[NFBMO] Jefferson City Seminar Press Release

[Randy C]

Below is the Press Release for the Jefferson City Seminar.  I would like to
personally thank Daniel Garcia for all of his assistance with this.  Thank
you Daniel.

Randy

For Immediate Release

Members of the National Federation of the Blind of Missouri Will Convene in
Jefferson City in Support of Its 2025 Legislative Priorities

Agenda Stresses the Need for Improved Accessibility

St. Louis, Missouri (February 7, 2025): On February 11 and 12 members of
the National Federation of the Blind of Missouri will be in Jefferson City
to promote the legislative priorities of blind Missourians. “Our 2025
legislative agenda highlights the need for improved accessibility,” said
Shelia Wright, President of the NFB of Missouri. Deaf/blind Missourians
face unique challenges and as such require specialized help in
communicating their needs with other people. We therefore urge the
legislature to increase funding for the state’s Support Service Provider
program so that more deaf/blind individuals can take advantage of this
service. Healthcare accessibility is also important to Blind Missourians,
and as such, we welcome the opportunity to work with the legislature to
ensure that we have access to prescription labels that can be accessed
non-visually. The third issue we bring to the legislature this year has to
do with removing the requirement that the letters advising Blind
Missourians of their need to recertify for the Blind Pension not be sent
through certified mail. The state of Missouri can save money on
administering this program, and it would make it easier for Blind
Missourians to respond to these letters.”

The Support Service Provider program currently receives a maximum of
$300,000 annually through the Department of Elementary and Secondary
Education (DESE). There are currently 80 consumers in the program who have
limited service hours (13 per month at best), and more deaf/blind
individuals on the waiting list who cannot receive services due to
insufficient funding. With an increase to $600,000 annually, the program
would be able to accept the consumers on the waiting list, provide
sufficient SSP hours for consumers (average of 10 weekly), train consumers
and SSP's on how to use the program, and pay for IT systems needed to
manage and administer the program.

Taking medication as prescribed is an essential aspect of remaining
healthy. This can only be done right if one has medication that is clearly
labeled and instructions provided, and for too many blind and low-vision
people, this is not currently the case. Technology is available to create
prescription labels that provide audible, Braille, or large-print output to
ensure that everyone knows what medications they are taking. This
technology allows pharmacy staff to run the prescription bottles through a
label maker to make the label accessible based on the blind person's needs.
We therefore support legislation that gives guidance to pharmacies for
making prescription labels accessible to enhance the health and safety of
all Missourians.

We also support legislation that seeks to exclude the word "certified" from
the legislation governing the Blind Pension. Many blind Missourians have
experienced significant hardship due to receiving correspondence via
certified mail. For this reason, the National Federation of the Blind of
Missouri strongly endorses this legislation as presented.

###
About the National Federation of the Blind

The National Federation of the Blind (NFB), headquartered in Baltimore, is
the oldest and largest nationwide organization of blind Americans. Founded
in 1940, the NFB consists of affiliates, chapters, and divisions in the
fifty states, Washington DC, and Puerto Rico. The NFB defends the rights of
blind people of all ages and provides information and support to families
with blind children, older Americans who are losing vision, and more. We
believe in the hopes and dreams of blind people and work together to
transform them into reality. Learn more about our many programs and
initiatives at www.nfb.org.

CONTACT:
Randy Carmack, Public Relations Chair
National Federation of the Blind of Missouri
(314) 239-2947
rcarmack at nfbmo.org
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