[Ohio-talk] NFB Centers

[barbara.pierce9366 at gmail.com]

Kaiti, I think your analysis of the centers is simplistic. Each center works hard to provide training in the full range of travel environments. I am concerned with the talk that sounds as if the NFB centrally was strategizing about where to start centers. The three centers were established where they are because those affiliates were passionately committed to beginning a center. They raised the funds within their states to establish and run them. They still do. California tried to start a center, and it failed. Other states have talked about it, but nothing has come of it. Several have taken over a state program and run it according to federation philosophy. Nebraska, Hawaii, New Mexico, and Virginia come to mind. Ohio has never had a state-run center that we could take over. Bill Casto used to beg us to establish a center in Ohio that he could send people to. To get an Ohio center, we would have to raise millions of dollars every year. Since we can’t raise enough to keep the affiliate afloat, I think we would be better served trying to figure out how to get those willing to go to the existing centers and then coming back to demonstrate what effective training looks like in practice.

Barbara
Barbara Pierce 
President Emerita
National Federation of the Blind of Ohio
Barbara.pierce9366 at gmail.com
440-774-8077
The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back.

> On May 11, 2015, at 2:43 PM, Kaiti Shelton via Ohio-talk <ohio-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> This is very interesting to think about.
> I wonder a bit what the NFB would do with a 4th center.  Basically
> Louisiana is catered a bit more towards those traveling in rural
> areas, Colorado is more suburban, and Blind Inc. is smack in the
> middle of the Twin Cities.  I know that people tend to try to pick
> their center based on the type of environment of these three they live
> in the most.  E.G, if given the choice I would go to Colorado because
> I live in a suburban area now and experience more travel difficulties
> due to lack of bussing and lack of sidewalks/crosswalks in weird
> places there than I do at school in the city where I can pretty much
> go where I want with some planning.
> With these 3 terrains covered I just wonder what a 4th center would
> look like.  I'm sure the NFB would open one if they saw a need and
> would choose a good location for it, but it's just interesting to
> think about.
> 
> On 5/10/15, Kelsey Nicolay via Ohio-talk <ohio-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> Hi Kaiti,
>> Yes good point.  If we could get a training center in Ohio, that
>> would be great.  I don't think I'd go several states away for
>> training.
>> 
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> 
> 
> -- 
> Kaiti Shelton
> University of Dayton 2016.
> Music Therapy, Psychology, Philosophy
> President, Ohio Association of Blind Students
> Sigma Alpha Iota-Delta Sigma
> 
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