businesses attended to share information about their business (i.e. how they recruit employees, what processes they use for hiring new staff, etc.). In addition, representatives of local

WHAT EMPLOYERS HAVE TO SHARE by Bridgette Imperial

CRP service providers as well as Vocational Rehabilitation staff presented information on job placement services available through these agencies in the Columbia area. In addition to learning about the services provided, a panel discussion was held to address audience questions.

This event was a nice follow-up to a recent article in the March issue of the Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation titled, “Testimony

on Work Incentives in Social Security Disability Programs.” This was testimony delivered to the U.S. House of Representatives, Ways and Means Committee (Subcommittees on Social Security and Human Resources) highlighting the experience of Walgreens (Deerfield, IL) with disability inclusion and Social Security Disability programs in their hiring practices. Walgreens shares how the process of disability inclusion proved beneficial to its business and employees in addition to paving the way for future growth. As a result of their experience, Walgreens has since sought to mentor other companies in accommodating and training individuals with disabilities to enter

into their workforce. Employer-to-employer disability inclusion mentoring like this cannot be emphasized enough. It’s time, Missouri.

» assists with the Legislative Education Project with the Governor’s Council on Disability

» is a member of the Spend-down sub-committee charged with developing a model for Missouri residents to qualify for Medicaid, even though their income is higher than program federal limits

» works on other federal and state issues impacting people with disabilities

To fulfill our mission through systems advocacy, SIL:

1401 Hathman PlaceColumbia, Missouri 65201

Return Service Requested

Contact Us573-874-1646800-766-1968

(TTY) 573-874-4121(Fax) 573-874-3564sil@silcolumbia.org

www.silcolumbia.org

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PAIDColumbia, MO

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Printed in USA. Reproduction with credit to Independent Living is permitted.

Independent Living is published at no cost to persons receiving it. Large print, braille, or taped copies are available on request by contacting SIL at the above phone numbers.

The views expressed in this newsletter do not necessarily reflect the views of Services for Independent Living.

There goes one of those Services for Independent Living vans, after which I asked myself “what do they do?” Do they offer senior services? Financial counseling? Maybe they help single parents? In a little less than four weeks I have not only found out more about what goes on at SIL, I have joined the team as its first ever development director.

While sitting near the front door at SIL, waiting for one of my early job interviews, a group of four ladies came to the office for a meeting with Scout Merry to learn about Assistive Technology. They were very anxious and excited to learn about the tools and gadgets that would make their lives a little easier.

Moments later a woman brushed past me with her guide dog Reno, smiling and saying hi as she went by. I later learned that this was DeAnna Noriega, a tireless advocate for the blind.

The energy in the building was off the Richter scale. I could not wait to meet with Aimee Wehmeier to learn about the fundraising needs at SIL. I’ve always liked working on BIG dreams and helping others, so as you might imagine, the new programming center on the drawing board for SIL really caught my attention. But so did all of the services provided by SIL. This was a cause I wanted to champion.

My fundraising and volunteer work with youth organizations,

educational institutions and social service providers matched well with SIL’s needs and I was offered, and accepted, the opportunity to serve as your new development director.

Two days later Governor Nixon held a press conference at SIL to express his support and desire to keep funding for the blind in the 2013 state budget. We have been moving at warp speed ever since.

I really love seeing the passion for serving others among our staff members. They drop what they are doing if you need any help.

Plus they are constantly looking for better ways to do things and they are extremely accommodating. I’m sure many of you can vouch for this, having been here for peer group meetings or intake interviews, ridden on one of our specially fitted vans, or taken part in one of our many off site cooking classes or training sessions.

So what really goes on at SIL, the place with all those teal and white vans? We provide resources that empower people with disabilities to maximize their independence. So far I’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg of the services we provide, but it is impressive. I look forward to meeting each of you as we work together on the dream of funding and building a new independent living programming center for Mid-Missouri.

Mike MillerDevelopment Director

This was a cause I wanted to champion.