[Nfb-new-hampshire] {Disarmed} Fw: News from The Governors Commission on Disability
Ed Meskys
edmeskys at roadrunner.com
Tue Dec 13 18:18:12 UTC 2011
----- Original Message -----
From: The Governors Commission on Disability
To: edmeskys at roadrunner.com
Sent: Tuesday, December 13, 2011 1:15 PM
Subject: News from The Governors Commission on Disability
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The Governor's Commission
on Disability
December 2011
In This Issue
Quotes for December
Winter Resources
Featured Article
Welcome to Jillian Forzese Shedd
Doctor Revolt Shakes Disability Program..
More Than 1 In 4 With Disabilities Living In Poverty..
Winter Parking Reminder
Quick Links
Our Web Site
We also support and provide:
the NH Client Assistance Program
the Architectural Barriers and ADA programs
Information and Referral Services
We partner with the Statewide Independent Living Council
http://www.silcnh.org/
"If you fell down yesterday, stand up today."
~ H.G. Wells
"Friendship with one's self is important, because without it, one cannot be friends with anyone else...."
~ Eleanor Roosevelt
"All our knowledge has its origins in perception."
~ Leonardo DaVinci
"If you dream & you allow yourself to dream, you can do anything."
~ Clara Hughes
WINTER IS HERE and HERE ARE SOME HELPFUL RESOURCES FOR YOU
The Fuel Assistance Program helps households in a heating emergency by securing an emergency delivery of fuel, delaying a shut-off notice, or referring clients to another source of assistance.
FAP provides income-eligible households with assistance in paying their energy bills during the winter heating season. Households where elderly, disabled persons, and/or young children reside receive priority. Benefits are calculated taking into account household income, energy costs, number of heating degree days within a region, and housing type. This targeting allows FAP to provide those households with the lowest incomes and highest energy costs with the highest benefits.
Fuel Assistance benefits range from $120 to $975, depending on household income and energy costs.The average benefit is $500.
Fuel Assistance benefits are not counted as income when applying for other assistance programs.
To apply for Fuel Assistance, contact your local Community Action Agency, for a list of CAP agencies got to: http://www.nh.gov/oep/programs/fuelassistance/contact.htm.
MMOREORE RESOURCES
MORE RESOURCES
For further information regarding fuel assistance, electrical assistance, homeless shelters, food banks, or emergency shelters , please call the Governor's Commission on Disability at 271-2773.
Welcome to Edition #11 !
Welcome to Jillian Forzese Shedd, our new Accessibility Specialist
Hello, my name is Jillian Shedd and in November I started my new position as the Accessibility Specialist in the Governor's Commission on Disabilities office. I am so glad to be a part of a great team and I am willing to help in any way I can. This new position is a great fit for me and it is a chance for me to help people through my passions focused on design and access.
I received my Master's Degree in Architecture from Wentworth Institute of Technology in 2009 and even got to travel abroad to Berlin, Germany for a semester abroad. After completing a rigorous Thesis process I graduated and began working with a design-build firm. I had established a relationship with them while completing the co-ops Wentworth encouraged. It was a great experience learning the process in which a schematic design was brought into fruition as a building.
Through my experiences there I learned that architecture had many offsets as career choice. The thing that I had been most passionate about, while involved in my schooling, was the benefit of designing to assist people. There has been an enthusiasm for volunteering in my life that started when I was young which has continued to the present and the path of using design as an aide for individuals was always an exciting one to me.
I'm looking forward to working with other individuals and professionals whose questions revolve around accessibility to all individuals. But I'm most excited to speak and work with those who are excited by the chance to assist themselves and others through design to enhance their quality of life.
You can reach me at 603-271-4177 or jillian.shedd at nh.gov.
Doctor Revolt Shakes Disability Program
As reported in the Wall Street Journal, the Social Security Administration has seen substantially more disability applications in recent times and has responded by paying doctors less to review and determine disability in less time , as well as asking doctors to review cases outside out their areas of expertise.
For further information on this troubling
development, please see
Doctors Revolt
More Than 1 In 4 With Disabilities Living In Poverty
By Shaun Heasley | September 14, 2011
As the number of Americans living in poverty soars, people with disabilities are faring among the worst, new Census data shows.
Nearly 28 percent of those with disabilities ages 18 to 64 were in poverty in 2010, according to statistics released this week from the U.S. Census Bureau. Meanwhile, the poverty rate for their peers in the general population reached 12.5 percent.
This comes as the tough economy left 46.2 million Americans in poverty, the highest number seen since the government began keeping track 52 years ago.
A single person was considered to be living in poverty in 2010 if they earned less than $11,139.
Even among those who were not in poverty, the Census data also shows disparities based on disability status. Median earnings for men with disabilities were about $41,500, compared to roughly $48,000 for those without.
Women with disabilities had a median income of just under $32,000, while their typically developing peers earned more than $37,000.
Voters with Disabilities
Frequently Asked Questions
1) Question: Is there special information available for voters with disabilities?
Answer:
A. Information for voters with disabilities can be found on the Secretary of State's Hoots On-line training at http://nhvotes.sos.nh.gov/login/index.php. Members of the general public can log in as a "Guest", and find the following documents appear under Glossary and Election Forms:
a.. An accessible voting system set-up and use manual
b.. An Attorney General checklist that explicitly establishes the standards by which the New Hampshire Attorney General inspects polling places on Election Day. In general, all polling places must be physically accessible, and there must be an accessible voting system operating in each polling place in New Hampshire.
http://www.sos.nh.gov/agchecklist.pdf
B. At http://www.sos.nh.gov/voting_in_new_hampshire.htm, there is an on-line video that illustrates what steps must be taken to ensure accessibility at polling places.
2) Question: Is there information and instructions for disabled voters describing how to use the voting system to cast a ballot?
Answer:
The State of New Hampshire Accessible Voting System booklet contains easy-to-follow instructions on how to operate the accessible voting system. The system is a telephone interface. Our experience is that voters with or without disabilities require no instruction before using the system. A voter does not need to be disabled to use the equipment in a polling place. All voters are encouraged to use the voting equipment, and many find them useful for various reasons, even if they do not consider themselves "disabled." The general public can log in as "Guest" and Go to the Glossary and Election Forms link at http://nhvotes.sos.nh.gov to obtain this booklet.
3) Question: Does the site say whether TDD (Telecommunications Device for the Deaf) or TTY (Tele TYpewriter - a device that uses text instead of voice to communicate via telephone lines) access is available?
Answer:New Hampshire's Department of Information Technology audits all state web sites for compliance with Section 508 federal accessibility standards. The terms "TDD/TTY" are outdated and are not favored by the disabilities community.
For further information please contact the Secretary of State's Office at NH Secretary of State.
WINTER REMINDER TO PROPERTY OWNERS FROM THE GOVERNOR'S COMMISSION ON DISABILITY PARKING COMMITTEE
It is illegal to pile snow into an accessible parking space or access aisle.
Accessible parking spaces and access aisles must be cleared within 24 hours of an adverse weather event.
Signs designating accessible parking spaces and access aisles that are relocated for the purpose of snow removal must be immediately returned after the weather event.
The route of travel from the accessible parking to the accessible building entrance must be kept clear of snow and ice.
Obstruction of an access aisle or parking place reserved for persons with a walking disability carries a fine of up to $250. (RSA 265:74-a)
New Hampshire's residents and visitors will thank you!
For additional information contact Jillian Shedd, the
Accessibility Specialist at the
Governor's Commission on Disability:
603-271-4177 or disability at nh.gov
It is illegal for anyone, at any time, to park in the striped access aisle!
The following sentence is "good advice" from the folks who make this newsletter software. They say:
"End your newsletter with a kick -- consider a postscript to reinforce one of the key product or service benefits."
So here is the postscript from the Governor's Commission:
GET INVOLVED!
Sincerely,
John Richards, Executive Director
The Governors Comission on Disability
57 Regional Drive,
Concord, NH 03301
603-271-2773
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