[nfbmi-talk] this is inforinformative

[joe harcz Comcast]

Also a point that stuck out to me was where the fellow sai we can go 
kayaking, dancing and do other activities. Oh, but there was a not so subtle 
ommission here. Apparently they can't engage in a markmanship 
class...Grin...

The other thing that constantly disturbed me about this sort of contrived PR 
spin is that MCB always parades out students and so-called success stories 
just like Jerry Lewis depicts "Jerry's Kids" and of course they never 
publicise the horrid nightmare stories of chronic violations of client 
rights, arbitrary closures, abuses of due process, and the fact that so many 
especially in this region and Detroit are denied eligability from the get go 
and on arbitrary and capricious manners.

We need only to look at the publicly documented cases of fellows, Tomczak, 
and Brooks who had licences illegally revoked and who then tried to get back 
into the overall VR system and who were told they were inineligable for 
services.

On whatgrounds were those determinations made? Not the requirements of the 
Rehab Act that is for sure. No, they were made on the aarbitrary grounds of 
some counselor simply said, "You're inelagable..."
These and more documented cases of abuse in the service delivery system are 
nothing short of criminal behabior in my mind.

Joe
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Christine Boone" <Christine_Boone at comcast.net>
To: "'NFB of Michigan Internet Mailing List'" <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, September 09, 2010 11:23 AM
Subject: Re: [nfbmi-talk] this is inforinformative


>I think it is a shame that there was not an opportunity for this reporter 
>to
> speak with any blind staff person at the Commission.  I also note phrases
> like "possible to live a "reasonably" normal life",
>
> The emphasis here is all on students being trained, rather than on their
> learning or discovering.  It is passive on the part of the students, they
> are trained like animals.  Everything comes from the generous hand of the
> state.  Articles in the past were written from the standpoint of the 
> student
> taking back the control of their own lives.
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfbmi-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbmi-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org]
> On Behalf Of joe harcz Comcast
> Sent: Wednesday, September 08, 2010 11:00 AM
> To: nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org
> Subject: [nfbmi-talk] this is inforinformative
>
> FYI, below is the link and complete text of yesterday's Kalamazoo Gazette
> article about MCB Training Center student Ron Molles and his experience at
> the MCBTC.  The article includes quotes from Mr. Molles, MCBTC Director
> Sherri Heibeck, and MCBTC instructor Barb Wile.  (This article will also 
> be
> posted on the MCB website's Press Room page.)
>
> Susan Turney
>
> Communications & Outreach Coordinator
>
> Michigan Commission for the Blind
>
> Michigan Department of Energy, Labor & Economic Growth
>
> direct line:  517-241-8631
>
> fax:  517-335-5140
>
> MCB toll-free: 1-800-292-4200
>
> 201 N. Washington Square, Second Floor
>
> P.O. Box 30652
>
> Lansing, MI 48909
>
> www.michigan.gov/mcb
> http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2010/09/regaining_hope_after_l
> osing_vi.html
>
> Regaining hope after losing vision: Educator gains skills, inspiration at
> Michigan Commission for the Blind Training Center
>
> Published: Tuesday, September 07, 2010, 11:30 AM
>
> Rebecca Roe, Special to the Kalamazoo Gazette
>
> Molles1.jpg
>
> [Photo]  John A. Lacko / Special to the Gazette.  Facing challenges: Ron
> Molles, a 41-year-old student at the Michigan Commission for the Blind
> Training Center, rides a bus back to the center after completing an
> assignment Thursday to practice his mobility skills in downtown Kalamazoo.
>
> KALAMAZOO - At 41, Ron Molles has become a student again.
>
> He's not studying history, art or economics, but he is undergoing training
> at the Michigan Commission for the Blind Training Center in Kalamazoo in 
> an
> attempt to regain some normalcy in his life.
>
> Molles, who is from Waterford, north of Detroit, worked in K-12 education
> for the Oakland Intermediate School District. His own education involved
> attending art school in California.
>
> "My background was very visual so it was quite devastating when I started
> having issues with my vision," he said.
>
> Glaucoma in his left eye led to surgery in September 2009, but major
> complications resulted in the complete loss of sight in the eye.
>
> "That was actually my best seeing eye because I have another condition in 
> my
> right eye called keratoconous, which causes very distorted vision," he 
> said.
>
> "I was just going to doctors appointments and sitting in my basement. I 
> was
> kind of in limbo. I basically wasn't living." - Ron Molles
>
> Molles is now legally blind.
>
> Although he had intended to return to work, it was apparent by January 
> that
> he wouldn't be able to.
>
> "I was just going to doctors appointments and sitting in my basement. I 
> was
> kind of in limbo," he said. "I basically wasn't living."
>
> It was then that a counselor suggested Molles consider enrolling at the
> training center to help him adjust.
>
> "The motto of the Commission for the Blind is 'Changing lives, changing
> attitudes,'" said Sherri Heibeck, director of the center. "I think the
> training center is one of the places that exemplifies that motto the 
> best."
>
> About 250 people are served by the training center annually. They include
> vocational-rehabilitation clients looking to secure employment, as well as
> individuals who want to learn to live independently in their homes,
> according to Heibeck.
>
> Molles2.jpg
>
> [Photo] John A. Lacko / Special to the Gazette.  Traveling a new path: Ron
> Molles heads out of the downtown Kalamazoo bus and train station as he
> practices his mobility skills.
>
> A multitude of programs are available at the training center. Students
> undergo mobility training, which involves things like traveling with a 
> cane,
> using the public transportation system, taking a taxi and going grocery
> shopping.
>
> Technology is also a major component of training at the center, and the
> building will undergo an extensive technological upgrade in December.
>
> "To me, technology has leveled the playing field for blind individuals 
> more
> in the last 10 or 15 years than I think just about anything else," Heibeck
> said.
>
> Students are trained to use devices such as screen readers, talking GPS
> devices and electronic books. They're taught how to e-mail, surf the
> Internet and do word processing.
>
> The center also features an adaptive kitchen where students can learn to
> cook meals.
> The length of stay at the center varies by student, in part because of the
> variety of programs offered.
>
> Molles is attending the personal-adjustment program. He began his stay on
> May 2, and his time at the center has been extended to Oct. 1 because of 
> his
> mobility training.
> "Students don't leave the center until they're ready," he said.
>
> Although legally blind, Molles still has some sight and chose to do his
> mobility training "under the blindfold."
>
> "Basically what that means is when I go on mobility (training), I wear a
> blindfold that takes away my remaining vision so I'm traveling under
> complete darkness, which is absolutely terrifying," he said.
>
> In the long term, the training should be beneficial.
>
> "You have visions of being hit by a car or walking into a hole. It's just
> scary," Molles said. "But I have to say, doing the training under the
> blindfold has given me a different perspective. It has given me a lot of
> confidence when I have to travel because now I can travel at night in the
> dark."
>
> Just a few months ago, Molles thought his life was over.
>
> "I couldn't go back to work, he said. "I couldn't play sports. (He 
> thought,)
> 'What am I going to do for the rest of my life? I'm only 41.'"
>
> But now he says the center has shown him there are many opportunities and
> possibilities for him to live a reasonably normal life.
>
> Molles and some other students attended a kayaking event on a local lake.
> "We can do this stuff," he said. "We can go kayaking, we can go skiing, we
> can go dancing, we can do just about ... anything out there."
>
> Mollrd said he gets inspiration from other students facing similar
> challenges.
>
> "There's the fear and then there's anxiety, but then there's also the 
> hope,
> and you're inspired by the people you meet," Molles said.
>
> Barbara Wile, who has been an instructor for 37 years, agreed that 
> students
> gain a lot by meeting other students.
>
> "Students ... find out that there are other individuals who are in the 
> same
> situation that they are," she said. "There's a lot of bonding that goes on
> amongst the students, and friendships are formed that last lifetimes. And
> that's a very important component of the training center. It's not just
> teachers imparting independent-living skills."
>
> Molles isn't certain what will happen once his program ends. He may try to
> go back to school or work part time while volunteering, in order to ease
> back into a normal routine. But one thing's for sure - he'll face whatever
> comes with a positive attitude.
>
> "I feel that there are possibilities," he said. "I don't feel so 
> hopeless."
>
> ###
>
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