[NFBO-Linn-benton] great support from Senator Gelser-Blouin on Dial A Bus

[sallycu998 at gmail.com]

Hi Kristen,

 

Thanks for sending this along.  What a strong, heartfelt supportive piece of
writing!!

 

Sally

 

From: NFBO-Linn-benton <nfbo-linn-benton-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of
Kristen Jocums via NFBO-Linn-benton
Sent: Friday, May 1, 2026 9:30 PM
To: 'NFB of Oregon Linn-Benton Chapter List' <nfbo-linn-benton at nfbnet.org>
Cc: KJocums at iCloud.com
Subject: [NFBO-Linn-benton] great support from Senator Gelser-Blouin on Dial
A Bus

 

Hello All,

 

Please find the amazing letter written by Senator Gelser-Blouin copied
below.  She sent this out to the County Board of Commissioners this morning.
She also copied many County staff members.  Wow!  We have sent her a  note
of thanks from the Chapter already.  Please feel free to reach out to her
personally as well.

 

 

Dear Commissioners,

 

I am deeply concerned about ongoing strains between Benton County and
Dial-a-Bus.   I know much of this is occurring at the staff level, and I
will reach out directly to Gary Stockhoff who I understand is the point
person on this.  However, I wanted to be sure all of you are aware of the
widespread concern and in some cases anger that is brewing about these
issues.    The anxiety expressed from constituents is real--- extending from
those who are Blind, physically disabled, have intellectual or developmental
disabilities and are aging.  There are questions regarding some of the
public information being shared as well as persistent concerns about the
exclusion of the disability community from the discussion.   

 

In particular, the county appears to be comparing the operations and
ridership patterns of Dial-a-Bus to counties that are not good comparators.
For special transportation, the appropriate comparison is not overall
population.  Rather, it is how well the community succeeds at a unified
system of supports that ensure people with disabilities are fully integrated
into the community.  In places where most people live in group homes or
congregate care facilities, where people with disabilities aren't employed
at a high rate or where support services are facility based rather than
focused on community participation (such as volunteering, independent
grocery shopping, etc.), more people are served with fewer rides.  In a
community that is successfully experiencing community inclusion of Disabled
people, a transit service will always have fewer rides per hour.  That is
because people are not transported from one congregate setting to another.
That is a sign of failure of the disability service system-not a sign of
efficiency of a transit system.

 

To be clear:  Absent a substantial new investment in drivers and vehicles,
reforms aimed at doubling the number rides provided per hour to match "peer
agencies" will fundamentally change the services offered.  This requires
multiple people going to the same place on rides--- which undermines
integrated, community employment, participation in individually selected
community activities and organizations, participation in post-secondary
education and will force more people to live in congregate settings (group
homes, assisted living, etc.) than in their own homes.  This would
profoundly impact the rights, dignity, self-determination and quality of
life for Disabled people in Benton County and incentivize an old mindset of
an institutional culture for Disabled people.

 

Benton County is a unique place in our state in terms of the quality and
pervasiveness of community inclusion and support for people across the
disability spectrum. This is due to the excellent work in other areas of the
county, such as Benton County Developmental Diversity, and a strong network
of community nonprofit support organizations.  In addition, Benton County
has a long history as a hub of advocacy and leadership for independent
living from the cross disability community, including those with sensory
disabilities (Blind, visually impaired, Deaf and hard of hearing), the
physically disabled and aging people  If transit is shifted based on
calculations that do not consider disability related factors, the
infrastructure of that will disappear and people will be stuck at home. More
people will be forced out of the workforce, out of community activities, out
of their own homes and into sheltered program, congregate living and
institutional settings.  At a time when the Trump administration is trying
to force these communities back into the shadows, we need the county to be
fighting to preserve the infrastructure that protects our culture of
deinstitutionalization and community inclusion. Transportation is essential
to that.

 

The other concern raised is that over the last number of years, discussions
about Dial-a-Bus and Benton Area Transit have not meaningfully included
disabled people.   Special Transportation committees have been disbanded or
reorganized to dilute the voices and participation of disabled people.
Disabled constituents of all ages and disability types have consistently
reported to me that they feel erased when it comes to the discussions about
transportation.  Others report that when they approach the county with their
concerns or desires to be part of this discussion about this staple of their
lives they are either dismissed, met with hostility or given the sense that
county officials don't believe that they have the intellect or capacity to
understand the systems.  Even the materials that the county has put out
regarding transportation services have sent people reeling with antiquated
language that casts Disabled people as helpless individuals that need care
rather than support, and that assumes transportation for this population is
only about medical care or other non-community related activities.  This is
an unusual experience for this community that in most cases is able to
confront ableism and demonstrate cultural competence with the Disability
community.  Unfortunately, these complaints have been consistent and
widespread for many years and is something I discussed with Xan at some
point mid-pandemic.   

 

Most recently, Disabled constituents have been told that this is an
administrative decision that does not require any public process, but that
there will be community input sessions.  They report that the proposed
mechanisms for community feedback are inadequate, come too late, tokenize
the participation of Disabled people and fail to demonstrate respect and
deference to their expertise and lived experience.  

 

I will follow up with County staff, but I wanted you to be aware of how
significant these concerns are and that the heat around this issue has
significantly increased in recent months.  If there are others I should talk
to, please let me know.  In addition, if I can be of assistance in
developing Disability forward strategies for communication and empowering
leadership by the Disability community in this and other key issues, please
know I am ready and eager to step up. 

 

Thank you for any assistance you can offer with this critically important
matter.  I hope that we can work in partnership and while making space for
the leadership of Disabled and aging people of Benton County to protect this
excellent service that is essential to a culture of equity, community
inclusion and deinstitutionalization in our great county.

 

Sincerely,

Sara

 

Kristen Jocums

(706)718-8055

 

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