[nfb-db] Travel

Wed May 27 21:41:16 UTC 2009

John,
I have never used the Wayfinder. Does it work in conjunction with Braille?
Mussie
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "John Lee Clark" <johnlee at clarktouch.com>
To: "'NFB Deaf-Blind Division Mailing List'" <nfb-db at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, May 27, 2009 11:11 AM
Subject: Re: [nfb-db] Travel


> Haben and Mussie:
>
> I haven't used StreetTalk so I know nothing about it.  But I use Wayfinder
> and it works great, too.  I don't use it often now that I work at home 
> most
> of the time.  It was valuable when I did a lot of traveling, though.
>
> John
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfb-db-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfb-db-bounces at nfbnet.org] On 
> Behalf
> Of Mussie
> Sent: Wednesday, May 27, 2009 12:53 AM
> To: NFB Deaf-Blind Division Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [nfb-db] Travel
>
> The GPS from Sendero works pretty well. I can use it on the bus and be 
> able
> to identify street names and other points of interest, eliminating the 
> need
> for help should I not be able to recognize my location and where I am
> heading to. Scanning for points of interest from almost any location 
> yields
> lots of points of interest and you will be able to navigate to the
> destination you found from the list of points of interest or through a 
> scan
> of a specific destination. This works great for me.
> Freedom Scientific will soon be incorporating Sendero's GPS for their PAC
> Mate. The JAWS script used in the PAC Mate for StreetTalk made it less
> effective to use StreetTalk, though StreetTalk is not entirely bad.
> Mussie
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Haben Girma" <habnkid at aol.com>
> To: "NFB Deaf-Blind Division Mailing List" <nfb-db at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Monday, May 25, 2009 9:46 PM
> Subject: Re: [nfb-db] Travel
>
>
>> Mussie, you mentioned that you get around with a GPS. How well does that
>> work for you? Also, I thought you used a PAC Mate Omni but those don't 
>> yet
>
>> work with StreetTalk at the moment.
>>
>> Haben
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Mussie <gmussie9 at hotmail.com>
>> Sent: Sunday, May 24, 2009 11:34 PM
>> To: NFB Deaf-Blind Division Mailing List <nfb-db at nfbnet.org>
>> Subject: Re: [nfb-db] Travel
>>
>> John,
>> Wow, that sounds like a movie to me. Or could it be an entirely different
>> country? It makes me feel like I should go and live there. We constantly
>> have accessibility issues here, and I am often involved in deliberations
>> (usually privately) in trying to make things easier for the deaf-blinf. I
>> wonder what our state is doing with all the money? Your state is way 
>> small
>> in terms of economy (California is the #1 largest economy here in 
>> America,
>> hands down). We have budget issues all the time and there is always
>> haggling
>> between the governor and the legislature over how to allocote money for
>> programs and services aimed at people with disabilities.
>> We don't actually pay tuition at any CA community college if you have SSI
>> or
>> are a client of Rehab (you fill out a Board of Governors' waiver form),
>> which is why I stayed so long at the community college taking advantage 
>> of
>
>> a
>> tuition-free learning environment that is very much intellectually
>> rewarding. If I go to a university here, too bad I'll have to stay for 
>> the
>> duration of my university studies required to complete a degree, plus 
>> I'll
>> have to pay (Rehab covers most university tuition, but not dorm 
>> expenses).
>> So, it is really odd that Texas and your state are considered the best in
>> terms of accommodation. How is that the case? How do they get all the
>> money
>> in spite of their economic woes considering their economies are smaller
>> compared to CA?
>> Paratransit in my area recently upgraded to allow same-day services
>> (called
>> ParaTaxi) you can book online. They also plan to support text
>> message-based
>> reservation management (including letting you know when the driver is
>> there). But the main paratransit service that I use kind of sucks.
>> Unfortunately for me, I live in a suburb that is very
>> deaf-blind-unfriendly,
>> though I have learned my way around using my GPS and other tools. But
>> same-day paratransit is making life easier, though it is only within the
>> city where I live in (for outside the city trips, I use BART or the 
>> larger
>> paratransit service).
>> Thanks for sharing the info. I appreciate that! And oh, how come Seattle,
>> which is considered to be the largest deaf-blind community in the US, not
>> be
>> as accessible as your state?
>> Mussie
>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>> From: "John Lee Clark" <johnlee at clarktouch.com>
>> To: "'NFB Deaf-Blind Division Mailing List'" <nfb-db at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Tuesday, May 19, 2009 9:42 AM
>> Subject: Re: [nfb-db] Travel
>>
>>
>>> Mussie:
>>>
>>> To answer your question:
>>>
>>> Minnesota has three main sources of SSP services.  One is through your
>>> county, if you are eligible for MA or MAEPD (MA for Employed People with
>>> Disabilities).  You can also get equipment through this, plus vouchers
>>> for
>>> transportation, so you ride buses and paratransit for free all the time.
>>> SSP hours vary from client to client, but in Hennepin County, you're
>>> actually required to use eight hours or MORE--you can log in TONS of
>>> hours
>>> if you want to.  This is a strange p-olicy, requiring you to use MORE
>>> than
>>> a
>>> certain amount, instead of less than or up to that amount.  Some use six
>>> hours a week, others sixteen,  Whatever.
>>>
>>> The second source is through the state's Department of Human Services.
>>> The
>>> legislature appropriates half a million dollars each year specifically
>>> for
>>> SSP services.  I think it's up to seven hundred thousand dollars now.
>>>
>>> The third source is through the consumer-directed services, where you 
>>> get
>>> seven thousand seven hundred dollars each year and with which you decide
>>> what to do.  You can use this for even more SSP hours on top of the 
>>> above
>>> two sources, but since the above two are more than enough, I use this
>>> mainly
>>> for equipment and supplies and occasionally for interpreters so I could
>>> attend certain events that doesn't really have the means or appartus to
>>> provide interpreters or not covered by ADA requirements.  Funerals,
>>> homecoming and other games at my alma mater, informal literary events 
>>> and
>>> Critical Thinking Club sessions, etc.
>>>
>>> You also should be aware that there are many other great things.  For
>>> example, Minnesota is number one in the nation for providing the most
>>> ASL-interpreted, audio-described, and accessible theater performances,
>>> with
>>> an average of thirty plays a month that are made accessible and
>>> interpreted,
>>> and that includes providing two interpreters for each DB tactile signer.
>>> The signing community here is good with providing DB interpreters for 
>>> all
>>> its organizations' events--most flyers, you'll notice this line about
>>> requesting for interpreters.  Many of them are not even required to by
>>> ADA
>>> but do it anyway.
>>>
>>> As for crowd and hassle of transportation, well, the skyways--if you 
>>> live
>>> in
>>> either downtown--will dramatically reduce your need to ride the bus or
>>> use
>>> paratransit.  I love, love, love it here.  If I am suddenly in the mood
>>> for,
>>> say, hot chocolate from Starbucks, why, I just elevator down to the
>>> skyway
>>> level and walk through two buildings to where a Starbucks is.  Just that
>>> instant, and I just do it.  No waiting for a bus, no calling ahead for
>>> paratransit, none of that.  But it's not only hot chocolate, but
>>> groceries,
>>> clothes, shoes, hairstylists, whatever.
>>>
>>> And oh, did I tell you that Minnesota is one of two states, the other
>>> being
>>> Texas, that gives free college education to any deaf or blind students 
>>> at
>>> any one of its eight state universities?  The University of Minnesota in
>>> Minneapolis and Metropolitan State University in St. Paul both are big 
>>> on
>>> accessibility issues and have won awards for best accommodations.  Both
>>> will
>>> soon unveil tactile maps and narrative maps as part of their universal
>>> design efforts.  The U of M is very near downtown Minneapolis and MSU is
>>> just across a bridge from downtown St. Paul, both very short bus rides,
>>> and
>>> what's more, both bus routes are ones where you don't even have to ask 
>>> if
>>> this is the right bus, because all buses will go there and back, and 
>>> both
>>> routes are such that you'll know where your stop is just by the bus's
>>> turning.  So for those rides, you don't even need communication cards or
>>> anything.
>>>
>>> We have a DB lady who just earned her MA here and another is studying 
>>> for
>>> her Ph.D.
>>>
>>> Sorry to go on so, but I just really, really love it here!  It is only
>>> rarely that I remember that I am deafblind.  Most of the time, the ease
>>> and
>>> independence and quality of life is so high that I feel just like, well,
>>> just a person.  Nothing special.
>>>
>>> My twin boys are clamoring for McDonald's now.  So I'll go now, but I
>>> haven't decided which one of four of them on the skyways we'll go to,
>>> because that would depend on where I want to grab my food from, and once
>>> I
>>> decide that, we'll go to the McDonald's nearest to that place.  Maybe
>>> I'll
>>> get my favorite wrap from D. Bryan or maybe I'll go for Chipotle.  Not
>>> sure
>>> yet!
>>>
>>> John
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>
>>
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