[Nfbmo] Fw: [Missouri Chat] Fw: [HeartlandGDU] Unacceptable denial of accesswith guide dog to paratransit in KC, January 11

[Jennifer Palmer]

thought yall should see this this is on various mcb lists.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: Terrie Arnold 
To: Missouri Chat ; MCBL ; Steve 
Sent: Monday, January 12, 2009 4:06 PM
Subject: [Missouri Chat] Fw: [HeartlandGDU] Unacceptable denial of accesswith guide dog to paratransit in KC, January 11



----- Original Message ----- 
From: Sheila Styron 
To: leadership at acb.org 
Cc: heartlandgdu at yahoogroups.com 
Sent: Monday, January 12, 2009 3:15 PM
Subject: [HeartlandGDU] Unacceptable denial of access with guide dog to paratransit in KC, January 11


Yesterday, a gentleman who works a guide dog here in Kansas City was denied
access on a paratransit trip. Since January 1, paratransit on which many
depend has been highly ineffectual with clients being cut off, picked up
late or not picked up at all. I don't personally use the service much, but I
have heard from many where I work part time that nothing's going well since
a new system was put into place at the beginning of 20009. Besides being
refused a ride, the driver almost ran over the gentleman and his guide dog
in her effort to leave the location. The client felt the cab brushing
against him and had to jump out of the way pulling his dog with him to avoid
being hit. The police were of no assistance when contacted, claiming they
could do nothing since the handler or dog hadn't actually been struck.
During a phone call related to trying to resolve this situation, a highly
placed staffer asked the handler if he would consider leaving his dog at
home for a day. I am sure by now that you are all getting the picture. My
questions are these. What are the most effective steps to take to remedy
this situation? An internal complaint is next to meaningless in a system so
broken. Beyond company owners and management, how responsible is the city
for the appropriate delivery of paratransit services? When filing a
complaint with the Department of Transportation, can both the systemic and
individual transgressions be submitted together, or should the various
aspects of this case be approached separately? I thought about just asking a
couple on this list for private input, then decided to mine the group's
wisdom on this one. Thanks in advance for whatever direction and suggestions
for appropriate and effective action you can provide. 

Sheila Styron
Kansas City
816-896-6552
sheilastyron at everestkc.net 



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