[NFBMT] NFB Newsline

[president at nfbofmt.org]

FYI, here is the message I sent to Governor Steve Bullock regarding NFB
Newsline.

 

Jim Marks

President at nfbofmt.org <mailto:President at nfbofmt.org> 

 

 

From: Bullock, Governor [mailto:governor at mt.gov] 
Sent: Thursday, November 21, 2019 7:20 AM
To: James Marks <president at nfbofmt.org>
Subject: Comments Submitted to the Governor

 

Dear James:

Thank you for contacting me. My staff and I will review your message, and we
will respond as soon as possible. I appreciate you writing to me and please
let me know if you have any further questions or comments regarding this
matter. 

Sincerely, 

STEVE BULLOCK

Governor

 

Comments Submitted to the Governor

Prefix:  

First Name:   James 

Middle Name/Initial:  P. 

Last Name:  Marks 

Suffix:  

Email:  president at nfbofmt.org <mailto:president at nfbofmt.org>  

Second Email:  blind.grizzly at gmail.com <mailto:blind.grizzly at gmail.com>  

Address:  309 Westwind Way 

City:  Helena 

State:  Montana 

Zip Code:  59602 

Primary Phone:  406-438-1421 

Mobile Phone:  

Business Phone:  

Topic:  State Agencies 

Comments:  Governor Bullock,

As the President of the National Federation of the Blind of Montana, I
represent the voices of Montanans who are blind or who have other
disabilities that impair reading of print. We request that you direct
Vocational Rehabilitation and Blind Services of the Montana Department of
Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) to continue funding NFB Newsline.
NFB Newsline is an information service for people with print disabilities
that assures access to newspapers, emergency weather alerts, job searches,
and other vital information.

DPHHS Director Sheila Hogan chose not to continue funding for NFB Newsline
effective July 1, 2019. NFB Newsline stopped providing its services in
Montana on October 31, 2019. The loss of NFB Newsline in Montana means that
nearly 400 Montanans with print disabilities are isolated and segregated
from community information others access easily and routinely.

I will provide a copy of an e-mail I sent to Director Hogan requesting
reconsideration of her decision to discontinue funding for NFB Newsline. To
put the matter in a larger context, over 45 states fund NFB Newsline either
through their public vocational rehabilitation programs or through state
telecommunications access programs. Montana's cost for NFB Newsline is
approximately $38,000 per year. That relatively small amount of funding is
all that stands between inclusion and exclusion for many Montanans. 

Thank you for considering our request to continue funding NFB Newsline in
Montana. Those I represent are very upset about losing NFB Newsline because
the service matters so much in so many ways. Isolation and segregation are
terrible burdens, yet the exclusion is so easily remedied. I look forward to
your reply.

Sincerely,

Jim Marks
President
National Federation of the Blind of Montana
president at nfbofmt.org <mailto:president at nfbofmt.org> 
www.nfbofmt.org <http://www.nfbofmt.org> 

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