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CENSUS 2010

DON’T BE FOOL WHEN IT COMES TO YOUR ECONOMIC RECOVERY PAYMENT

Television Captioning and Description

I believe ...

Accessible Grocery Machine...

Love ones in need ...

April is proclaimed "Disabilities Awareness Month"

World Disability Day

“My uncle’s illness is at the last stages. How can I take care of him?

What do nursing homes offer?

Accessible House

Forgetful! It's Serious?

Who can give me some help with finances?

"What to do when you can take care of herself, but you are bored.”

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I would like to have this issue addressed if at all possible or necessary: government funding is determined by the census and the 10 questions on the 2010 form do not identify any disability gathering information. If we are not directed to have persons with disabilities respond and be counted. How do our elected officials expect to receive the required funding to allow for a level playing field for persons living with disabilities, if we are not counted?

Someone, I know, has the answer and I know our community did not let this slip pass without it being addressed. Please share with me the answer because I missed it.

Thanking you in advance.

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When did PWD's cease to matter in the battle against bigotry?

November 9th 2009 19:19

Yes, the "s" word may not be as hurtful as the "r" word, but we should have the right to decide which word defines us, not those who have a paternalistic interest in us.

Ian Birrell: Mind your language: words can cause terrible damage
When did people with disabilities cease to matter in the battle against
bigotry?
Friday, 6 November 2009
Link: Really Long Link

Racism was rife in the playgrounds of my youth. It seems incredible looking back, but if someone would not share their sweets or lend a few pennies to a friend in need of crisps, they might be mocked as "Jews". Or even "Yids". Sometimes, children would go so far as to rub their noses in a "Shylock" gesture to emphasise the point.

It must have been hellish for the handful of Jewish pupils. Thankfully, as we grew older and began to learn the brutal history of anti-Semitism, the taunts dried up. Today, such behaviour is stamped upon. A lexicon of loathsome words has been driven underground as we make faltering steps forward towards a more tolerant society.

Sticks and stones break bones, but words wound. This explains why there are such howls of outrage when a low-rent celebrity makes a joke about "Pakis", or when a newspaper columnist delivers a diatribe against homosexuals. Casual racism, crude stereotyping and abuse towards a minority is not just offensive, but corrosive.

So why is it acceptable against people with disabilities? When did they become such a forgotten minority that they ceased to matter in the battle against bigotry? A group so exiled still from mainstream society that it has become acceptable to fling around hateful words such as "retard" and
"spazz" without a murmur of disquiet. Not just in the playground, where these words and many more like them are commonplace, but online, in the office, in the home and in Hollywood.

This week, we had two of the hottest young actors, Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, describe rumours of their romance as "so retarded". Last month, Guy Ritchie used the same word to describe his former wife. Previously, it was Lindsay Lohan, Courtney Love, Russell Brand and Britney Spears. Imagine how their careers would have nose-dived if they used language offensive to gay or black people.

Go on to YouTube and look at all the videos of people dancing "like a retard". Or go on to MySpace and find an oh-so-funny gallery entitled "Adopt Your Own Retard". Or go on to any one of dozens of internet sites and laugh at the jokes about "retards". Or go on to the most popular political blogs and see the word bandied around as a term of abuse; one left-leaning site failed to spot the irony of a rant about "homophobic, racist retards" in a recent posting on the BNP.

It is not just the new media polluted by such unthinking contempt. Listen to radio phone-in shows. Or watch the film Tropic Thunder, which uses "retard" or "retarded"17 times and makes gags about actors going the "full retard". Or check out the Black Eyed Peas song "Let's Get Retarded" with its chorus "Everybody, Everybody, Let's get into it, Get stupid, Get retarded". This from a band whose main creative force was one of the most influential figures behind the mobilisation of support for the election of Barack Obama as President of the United States.

But then, even the first black president makes derogatory jokes about the disabled, while a leading French politician yesterday used autism as a form of political abuse against the Tories, and a supposedly-liberal newspaper splashed it across its front page without comment.

In America, the fightback has begun. The Special Olympics has launched a campaign to drive the word "retard" into disuse, asking people to pledge never to use the word. Many of the pledges are from children such as Samantha, who has a sister with special needs. "All my life I have heard people saying the r-word. It makes me really upset. No one understands how hurtful it is until you have someone close to you being called that."

As the parent of a child with profound mental and physical disabilities, I share Samantha's view. It is deeply upsetting to hear words once used to describe my daughter thrown around as a casual insult. But far worse than my own bruised sensitivities, language reflects how we view the world, reinforcing the exclusion of people with disabilities from the rest of society.

When people with physical disabilities are figures of fun and mental incapacity is a term of insult, is it any wonder my daughter gets unpleasant stares wherever she goes? Is it any wonder parents complain
over the appearance of a children's television presenter missing part of one arm? Or a major fashion chain insists that a similarly-disabled worker is hidden out of sight of customers? Or that a college allows classmates to hold a vote to ban a student with Down's syndrome from a barbecue party, as happened this summer?

People should bear in mind that barely one in six disabled people are born with their disability, and the number of people with disabilities is rising. Despite this, there is so little interaction with disabled people
that a recent survey by Scope discovered a majority of Britons believe most people see them as inferior people. Given this scarcely-believable finding, it is unsurprising that people with disabilities find it so much harder to get jobs, are far more likely to live in poverty, will be paid less and bullied more if they do find work and, increasingly, are victims of hate crime.

Six weeks ago, Britain was engulfed in outrage over the terrible story of Fiona Pilkington, who killed herself and her disabled daughter after years of hostility from her neighbours. But the reality is that disabled people are regularly mocked, taunted, harassed, hurt and humiliated, with the most vulnerable – those with mental disability – suffering the worst. There are even cases of torture and disembowelment, of a woman urinated on and filmed as she lay dying in a doorway.

Hate crime is the most extreme articulation of the prejudice that disabled people endure on a daily basis. Its roots lie in contempt, fertilised by misguided feelings of superiority. So will anything really change while retard is an acceptable term of abuse, and autism is used to denigrate political rivals?

"We are giving people permission to say and do hateful things," said John Knight, director of policy and campaigns at Leonard Cheshire Disability, who himself had to endure screams of "spastic" from two aggressive men in the street just a fortnight ago. "And it's getting worse. If we don't address low-level abuse, we let people think it's acceptable, allowing it to proliferate and become mainstream."

An investigation into crime against the disabled revealed that nearly two-thirds of people with mental health problems had been abused in the street in the previous two years, with about a quarter suffering sexual harassment or physical assault. But only 141 disabled hate crimes were successfully prosecuted in a year, compared with 778 homophobic cases and 6,689 racial cases. The Home Office does not even bother collecting statistics on disability hate crime, unlike racially or religious-based offences.

We are retreating in the fight to offer respect and inclusion to more than one million of our fellow citizens. John Bangs, head of education at the National Union of Teachers, admitted to me that the promotion of disabled rights had fallen back in the past decade while schools concentrated on
racism and homophobia. And as the struggle for inclusion in society gets harder, the stares get more pronounced, the insults more widely heard, the harassment worse – and more and more people with disabilities will abandon their personal battles and withdraw to their ghettos.

Is this really what we want? Or should we at the very least start to mind our language?

EMAIL: i.birrell@independent.co.uk

Your Independent

Do you agree with Ian Birrell? Do you have any special insight into these issues? Give us your views or your stories and we'll publish a selection of responses. Write to: yourindependent@independent.c o.uk

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Posted By: Madeline Schwartz - Category: No Category

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When did PWD's cease to matter in the battle against bigotry?

November 9th 2009 19:19

This is a very useful article, except.....

The writer sees this issue through the lens of a parent, not an adult person with a disability.

Yes, words hurt and words define individuals. I note he writes, "Many of the pledges are from children such as Samantha, who has a sister with special needs." I'm also for banning the word "special." as in "special needs" and "special education."

When and who chose the word "special" as a euphemism for an adult or a child with a disability? Yes, I am "special," as we all are, but not because I have a disability.

Yes, the "s" word may not be as hurtful as the "r" word, but we should have the right to decide which word defines us, not those who have a paternalistic interest in us.

Ian Birrell: Mind your language: words can cause terrible damage
When did people with disabilities cease to matter in the battle against
bigotry?
Friday, 6 November 2009
Link: Really Long Link

Racism was rife in the playgrounds of my youth. It seems incredible looking back, but if someone would not share their sweets or lend a few pennies to a friend in need of crisps, they might be mocked as "Jews". Or even "Yids". Sometimes, children would go so far as to rub their noses in a "Shylock" gesture to emphasise the point.

It must have been hellish for the handful of Jewish pupils. Thankfully, as we grew older and began to learn the brutal history of anti-Semitism, the taunts dried up. Today, such behaviour is stamped upon. A lexicon of loathsome words has been driven underground as we make faltering steps forward towards a more tolerant society.

Sticks and stones break bones, but words wound. This explains why there are such howls of outrage when a low-rent celebrity makes a joke about "Pakis", or when a newspaper columnist delivers a diatribe against homosexuals. Casual racism, crude stereotyping and abuse towards a minority is not just offensive, but corrosive.

So why is it acceptable against people with disabilities? When did they become such a forgotten minority that they ceased to matter in the battle against bigotry? A group so exiled still from mainstream society that it has become acceptable to fling around hateful words such as "retard" and
"spazz" without a murmur of disquiet. Not just in the playground, where these words and many more like them are commonplace, but online, in the office, in the home and in Hollywood.

This week, we had two of the hottest young actors, Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, describe rumours of their romance as "so retarded". Last month, Guy Ritchie used the same word to describe his former wife. Previously, it was Lindsay Lohan, Courtney Love, Russell Brand and Britney Spears. Imagine how their careers would have nose-dived if they used language offensive to gay or black people.

Go on to YouTube and look at all the videos of people dancing "like a retard". Or go on to MySpace and find an oh-so-funny gallery entitled "Adopt Your Own Retard". Or go on to any one of dozens of internet sites and laugh at the jokes about "retards". Or go on to the most popular political blogs and see the word bandied around as a term of abuse; one left-leaning site failed to spot the irony of a rant about "homophobic, racist retards" in a recent posting on the BNP.

It is not just the new media polluted by such unthinking contempt. Listen to radio phone-in shows. Or watch the film Tropic Thunder, which uses "retard" or "retarded"17 times and makes gags about actors going the "full retard". Or check out the Black Eyed Peas song "Let's Get Retarded" with its chorus "Everybody, Everybody, Let's get into it, Get stupid, Get retarded". This from a band whose main creative force was one of the most influential figures behind the mobilisation of support for the election of Barack Obama as President of the United States.

But then, even the first black president makes derogatory jokes about the disabled, while a leading French politician yesterday used autism as a form of political abuse against the Tories, and a supposedly-liberal newspaper splashed it across its front page without comment.

In America, the fightback has begun. The Special Olympics has launched a campaign to drive the word "retard" into disuse, asking people to pledge never to use the word. Many of the pledges are from children such as Samantha, who has a sister with special needs. "All my life I have heard people saying the r-word. It makes me really upset. No one understands how hurtful it is until you have someone close to you being called that."

As the parent of a child with profound mental and physical disabilities, I share Samantha's view. It is deeply upsetting to hear words once used to describe my daughter thrown around as a casual insult. But far worse than my own bruised sensitivities, language reflects how we view the world, reinforcing the exclusion of people with disabilities from the rest of society.

When people with physical disabilities are figures of fun and mental incapacity is a term of insult, is it any wonder my daughter gets unpleasant stares wherever she goes? Is it any wonder parents complain
over the appearance of a children's television presenter missing part of one arm? Or a major fashion chain insists that a similarly-disabled worker is hidden out of sight of customers? Or that a college allows classmates to hold a vote to ban a student with Down's syndrome from a barbecue party, as happened this summer?

People should bear in mind that barely one in six disabled people are born with their disability, and the number of people with disabilities is rising. Despite this, there is so little interaction with disabled people
that a recent survey by Scope discovered a majority of Britons believe most people see them as inferior people. Given this scarcely-believable finding, it is unsurprising that people with disabilities find it so much harder to get jobs, are far more likely to live in poverty, will be paid less and bullied more if they do find work and, increasingly, are victims of hate crime.

Six weeks ago, Britain was engulfed in outrage over the terrible story of Fiona Pilkington, who killed herself and her disabled daughter after years of hostility from her neighbours. But the reality is that disabled people are regularly mocked, taunted, harassed, hurt and humiliated, with the most vulnerable – those with mental disability – suffering the worst. There are even cases of torture and disembowelment, of a woman urinated on and filmed as she lay dying in a doorway.

Hate crime is the most extreme articulation of the prejudice that disabled people endure on a daily basis. Its roots lie in contempt, fertilised by misguided feelings of superiority. So will anything really change while retard is an acceptable term of abuse, and autism is used to denigrate political rivals?

"We are giving people permission to say and do hateful things," said John Knight, director of policy and campaigns at Leonard Cheshire Disability, who himself had to endure screams of "spastic" from two aggressive men in the street just a fortnight ago. "And it's getting worse. If we don't address low-level abuse, we let people think it's acceptable, allowing it to proliferate and become mainstream."

An investigation into crime against the disabled revealed that nearly two-thirds of people with mental health problems had been abused in the street in the previous two years, with about a quarter suffering sexual harassment or physical assault. But only 141 disabled hate crimes were successfully prosecuted in a year, compared with 778 homophobic cases and 6,689 racial cases. The Home Office does not even bother collecting statistics on disability hate crime, unlike racially or religious-based offences.

We are retreating in the fight to offer respect and inclusion to more than one million of our fellow citizens. John Bangs, head of education at the National Union of Teachers, admitted to me that the promotion of disabled rights had fallen back in the past decade while schools concentrated on
racism and homophobia. And as the struggle for inclusion in society gets harder, the stares get more pronounced, the insults more widely heard, the harassment worse – and more and more people with disabilities will abandon their personal battles and withdraw to their ghettos.

Is this really what we want? Or should we at the very least start to mind our language?

EMAIL: i.birrell@independent.co.uk

Your Independent

Do you agree with Ian Birrell? Do you have any special insight into these issues? Give us your views or your stories and we'll publish a selection of responses. Write to: yourindependent@independent.c o.uk

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Posted By: Madeline Schwartz - Category: No Category

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When did PWD's cease to matter in the battle against bigotry?

November 9th 2009 19:19

This is a very useful article, except.....

The writer sees this issue through the lens of a parent, not an adult person with a disability

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Posted By: Madeline Schwartz - Category: No Category

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An Introduction to the New IRS Form 990

October 9th 2009 12:32

In an effort to reflect the significant changes that have occurred in the nonprofit sector and to address the increased demand for transparency and accountability, the IRS has completed a revision of the reporting form that tax-exempt organizations are required to file each year. Grantees will find this information useful when filing their 990 Forms. The redesigned Form 990 will be phased in over a three-year transition period.

For the first time since 1979, the IRS has completed a significant overhaul of the reporting form tax-exempt organizations are required to file each year. The redesigned Form 990 was officially released on December 20, 2007, approximately six months after the IRS introduced a draft version of the form and solicited comments from the public. Returns filed for the tax year 2007 will still use the current form, with the new form coming into use beginning with returns filed for tax year 2008

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DON’T BE FOOL WHEN IT COMES TO YOUR ECONOMIC RECOVERY PAYMENT

May 9th 2009 14:36

Social Security Column

DON’T BE FOOL WHEN IT COMES TO YOUR ECONOMIC RECOVERY PAYMENT

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ADAPT FUN*RUN 2009 is scheduled for Sunday, April 26th. PLEASE SUPPORT FUNDRAISERS!

April 19th 2009 00:09

The ADAPT Community must continue our efforts to get and keep people out of nursing homes and other institutions. At the state level, ADAPT activists advocate to change the institutional bias that has forced so many people out of their own homes and communities. At the federal level we continue our advocacy for the passage of the Community Choice Act (CCA). When the CCA passes, people will have a “Real Choice” for community long-term services and supports.

The ADAPT Community will hold a FUN*RUN for Disability Rights to “Celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the Olmstead decision.” FUN*RUN participants (sponsored by family and friends) roll, run, walk or jog around Upper Senate Park for one hour. It is not race, but a fun fund-raising event. The 2009 FUN*RUN will be held Sunday, April 26, at Upper Senate Park, Washington, D.C., from 1-4 p.m

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Reading Rights Coalition,-protests disabled text to speech on Kindle 2

April 13th 2009 23:33

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

Over the past few weeks, I have been organizing with colleagues from around the country to ensure that Amazon's Kindle 2 is accessible to people with print disabilities. (I am a founding member of one organization (Assn on Higher Education and Disability) and president of another (International Dyslexia Association-NY Branch). The Reading Rights Coalition is engaged in a campaign to obtain access for the blind and others with print disabilities to e-books available for Amazon’s new Kindle 2 e-book reader. The new reader, which Amazon is working to make fully accessible, has the ability to use text-to-speech to read these e-books aloud; but under pressure from the Authors Guild, Amazon has announced that authors and publishers will be allowed to disable the text-to-speech function

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ECONOMIC RECOVERY PAYMENTS COMING FOR PEOPLE WHO RECEIVE SOCIAL SECURITY AND SSI BENEFITS

March 28th 2009 15:30

A. By Elizabeth Wertime
Social Security Public Affairs Specialist in Upstate, NY
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which the President signed into law in February, provides for a one-time payment of $250 to people receiving Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits

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Engage in Storytelling for the Social Good: Caregiving

March 23rd 2009 23:22

The people of Deepwell need you to Tell it to Someone Who Cares. United Cerebral Palsy and Life Without Limits will be carefully noting and reflecting on your stories told, your advice given, your innovative ideas offered, and thinking about the implications for improving care giving in our communities. Look for highlights soon. But first, we need you to share your perspectives.
Here is your 7 minute mission to engage with collaborative storytelling for the social good of care giving. It only takes 7 minutes and will make yours one of the first stories posted when Ruby's Bequest launches next Monday, March 16th!

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