[Ohio-talk] Uncle Tom is alive and well in Cleveland, and the Sight Center is right there to dis blind people

Mon Dec 20 20:39:08 UTC 2010

I have to agree with Crystal. People can find reasons that any of the 
recipients of these extreme homes shouldn't have recieved them. This family 
just happened to be very lucky that they were picked. ABC recieves thousands 
of nominations for families and they have a tough choice to make when 
picking. There was a family near us that was chosen. We knew about it weeks 
before they arrived to knock on their door. The work that goes on months 
before is really amazing.
Just be happy for these people!
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Crystal McClain" <mcmcclain at charter.net>
To: "NFB of Ohio Announcement and Discussion List" <ohio-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Sunday, December 12, 2010 12:25 PM
Subject: Re: [Ohio-talk] Uncle Tom is alive and well in Cleveland,and the 
Sight Center is right there to dis blind people


>I also watched this episode along with several other episodes of this show. 
>EVERY house that they make over is extreme! Few people would live in a 
>house with the excesses in the home makeover houses. Several people who 
>have received homes have lost them due to upkeep and costs. This has 
>nothing to do with blindness. I think the shape of the house and the fact 
>that they were extremely poor added to them receiving the house. Other than 
>the TV,  I was pleased with the adaptations that they received. We all need 
>to remember that not all of us are financially secure. If that was a friend 
>of ours who was struggling we would be happy for them. Maybe the show will 
>make more people see that blind people can cook, can watch tv and help 
>others.  I didn't not see it as a negative. look for the positive and be 
>happy for this family. Their mortgage was paid, their kids got a 
>scholarship and they got a $50,000 maintentance fund. Maybe someone from 
>the Clevelnad NFB should invite them to "share" their independence with 
>others maybe they would learn more from the NFB. We should not just be 
>critical of them. Crystal McClain
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Carol Akers" <purplecakers at yahoo.com>
> To: "NFB of Ohio Announcement and Discussion List" <ohio-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Saturday, December 11, 2010 1:12 AM
> Subject: Re: [Ohio-talk] Uncle Tom is alive and well in Cleveland,and the 
> Sight Center is right there to dis blind people
>
>
> Well said. Will everyone want or expect the same adaptations, technology 
> and
> opportunities?
>
> Or perhaps will many other blind persons feel entitled to such things 
> because of
> the "perception " of what blind people NEED to live safely in a home of 
> their
> own? I do agree that maybe a renovation of their old home would have made 
> more
> sense. It WAS in a state of disrepair, but how long had they lived there 
> and
> what if anything had they done to improve or repair things? Why didn't
> the Cleveland Sight Center step in to assist them with repairs or lessons 
> on
> "how to be an effective home owner?"
>
> Carol Akers
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: Colleen Roth <n8tnv at att.net>
> To: ohio-talk at nfbnet.org
> Sent: Sat, December 11, 2010 12:50:49 AM
> Subject: Re: [Ohio-talk] Uncle Tom is alive and well in Cleveland, and the 
> Sight
> Center is right there to dis blind people
>
> Hi,
> Why would the family need separate TV's plus the large screen one.
> I agree with you, Carol.
> I am sure all of us would like a house with certain additions.
> I can tell you that it costs Dudley and I $25,000 to add a bathroom with
> accessible shower downstairs for the girls.
> Of course we didn't get any funding because the bathroom would have 
> benefitted
> the whole family not just the grls.
> For those of you who don't know the girls were in wheelchairs and totally
> dependent on others for care.
> What in the world did this family need to have a new home for?
> They are just blind.
> I guess one of their children ha a Hearing Impairment but I doubt it 
> required an
> Extrme Makeover.
> There are many people who probaly needed anExtreme Makeover of their home 
> much
> more than the Andersons' did.
> Also when the money is gone to maintain the home or if they have a 
> mortgage to
> pay the difference how will they manage to pay for it?
> No matter where you live if you have family members with certain 
> disabilities,
> you have to modify your house to some extent.
> It sounds to me as if their house was just dilipadated.
> Why didnt they apply for a loan and get the work done or try to move to a 
> better
> house.
> Some people have lost their homes which were built for them through 
> Extreme
> Makeover because they couldn't maintain them orpay the mortgage and taxes.
> It also really does not show the blind in a good light when a house has to 
> be
> built for them because they are blind.
> The child's hearing impairt and the condition of the house will probably 
> not be
> remembered by most viewers.
> What happens when a blind person wants to rent an apartment?
> Will the landlord think that they need special devices in the apartment?
> Will the families of blind children think that their adult children need 
> special
> adaptations in their homes?
> How much damage will this program do to our Positive Attitudes and the 
> education
> we provide to the General Public?
> We need to think about the overall effects this program will have for a 
> long
> time to come.
> Colleen Roth
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Carol Akers <purplecakers at yahoo.com>
> To: NFB of Ohio Announcement and Discussion List <ohio-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Date: Friday, Dec 10, 2010 13:43:13
> Subject: Re: [Ohio-talk] Uncle Tom is alive and well in Cleveland, and the 
> Sight
> Center is right there to dis blind people
>
>>
>>
>> Sorry this is a late comment but who among us would turn down a free 
>> house,
>> especially loaded with techno stuff? I don't think I would. BUT it WAS
>> embarrassing to see how much they promoted their "work with the poor 
>> blind
>> folks" who had difficulty dealing with being blind but yet what did they 
>> really
>>
>> do aside from talk? Technology in the home is great, but a media room 
>> which
>
>> has a large screen TV and each person also has an individual TV (not just 
>> close
>>
>> captioned or descriptive) but separate smaller TV's to view in the room 
>> did
>>not
>>
>> make a lot of sense. A huge beautiful home with more than they have ever
>>been
>>
>> used to is a great move up in the world---what happens next? When the 
>> fund
>>for
>>
>> upkeep of repairs is gone who will pay? Will they be able to afford the 
>> giant
>
>> electric bill that comes with the home and all the great stuff? Will they 
>> be
>> able to maintain the upkeep of such a large home OR will they present a 
>> poor
>> example to the public and the neigbborhood of how "blind people" are 
>> unable to
>
>> follow through with proper care of such an expensive project? I fear that
>>Ohio
>>
>> and America will look more closely and be more likely to pick them apart
>>because
>>
>> they are bl. Then all blind people will be lumped into the same pot just
>> because they are blind.
>> Carol
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ________________________________
>> From: Deborah Kendrick <dkkendrick at earthlink.net>
>> To: NFB of Ohio Announcement and Discussion List <ohio-talk at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Thu, December 2, 2010 11:22:32 AM
>> Subject: Re: [Ohio-talk] Uncle Tom is alive and well in Cleveland, and 
>> the
>>Sight
>>
>> Center is right there to dis blind people
>>
>> There was a show a few years back -- 2005 or 2006, I'm thinking -- where
>> they built a home for a guy who had lost his sight in a mtorcycle 
>> accident.
>> It was pretty pathetic. Different textures on the walls of each room, as 
>> i
>> recall, and on the floors -- like we all feel the walls to see where we 
>> are,
>> right? And then there was some cool techie stuff that I don't recall. One
>> thing that i wish I had (because we've all been lazy in my family) is an
>> intercom system from room to room. We improvised our own, though, since
>> I've always had two phone lines in the house -- one for home, one for
>> office -- so we did used to call on the phone from one part to another. 
>> Now
>> that only my daughter and I live here, we frequently call or text one
>> another's cell phone rather than climb the stairs. But I digress.
>> Hey, we're missing possiblind the main point here. Maybe this couple just 
>> got
>
>> an opportunity to get an entire new, nice, awesome and free home, and
>> neglected to weigh the public image damage it might do to the rest of us.
>> Or maybe, as Jerry says, they have private (soon to be made public) 
>> concerns
>> that seriously call for a home makeover.
>> My TV has been on twice since moving to my new home three months ago. 
>> Looks
>> like a third time is in order!
>> Deborah
>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>> From: "Sheri Wells-Jensen" <swellsj at bgsu.edu>
>> To: "NFB of Ohio Announcement and Discussion List" <ohio-talk at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Thursday, December 02, 2010 10:43 AM
>> Subject: Re: [Ohio-talk] Uncle Tom is alive and well in Cleveland, and 
>> the
>> Sight Center is right there to dis blind people
>>
>>
>> Hi Folks,
>>
>> The odds that I'll tune into this are extraordinarily low since
>> our family TV time is limited to the occasional PBS special, but I admit 
>> to
>> a sick sort of curiousity.
>> Does anyone know what kinds of modifications are planned to their home?
>> Perhaps I have an impoverished imagination; I can't think what I'd do to 
>> my
>> house even if I had the resources to
>> remodel. I do like those handy buzzers they have at the National Center 
>> for
>> two-way light switches, but that's hardly an extreme make over.
>> I've got a bell on my cat and labels on my microwave.... What am I 
>> missing?
>>
>> Peace,
>>
>> Sheri W-J
>> --
>> Dr. Sheri Wells-Jensen
>> Assistant Director
>> English as a Second Language Program
>>
>> Associate Professor
>> Department of English
>>
>> 423 East Hall
>> Bowling Green State University
>>
>> (419) 372-8935
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: ohio-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:ohio-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] 
>> On
>> Behalf Of Barbara Pierce
>> Sent: Thursday, December 02, 2010 9:42 AM
>> To: 'Ationfb of Ohio Announcement and Discussion List'
>> Subject: [Ohio-talk] Uncle Tom is alive and well in Cleveland, and the 
>> Sight
>> Center is right there to dis blind people
>>
>> I don't know who these people are, and I really hope I never meet them. 
>> The
>> note above the story is written by NFB of Washington President Mike 
>> Freeman.
>>
>> Barbara
>>
>>
>>
>> >I find it highly ironic that the couple described below gives
>>
>> >presentations on the "capabilities" of people with disabilities when
>>
>> >they consented to have Extreme Home Makeover modify their house, given
>>
>> >that their only disability is blindness.
>>
>> >
>>
>> > Makes one ill and proves once again why we need NFB!
>>
>> >
>>
>> > Mike Freeman
>>
>> >
>>
>> > The next episode of ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition will feature
>>
>> > the family of Andre and Jasmine Anderson on Sunday, December 5th. The
>>
>> > family was selected as the recipient of a brand new home after sharing
>>
>> > their personal story with the show's producers. Andre and Jasmine
>>
>> > Anderson are both clients of Cleveland Sight Center and advocates for
>>
>> > people with disabilities. Andre is currently doing his graduate-level
>>
>> > internship in social work at Cleveland Sight Center, and Jasmine leads
>>
>> > a low vision support group and does presentations to school-age
>>
>> > children regarding persons with disabilities, communicating their many
>>
>> > capabilities and helping to dispel misperceptions.
>>
>> >
>>
>> > Host Ty Pennington, the design team, and Marous Brothers Construction
>>
>> > created an extraordinary home for Andre, Jasmine, sons Jaison and
>>
>> > Jahzion, and Andre's guide dog, Valentine. Cleveland Sight Center was
>>
>> > pleased to be a resource regarding adaptations and assistive technology
>> for the project.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Barbara Pierce
>>
>> Braille Monitor
>>
>> 237 Oak Street
>>
>> Oberlin, OH 44074
>>
>> Phone/fax: 440-775-2216
>>
>> <mailto:bpierce at nfb.org> bpierce at nfb.org
>>
>>
>>
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>>
>>
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