[Community-service] Discrimination in volunteering based on blindness

Darian Smith dsmithnfb at gmail.com
Tue Sep 2 13:24:50 UTC 2014


That’s a very good point, thank you.
 
 Even if a  location doesn’t get federal funds,   the location is likely a place of public accommodation, correct?  if so, a person with a disability can’t be disallowed access.  Would seem to me that if a place won’t allow you to volunteer on the bases of blindness that they are disallowing you  access for fear  of  liability which is still illegal.
  More than a matter of legality, it is certainly a matter of  changing perceptions. The next  question is, how do we change those perceptions?  how do  we turn our words and wishes into action?
  Interested to hear your thoughts on this,
  Darian          
On Sep 2, 2014, at 6:10 AM, Reyazuddin, Yasmin via Community-service <community-service at nfbnet.org> wrote:

> Jonathan, and all, 
> Discrimination happens even for volunteer positions. 
> Sometimes it is ignorance of the volunteer coordinators and sometimes it
> is attitudes. 
> We always have to prove ourselves that we can do the job. 
> For the last three years, I have volunteered at our NFB-BELL camp and
> have some experience working with blind children. It is our work in the
> federation that speaks volumes about our abilities to the rest of the
> world. 
> If the agency is big enough and you can research if they get any federal
> or state funds, then you can play the ADA card or Section 504 of the
> rehab act. Federal or state funds offered to organizations mean that
> they can not refuse you to serve as a volunteer. 
> I hope this information is helpful. If you have any further questions or
> want to continue this discussion, please write back. 
> 
> Yasmin Reyazuddin 
> Aging & Disability Services 
> Montgomery County Government 
> Department of Health & Human Services 
> 401 Hungerford Drive (3rd floor) 
> Rockville MD 20850 
> 240-777-0311 (MC311) 
> 240-777-1556 (personal) 
> 240-777-1495 (fax) 
> office hours 8:30 am 5:00 pm 
> Languages English, Hindi, Urdu, Braille 
> 
> 
> This message may contain protected health information or other
> information that is confidential or privileged. If you are not the
> intended recipient, please contact the sender by return mail and destroy
> any copies of this material. 
> 
> Thank you.
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Community-service [mailto:community-service-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of jonathan franks via Community-service
> Sent: Sunday, August 31, 2014 11:51 PM
> To: Darian Smith
> Cc: Community Service Discussion List
> Subject: Re: [Community-service] Discrimination in volunteering based
> onblindness
> 
> I concur with you completely Darian.
> 
> Being able to advocate for yourself is key in so many real life
> situations. Our sighted peers who may not have any experience in
> dealing with blind individuals will not know what a blind person is
> capable of. That is why it is up to all of us to be able to
> demonstrate and advocate that we have the necessary skills to work
> alongside our sighted peers. As our new NFB tagline says, we can "
> live the life we want"  I fully believe in this simple and straight
> forward philosophy and know it to be true for all of us.
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Community-service mailing list
> Community-service at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/community-service_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> Community-service:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/community-service_nfbnet.org/yasmin.re
> yazuddin%40montgomerycountymd.gov
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Community-service mailing list
> Community-service at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/community-service_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for Community-service:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/community-service_nfbnet.org/dsmithnfb%40gmail.com





More information about the Community-Service mailing list