[Ohio-talk] shelters not take blind?

[COLLEEN ROTH]

 Hi Cheryl,
There are some good reasons why some shelters won't take in a blind person.
If a blind person went to some Shelters there would be some significant safety issues.
Shelters in Toledo worked together to find a safe place for the blind person who needed a place to go.
Many shelters take in people who have significant Mental Health Issues or other problems which could make them rather violent. Some of these shelters also have a high rate of theft.
These two issues could be problematic for someone who is blind.
There is also a problem if the blind person cannot independently measure and inject insulin.
Shelters have to consider these issues when they take someone in.
We also need to remember that the shelters usually target different populations when serving people.
For example, some are for families, some are for women, some for men.
Some are long-term and some are day-to-day.
Some require their residents to leave in the morning and come back in the evening.
Exceptions can be made but some shelters are not able to accommodate someone who has no mobility skills.
As far as I know the people who needed a safe place to go in our area were served.
It just took time to get them from a less desirable shelter to one they could be in long term.
I can understand why one shelter had the person stay one night.
I think we need to look at the person's needs and the services of each shelter.
Shelters should work together to meet the needs of someone who is in danger.
Unfortunately some shelters are more dangerous than the places people leave.
Colleen Roth



----- Original Message -----
From: Cheryl Fischer <c16a19f at sbcglobal.net>
To: "NFB of Ohio Announcement and Discussion List" ohio-talk at nfbnet.org
Date: Tuesday, August 20, 2013 9:20 am
Subject: [Ohio-talk] shelters not take blind?

>
>
> I just read Colleen's post in which she said some shelters won't take a
> blind woman in. I thought I'd heard that before, but it sounded impossible.
> That's one of the reasons why I asked Cheryl Fields to give a few examples
> of unique problems or fears faced by blind women experiencing or wanting to
> escape domestic abuse. 
> 
>  
> 
> If it is true that a shelter would refuse to take in a person who is blind,
> should this not be a big focus  and action item of the NFB, both at the
> State level and Nationally? This would be as important as the fair wages
> issue. 
> 
>  
> 
> Cheryl 
> 
>  
> 
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