[Nd-talk] NFB of North Dakota - Newswire, Vol. 1, No. 11

Wed Sep 20 15:50:13 UTC 2017

NEWSWIRE

National Federation of the Blind of

North Dakota

Vol. 1, No. 11

2017 State Convention Wrap-Up

The National Federation of the Blind of North Dakota held its 2017 State
Convention during the weekend of September 15-16 at the former Baymont Hotel
now known as the Ramada Hotel in Fargo.

On Friday, we had an Access to Technology and Resource Fair with
participants from the School for the Blind in Grand Forkes, ND Assistive,
BLIND, Inc, Vanda Pharmaceuticals, and Triumph Technology, and of course the
NFB with catalogs from the NFB Independence Market, Kernal books and if
anyone wanted a demonstration of the KNFB ReaderR. There were presentation's
by the various participants talking about their programs. In the evening we
showed the documentary film Do You Dream in Color followed by a discussion
about the movie. We were also visited by Mylynn Tufte, State of North Dakota
Health Department Officer representing the governor of the state.

On Saturday we held a program that featured Susan Hammer-Schneider from the
North Dakota Talkingbook Library, Robert Hendrickson from the Fargo office
of the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, James Yesel 2017 North Dakota
NFB Scholarship winner, Paul Olson from the School for the Blind and our
National Representative Fredric Schroeder.

Elected to fill one-year terms of offices were Sherry Shirek Secretary,
Jesse Shirek Treasurer and Shirley Robideau Director.

National Technology Call Sponsored By The NFBNJ 8:00 pm Eastern Invite All
Featuring IBTC AndAIRA

>From the desk of NFBNJ President,Joe Ruffalo.

Received from Jane Degenshein, President, NJ Technology Division.

The National Federation of the Blind of New Jersey's Technology Division is
proud to present our third   national technology  seminar featuring Eric
Duffy, Director of the IBTC (International Braille and Technology Center)
housed at the National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute in
Baltimore, Maryland. Also, Eric will highlight AIRA, a visual interpreter
for the blind. Using  glasses with a camera or the camera on your smart
phone trained live agents from anywhere in the country can provide visual
information to assist in everyday tasks around the home or in navigating the
world. This seminar will meet on Tuesday, September 26, 2017 at 8 PM
Eastern.

You can access the conference, by calling:

1 515 604 9570

and then the access code:

612068 Pound

If you have any specific questions for Eric, send them to Janie Degenshein
at:

 <mailto:jdegen16 at comcast.net> jdegen16 at comcast.net

Look forward to seeing you all there!

Keep Smiling,

Janie Degenshein

National Federation of the Blind Is Seeking to Support DREAMers

As the principal vehicle for collective action for the blind in the United
States, the National Federation of the Blind is committed to enabling all
blind people, irrespective of immigration status, to live the lives we want.
To better inform our current and future advocacy and policy strategies, the
National Federation of the Blind is collecting the following information to
better understand the impact of the administration's recent decision to
rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program among the
blind in the United States. The information collected will be used to:

1.	Identify DREAMers who are blind in order to better understand the
impact on blind people and help inform the National Federation of the Blind
regarding ways the organization can best provide assistance.
2.	Develop an aggregate summary of the blind people in the United
States who participate in the DACA program, which can be shared with
government officials, advocates, and other interested parties.
3.	Develop statistical analyses on the unemployment rate among the
blind before and after the establishment of the DACA program.
4.	Highlight general narratives of blind people living the lives they
want because of the DACA program.
5.	Coordinate a community of blind DACA recipients in order to maximize
the resources available.

If you or someone you know is blind and receives DACA benefits, please
complete the National Federation of the Blind DACA form at the below links
(available in Spanish and English), or share this information with them. If
you know of a DREAMer who does not have internet access, we would appreciate
your helping them complete the form.

Spanish NFB DACA form: https://nfb.org/daca-es 

English NFB DACA form: https://nfb.org/daca

Why is the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) taking a position on a
non-blindness political 

The National Federation of the Blind has not taken a position on immigration
policy or even the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program
specifically. We are aware that a number of NFB members receive benefits
under this program, and we are seeking to understand who these blind people
are and what, if any, support they may need as blind people.

Will National Federation of the Blind use the DACA questionnaire data to
advocate a particular political position on immigration?

No. To the extent that immigration procedures unfairly disadvantage blind
people-such as online forms that are inaccessible-the National Federation of
the Blind has an interest in the programmatic aspects of immigration policy.

What is National Federation of the Blind 's policy statement around DACA?

Currently, the National Federation of the Blind does not have a policy
statement pertaining to DACA. 

Why has the Federation come out against the Trump administration on a
non-blindness issue?

We have not opposed or affirmed the administration's position. Here is the
statement from our online form: "The National Federation of the Blind is
collecting the following information to better understand the impact of the
administration's recent decision to rescind the Deferred Action for
Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program among the blind in the United States."

Does filling out the National Federation of the Blind's questionnaire put
DACA recipients at a greater risk for immigration enforcement?

No. DACA recipients have already self-identified to the Department of
Homeland Security, the US Citizenship and Immigration Service, and other
relevant federal agencies by applying to the DACA program. The information
the Federation is collecting is less comprehensive than that which federal
agencies already have on file. As specified in our form, "The National
Federation of the Blind will not share individual DREAMer stories or
personally identifiable information with members of Congress, administration
officials, or other relevant stakeholder organizations without your prior
written consent." 

Should we welcome DACA recipients at our chapter meetings?

Yes. As the largest vehicle for collective action for the blind in the
United States, the National Federation of the Blind is open to, and
welcoming of, all blind people who are interested in adding their voice,
energy, time, and talents to our collective effort. The NFB is committed to
enabling all blind people to live the lives we want, this includes DACA
recipients. DACA recipients should not be singled out, nor treated any
differently than other chapter members or visitors. Diversity is part of the
strength of our membership, and we should continue to value diversity in the
work we undertake.

Meaning Of A Long White Cane

Our next issue of Imagineering Our Future will focus on white Cane Awareness
Day. I would like a few of you to share with me some of your thoughts about
our canes. I am looking for good short quotes.

For example, my cane is more than a travel tool.

So, how do you all see the long white cane.

Submit your story to:

Patti Chang, Esq. 

Director of Outreach

pchang at nfb.org <mailto:pchang at nfb.org> 

2017 State Convention Wrap-Up

The National Federation of the Blind of North Dakota held its 2017 State
Convention during the weekend of September 15-16 at the former Baymont Hotel
now known as the Ramada Hotel in Fargo.

On Friday, we had an Access to Technology and Resource Fair with
participants from the School for the Blind in Grand Forkes, ND Assistive,
BLIND, Inc, Vanda Pharmaceuticals, and Triumph Technology, and of course the
NFB with catalogs from the NFB Independence Market, Kernal books and if
anyone wanted a demonstration of the KNFB ReaderR. There were presentation's
by the various participants talking about their programs. In the evening we
showed the documentary film Do You Dream in Color followed by a discussion
about the movie. We were also visited by Mylynn Tufte, State of North Dakota
Health Department Officer representing the governor of the state.

On Saturday we held a program that featured Susan Hammer-Schneider from the
North Dakota Talkingbook Library, Robert Hendrickson from the Fargo office
of the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, James Yesel 2017 North Dakota
NFB Scholarship winner, Paul Olson from the School for the Blind and our
National Representative Fredric Schroeder.

Elected to fill one-year terms of offices were Sherry Shirek Secretary,
Jesse Shirek Treasurer and Shirley Robideau Director.

*	* *

If you have a story or information that you would like all to know about,
please send your article by e-mail to mota1252 at gmail.com
<mailto:mota1252 at gmail.com> 

Please feel free to distribute this newsletter to anyone you think might be
interested in reading and learning about the National Federation of the
Blind of North Dakota. Thank you for taking the time to read this
newsletter.

Editor, Milton Ota, President.

The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the
characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the
expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles
between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want;
blindness is not what holds you back.

With Love, Hope and Determination, We Turn Dreams Into Reality.

Together We Change What It Means to Be Blind.

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/nd-talk_nfbnet.org/attachments/20170920/71f3691b/attachment.html>