Help for children with disabilities sprung from parental love

By JERRY WOLFFE

It was only through the love of parents of children with disabilities who hoped their son or daughter could have a good life that parents organized and sought out needed services.

In some cases, that was nearly 70 years ago.
The real push, according to Tom Marchand, the father of a son with a disability, Michael, 47, came in 1972 after courts determined that children with disabilities had the legal right to a public education.
Marchand and his wife, Sylvia, who died in 2011, helped form AMORC, an organization in conjunction with the Macomb-Oakland Regional Center, to gain services for children with disabilities.
“We took him (Michael) to a doctor who said he was retarded and to put him in an institution,” Marchand said. “The wife and I talked about it and basically felt Michael was going to need help the rest of his life. We kind of made a vow when Michael was two years old that anyone who worked with Michael would do their best or else.
“Over the years, I have lived up to that and I’m sure I’ve hurt some feelings but Michael came first,” said Marchand of Warren.
Michael is nonverbal. Marchand recalled how most of the programs in the early 1970s were in church basements. Eventually they found a program, Pilgrim’s Project, in Ferndale which focused on helping about 20 children with disabilities.
In 1972 when the educational law was passed, the Marchands were told to take Michael to the Warren School District “and make them teach your son.” At one point, a Macomb County ISD official told the Marchands no one in Macomb County had autism,” said Marchand.
“Michael went to a school at St. Dorothy’s. The school was filthy. We formed a parents’ club … and we discovered the power of a parents’ group.”
Back then, children with developmentally disabilities went to school all year around, he said.
Michael received his First Communion and the “ones who could talk bowed and kissed the altar and said: ‘Thank you Jesus’ and there wasn’t a dry eye in the church.”
Michael completed his education at age 26 and went to work in a Roseville workshop where he learned toileting and daily living tasks.
“He lived with us 23 years and went to a group home established by MORC.” That was in 1990.
The nonprofit eventually helped shut 12 state institutions where the disabled and mentally ill were housed, freeing 13,000 people with disabilities to live in community with needed 24-hour care. It has been their mission ever since.
In 1975, the first AMORC meeting was held. “At that meeting, Sylvia and I were asked to be officers so we accepted. The parents also became monitors of group homes to make sure they were safe.
“We were additional eyes for MORC,” said Marchand.
“Today, there’s hope. The hardest thing about Michael, who has autism, is he’s nonverbal. If the parents feel the pros really love their kids, and then the caregivers and providers will do what is best for the people who have disabilities,” Marchand said.
Besides AMORC, the Marchands formed another parents’ organization, the Macomb County Autistic Parents group, “to get together and help our children. We also joined with an autistic group in Oakland County to go to Lansing to change the law” so people with disabilities could get a public education, he said.
As for Michael’s future, “I want him to live as happy and normal life as possible,” Marchand said.

And that’s the way it was meant to always be.

Wolffe is the Writer-in-Residence/Advocate-at-Large at MORC. He can be reached at 586 263-8950.

People with Disabilities face irritating discrimination every day

By JERRY WOLFFE

Discrimination is evidence mankind has yet to move into an age of enlightenment.

When one is disabled, the string of discrimination is felt in so many ways. It's not about people being rude, but is about some of us with disabilities being intentionally being mistreated.
Eventually to remain sane and have a healthy self-concept, one learns that he or she who discriminates based on disability, sexual orientation, race, economic status or a religious basis needs our prayers, not anger. Anger just festers in our souls corrupting them.
For some stinging insight into real life with a disability, here are some of the most common examples of discrimination people with disabilities experience every day.

Store employees assume we are stupid.
In a movie theater, store in the mall, a restaurant or any public-type place that has employees, five times out of 10 you'll run into an employee who will automatically assume you're ill-equipped mentally because of an obvious physical disability. Every time at checkout, the cashier will always ask my wife if she wants paper or plastic, directing all her questions towards her, never assuming I'm the one who's paying. Very, very frustrating.
Taxis passing us by.
If you live in a metropolitan area, chances are you've experienced taxis passing you by quite often even though it is a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Taxis frequently avoid passengers with physical disabilities, not wanting to deal with our extra needs, seeing them as a headache and not looking at us as an equal customer. Little do they know that we do not demand their assistance. Anyone with a disability hailing a cab solo can likely handle the entire transfer on their own.
Stairs in public spaces.
You go to grab a coffee or meet a friend for lunch, but wait -- you can't get in. This is architectural discrimination at its finest and we encounter it every day. The ADA Architectural Guidelines in the Federal Register require all places of public accommodation to be accessible to someone with a disability, including a wheelchair user. There is no such thing as a building is grandfathered in and need not follow ADAAG. There are a few exceptions for historic landmarks, but they must be accessible as long as making them so does not destroy the architectural uniqueness.
 Despite the misguided notion that certain buildings are grandfathered-in to the ADA and do not need to be accessible, umm no, they do. Any public space must.
The sad part is many owners simply don't care and choose to blatantly discriminate. They just don't get it that our money is as good as anyone else's but I have to get into the store to buy a product.
Wheelchair "quotas."
Some places of public accommodation such as concert venues, airplanes, city buses, amusement park rides have quotas on how many wheelchairs are allowed. Some apparently and wrongly fear a person who uses a wheelchair is more likely to be injured, but this is far from reality and a blatant excuse to discriminate. I'd like to put the venue owner in a wheelchair, have him or her show up at a concert and be told there's no wheelchair seating. One famous landmark in Detroit, the Fisher Theater, still doesn't have wheelchair seating, leaving play lovers such as this writer missing out. Meadowbrook Theater near Oakland University is no better.
Strangers pretending they don't see us.
Once in a while you'll run into someone who's not very pleasant. Maybe they're in line in front of you, or avoiding your gaze when you're looking for someone to help you grab something from a shelf. These folks like to pretend they don't see us, apparently thinking it's easier to do that than interact with us. One way to change the situation is to say hello to that person. In most cases, they'll respond and realize you are just like everyone else and it's no big deal to hand me an out-of-reach item.
People taking our parking spots.
It happens all the time -- able-bodied individuals parking in handicapped parking spaces. The convenience is just too hard to deny. And while this is all fine and dandy when it's in the middle of the night and there's no one else at the store, they generally take our spots in the daytime, especially the good ones that have extra room for our ramps. We know one cannot always tell if someone has a disability because there are invisible disabilities but unless the vehicle has a disabled parking sticker or license plate with the universal wheelchair symbol that vehicle does not belong in a parking spot set aside for those with disabilities.
It is kind of sad, too, that not all wheelchair license plates are recognized in every state. In a visit a few years ago to Georgia, I received a ticket for parking in a disabled parking spot, even though my vehicle clearly had the proper plates. A friend who has paraplegia also received a ticket for parking in a reserved spot in New York because the state doesn't recognize Michigan disabled parking license plates as being legit.
Whatever you do, don't let these daily discriminatory occasions bring you down. Patience is huge in the life of a wheelchair-user, especially if you want to survive and do so with grace. Discrimination may even be your reality for many years. However, if you can use each time you're discriminated against as a teaching opportunity, then you and others are on their way to being treated with respect.

 

 

Santa and Shriners made each Christmas special

I remember when a $3 Christmas gift was the greatest present in the world.



Shriners in Santa roles give gifts to children with disabilities.

It was even better that my mother, now 98 and living in an adult foster care home in Shelby Township, was there with me decades ago when the Shriners made the dreams of children with disabilities come true.

Teachers at Detroit’s two major schools for children with disabilities in the 1950s told us a couple of weeks before Christmas that we could ask for a present that should cost $3 or less and the Shriners would make sure  Santa got the word.

On the Friday before Christmas vacation began, we were taken from the schools by buses to the swanky Statler Hotel in downtown Detroit where the Shriners had a big Christmas party arranged. The buses lined the entire street and police officers were on duty to watch them and help us, if need be, get into the beautiful hotel.

We had a wonderful meal at long tables with white linen where turkey, ham, mashed potatoes and other good food was served. Each year, we got the same desert – a couple of scoops of vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup swirled on top.

After dinner, Christmas Carol in a red outfit with faux fur on the skirt bottom would come down the aisle where we were sitting in folding chairs next to our mother, dad, or foster parent. One of Santa’s talented helpers played Christmas songs on the stage in front of us and we sang along with him and Christmas Carol. A Shriner, always with a big smile, would encourage us: “Come on kids, sing louder. Santa loves to hear your voices.”

After an hour or so, “Here Comes Santa” was played by the piano man and we’d all look for Santa. He was so tall and fat and by using his magic he was able to carry a giant bag of gifts. We could hardly contain ourselves because we knew Santa was real and he was about to give us a gift.

Now I think how much more simple those times were then today. We were happiest, I think, because of the love shown by the Shriners.

After other children received their gift from Santa, it was my turn.

One of Santa’s helpers brought me my first plastic chess set. The pieces had green felt bottoms and the gift included a wooden chess board. “You don’t have to worry about Santa,” mother said. “He always knows what children want.”

I kept that set for years and remember that my second-grade teacher, Mrs. Otto at Leland School, taught me how to play.

Some girls received dolls. Other boys had Wilson baseball gloves which I recall cost about $3.11 in 1952, but no one left empty-handed.

We’d return to the buses and it was always a great ride home with my gift in one hand and mother Carol sitting next to me holding my other hand.

Jerry Wolffe is the Writer-in-Residence, Advocate-at-Large at the Macomb-Oakland Regional Center.

MORC offers Supports Intensive Scale overview

(Click on this twice, then click on the second url that appears to go to the SIS info at the Macomb-Oakland Regional Center site with info on Supports Intensity Scale.)

http://www.morcinc.org/services/supports-intensity-scale

Common Ground to get new Pontiac home for crisis center

PONTIAC -- A ribbon cutting-grand opening ceremony is scheduled for 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Dec. 17 at 1200 Telegraph, 32East for the new home of Common Ground's Resource & Crisis Center.
 
The event will also include a program, lunch, and a self-guided tour.

The facility, which was renovated by the Oakland County Community Mental Health Authority will address a community need for increased public resources for individuals who have a mental illness, developmental disability, serious emotional disturbance, or substance use disorder, and are in need of immediate support.  The facility is conveniently situated near a community bus line route and is adjacent to the Health Department and WIC services.

Common Ground’s crisis related services will relocate to the building, making access to the agency’s expertise more convenient for those seeking help. These services include the 24-hour Resource and Crisis Helpline (800-231-1127), Emergency Psychiatric Services and ACCESS services, currently located at Doctors’ Hospital in Pontiac; and the Crisis Residential Unit, currently located on Hendrie Street in Royal Oak.  The scheduled move date is Jan. 10.

 

The 48,000-square-foot building will also be occupied by PACE (Prior Authorization and Central Evaluations for the Office of Substance Abuse Services), a pharmacy and X-ray lab services. The project was financed by a $14.5 million bond, which was approved by the Oakland County Building Authority. The building will be subleased by OCCMHA from Oakland County, which is leasing the property from the Oakland County Building Authority.

Jerry Wolffe is the Writer-in-Residence, Advocate-at-Large at the Macomb-Oakland Regional Center. He can be reached at 586 263 8750.
 

Common Grounds links up with Crisis Text Line to help youths

Common Ground has entered into a formal partnership with Crisis Text Line, Inc. an organization that serves young people in crisis, providing them access to free, around-the-clock emotional support and information they need via the medium they already use and trust:  text.  
Crisis Text Line, founded by DoSomething.org CEO Nancy Lublin, is expanding its services to select cities across the country with the aim of offering nationwide service in 2014.  

Common Ground was chosen to participate because of the success and expertise of its Crisis Telephone Line, online Crisis Text platform and CTL specialists, addressing more than 50,000 calls in 2012.  

 

Lisa Turbeville, manager of Common Ground’s Crisis Telephone Line, said the partnership with Crisis Text Line, Inc. was a natural next step in expanding the services of the agency’s Online Crisis Text program.   

“We are constantly seeking innovative ways to provide support to our community, close the gaps and link people to services,” said Turbeville. “We’ve wanted to provide Crisis Chat and Text services for several years. It gives us the opportunity to reach out to those we may not otherwise get to connect with.”

The project addresses the need for teens to be able to reach out for help via text and receive it (also via text) from trained professionals.  Many teens find it difficult to communicate about their feelings in a face to face situation.  But now the ability to talk electronically — either online or by texting —has become a way for teens to share what’s going on in their lives and reach out for help. 

“We see Crisis Text and Chat services as a vital piece to help people move from crisis to hope and we are honored to work with Crisis Text Line, Inc. to provide these much needed services to our community, state and across the country,” said Turbeville.

 

Instead of setting up a staff of in-house responders, DoSomething.org is collaborating with partner organizations to actually provide the crisis counseling. Trained specialists will respond to teens, whether they need a supportive listener, resources or help planning how to stay safe and healthy.

 

By getting as many partners onboard as possible, information will be at the fingertips of counselors more quickly in those critical moments when someone needs help immediately.

 How it works: 

·         A teen texts “hello” to 741741 anywhere, anytime;

·         A live, trained specialist receives the text and responds quickly;

·         The specialist helps the teen stay safe and healthy with effective, secure counseling and referrals through text message using CTL’s platform.

In anticipation of the increased call/text volume, Common Ground is looking for community members who are interested in the experience of volunteering on the Crisis Telephone line and/or the Crisis Chat/Text line. Free, comprehensive training is provided. For more information about volunteering, call Cheryl Ross at (248) 451-2614.

In Thanksgivings past, Detroit opened its heart to its special children

When I was a child attending an orthopedic school for children with disabilities in downtown Detroit, my mother would wake me and my younger sisters, Rene and Nancy, before dawn and get us dressed up to go watch the then Hudson’s Thanksgiving Day parade.

For myself and the 180 or so other kids with disabilities at Leland School for Crippled Children, it was a really special and unforgettable day.

We’d dress up warm in snowsuits and wait anxiously for the yellow bus that said “Leland” on the side to turn down our street of Pinewood off of Gratiot and Seven Mile on Detroit’s northeast side. We’d climb on the bus with the other children with disabilities and their parents and the bus would take us down to Woodward near the former J.L. Hudson’s building. The building had the world’s largest flag on its side. It was several stories high and looked especially immense to a young child who was all excited about seeing Santa.

We’d stay in the bus once we got to the end of the parade route and we had a spectacularly close view of the floats.

They would start coming our way as we heard bands playing Christmas music. The floats were gigantic. They were colorful. The people on them were dressed in fancy outfits, clowns, elves and the floats would come one after the other for what seemed like forever. We didn’t mind because we all knew that sooner or later Santa Claus would come.

The clowns would carry giant balloons or cartoon characters. I would always wait for my Uncle Tom Opatich who worked as Hudson’s during the year as a driver who delivered furniture. But at Thanksgiving he would turn into a clown and volunteer to be part of the parade. He would get all of the other clowns to come on our special bus and give us big hugs because we were the special children with disabilities who were receiving loving treatment from great souls on a wonderful day.

My sisters always thought it was cool that their big brother went to an orthopedic school because they got to go with him and our mother, Carol and now 98, to the Thanksgiving Day parade for a special treat.

When we started hearing “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” we on the bus would really get excited because Santa would jump off of his red sleigh and leave all the reindeer, including Rudolph and Dancer and Prancer behind and hop up the three steps of our bus and go down the aisle and ask: “Have every one of you children been good boys and girls this year?” And we’d scream back in unison: “We sure have Santa.”

And then Santa would ask what did we want for Christmas. Most of the time I wanted a real cowboy suit or a chess set. My sisters told Santa they wanted dolls or clothes and mother would say she didn’t need anything as long as her children were happy and had enough good food to eat for the holiday with our dad, Vincent, a Detroit policeman.

And after a few minutes, even though it might have been 15 minutes, Santa would climb off the bus and go back and hop on his sleigh and welcome all the thousands who had come to downtown Detroit in the 1950s to watch the Thanksgiving Day parade.

Our bus would wait a while until traffic of maybe a million people would clear out and then the bus would make its way back to drop each of us off at our homes.

There never was one tear about not being able to walk or talk or having to wear braces because we, the students, had a disability. We were special and we knew it. We had just received the hearts of many generous clowns and a special hug from Santa, that upon looking back now at age 67, lasted a lifetime.

 

Jerry Wolffe is the Writer-in-Residence and Advocate-at-Large at the Macomb-Oakland Regional Center. He can be reached at 586-263-8950.

Relentless effort pays off in integrating people with disabilities into society

Even by advocates who are well-known, Liz Bauer is admired and respected for her decades of helping to lead the way so that people with disabilities can live in communities with proper help and not waste their lives in state-run institutions.
Bauer, a former member of the Michigan Board of Education and Executive Director of Michigan Protection and Advocacy, spoke Tuesday night (11.12) at a meeting of advocates, executives and directors of nonprofits from Macomb and Oakland counties at the Auburn Hills' location of the Macomb-Oakland Regional Center, Inc. Since its inception in the early 1970s, MORC has been instrumental in closing the 12 state institutions for people with disabilities and mental illness in Michigan and moving some 13,000 people in to homes, apartments and into mainstream society.
Bauer, who has a 41-year-old daughter with development disabilities, emphasized how important it was to know and keep in contact with local as well as federal political leaders.
"When I say to them (lawmaker) it takes two hours to feed a child, they have no idea of what I am talking about," she said.
That's because the average lawmaker really doesn't see in his or her mind what occurs when a child with severe disabilities and fragile health needs to be fed through feeding tubes and a vigilant parent has to make sure the child doesn't choke or have other problems.
"When visiting a lawmaker to press a civil rights issue, bring your child with a disability with you," she said, noting it really makes a difference when a state representative or state senator sees the extent of the child's disability and the types of supports he or she will need. "They realize that child is a person.
"We need to teach (society) that everyone is valued, everyone is worth it," Bauer said.
She also said, "We need new energy and younger parents" who have children with disabilities to re-energize the movement for civil rights and equal access to things needed to live a full life.
The problem might be that there was such success since the early 1970s in getting people out of institutions and into their own groups homes and apartments with 24-hour care that many forget the lonely mother who stayed at home to take care of a child with a disability. Some mothers, such as one in Royal Oak, had three children with severe developmental disabilities who needed constant care. The mother's life was liberated too when she received help from MORC.
Bauer, who started advocating for educational rights of people with disabilities before her daughter was born, said when it comes to budget cuts for those with disabilities this is the "chapter nobody reads."
She said advocates must continually remember the "5 w's + h = plan. The five w's are who, what, when, where, and why and the h is how.
Objectives should be clear and precise so lawmakers can quickly understand the message.
"You don't need to spend an hour trying to decide what to write a lawmaker, just send them a postcard and write 'We need more money allocated' to help those with disabilities."
"There always are forces for an against an objective," she said. "The best way to succeed or develop a lawmaker at the local or national level is to be honest, just give them the facts."
She also said advocacy can lead to burnout or discouragement so "You have to celebrate your small wins."
So parents of children with disabilities need to step up and keep civil rights in the minds of our political, economic and social leaders or some of the major gains made in decades after a century of suffering by those with disabilities will be lost. Remember if you are of child-bearing age, you just might have a child with a disability and then you will wish you had listened to these words.
We can see by Bauer's example that such small victories add up over time and with great persistence and intelligence to a much larger and better world for those of us with disabilities. For that, we owe her a great deal.

Jerry Wolffe is the Writer-in-Residence and Advocate-at-Large at the Macomb-Oakland Regional Center. He can be reached at 586-263-8950.
www.voicesofdisabilities.blogspot.com

Special needs apps help those with disabilities adapt to life

Hundreds of special needs apps now are available to help make life better for the millions of people, especially children, who have disabilities.

The first app was released on April 3, 2010 and the field has grown rapidly since, said Tzvi Schectman, a family coordinator at the Friendship Circle of West Bloomfield. Many of the apps are free with the most expensive, “Lamp Words for Life,” costing $299.99, according to the Website, www.friendshipcircle.org/apps/browse. “Lamp,” for example,” addresses the language development and communication needs of children with autism.”

Categories of apps include those for speech and language, communication, social skills, life skills, behavior, educational, scheduling and games.

Those developing apps fill out a form on the above Website to get approval and distribution of the app on either the Apple or android platform.

“This is absolutely a growing field,” said Schectman. One of the first apps was “Proloquo2go,” an assistive communication app. It helps with children who have autism or are nonverbal. “They choose pictures of items to communicate” and “it works with most anyone with impaired speech.”

The scheduling app helps someone with a cognitive disability structure the events in their days.

It’s a visual schedule that might show a picture of a breakfast table, then a school bus. Some of the apps also help “parents monitor their child’s behavior,” said Schectman.

One app, “The Birdhouse for Autism,” allows parents to keep track of what their child does during the day. “Every day they write what the child ate, how medications affected the child, and then Birdhouse finds correlation and patterns in that child’s everyday life to see what meds or activities are working and what areas need more work or modification.” The app is free and parents need only create an iPhone account and enter information about their special needs child.

Other apps help develop social skills, teach proper etiquette, encourage children with developmental disabilities to make eye contact with others and even how to say hello to someone.

The 59 apps in the social skills category on the Friendship Circle website include “Stepping Stones,” a personal visual organizer for prompting daily routines and schedules. Its cost is 99 cents. It was designed for users with developmental disabilities and the app assists in building independence. A simple interface allows a caregiver to create a routine, or ‘Path’, for the user to follow. The Path then works as reminder with visual and audio guides to act as prompts.

 Jerry Wolffe is the writer-in-residence/advocate-at-large at the Macomb-Oakland Regional Center. He can be reached at 586 263-8950.

 

Nearly 250,000 to lose some food stamps in Macomb, Oakland counties

Some 247,354 Macomb and Oakland county residents will see their food stamp allotment fall today (11.1) when a temporary federal government program expires.

In Oakland County, the cuts in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program affect 122,381 recipients who receive $12,779,358 in food assistance. In Macomb County, the $13,050,022 in cuts hit 124,973 people.

Nationwide, about 47 million food stamp recipients will see their benefits significantly reduced, according to MoneyWatch, a financial newsgathering entity.

Most of the cuts will affect households with seniors, people with disabilities and children.

Barring congressional intervention, the maximum payment for a family of four will shrink from $668 a month to $632, or $432 over the course of a year.

That amounts to 21 meals per month, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The cuts will leave participants in the program with an average of $1.40 to spend on each meal. The amount people get could sink even more if Congress makes deeper cuts later this year when House and Senate lawmakers try to hammer out a farm bill.

The cuts "will be close to catastrophic for many people," said Ross Fraser, a spokesman for Feeding America, the nation's largest domestic hunger-relief charity, which estimates that this week’s SNAP reduction will result in a loss of nearly 2 billion meals for poor families next year.

Food stamps are the government's biggest nutrition-assistance program for low-income people and, along with federal unemployment benefits, a key support system for the most vulnerable Americans. More than three-quarters of households getting food stamps include a child, elderly person or someone with a disability. Some 83 percent of families are at or below the official poverty line Along with children, seniors and people with disabilities, some 900,000 former U.S. veterans received food stamps and face cuts.

Another group with lots of members in SNAP: Veterans. U.S. Census Bureau data show that, in 2011, some 900,000 former U.S. military personnel lived in households that used food stamps.

The average SNAP recipient receives about $133 a month in benefits, while the typical family gets $278.

Experts say the food stamp cuts will spread hunger in the nation, undermine public health, and tax food banks around the country struggling to cope with the upsurge in poverty.

Jerry Wolffe is the Writer-in-Residence/Advocate at Large at the Macomb-Oakland Regional Center. He can be reached at (586) 263-8950.

Internationally known advocate to speak on issues facing those with disabilities

Elizabeth Bauer, who was inducted into the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame and a former member of the state Board of Education, will speak on issues facing people with disabilities at 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 12 at the Macomb-Oakland Regional Center office at 1270 Doris Road in Auburn Hills.

Bauer, of Ferndale, is a parent of a daughter with a developmental disability. She served as executive director of Michigan Protection and Advocacy Service, Inc., for 20 years. Bauer also is the recipient of the 2012 Distinguished Service Award by the National Association of State Boards of Education.

Bauer also is on the outreach committee for the Michigan Department of Community Health and is a current member of the Board of Directors for both MORC and its independent fundraising entity, The Futures Foundation.

The event is sponsored by the Association for the Macomb-Oakland Regional Center, a nonprofit started more than three decades ago by parents of children with disabilities to help get them services they need.

Jerry Wolffe is the Writer-in-Residence/Advocate-at-Large at the Macomb-Oakland Regional Center. He can be reached at 586 263-8950.

We are equal to the tasks involved in the workplace

Sometimes, others look at some of the estimated 54 million Americans with disabilities and notice what they can’t do. Those of us with disabilities see ourselves in a more positive light. Why waste time griping about what you can’t do?

The government is trying to drive this point home this month. October is the National Disability Employment Awareness Month. It has two purposes: To remind those of us with disabilities we can acquire the skills to be employed and we are valuable employees. The theme for this year was “Because We are EQUAL to the Task.”

Those words are more than just a slogan. We of differing abilities are gaining equal rights in many areas, far more than imagined by this writer who was born with cerebral palsy right after World War II. There are laws to battle discrimination in nearly every area of life.

We are in public doing the same things as others so it’s not unusual to see our accomplishments. Because of this, attitudes toward the disabled have changed since so many thousands spent their lives in institutions.

The jobless rate among the disabled is around three times the rate of the able-bodied and as high as 70 percent for those who are blind. That’s a waste. We belong in the workplace and most I know would rather work than receive an entitlement.

There’s dignity in work. It gives one a sense of purpose and accomplishment and allows us to be economically independent. My money is just as good in a store as anyone else’s and I’ve been blessed to be able to earn it. Someday sooner than later employers will realize those of us with disabilities can improve the corporate bottom line.

And, some people I know who have a disability inspire others because they’ve almost died and returned. When you see the being in white light, you know there is a God and you have innate value. You also learn fast that beauty is in one’s character not the body.

My brush with death came in August of 1956 when I fell into a coma after being overdosed with ether before double knee surgery. When I woke up four days later, the cleaning lady ran out of the room as though she saw a ghost.

I always asked God to take away my braces by age 10. Those surgeries allowed me to throw them out. But the extra gift I received was to learn to see what I could do instead of what I could not do.

As years went by, I was blessed with everything one could want in life and I realized God had been guiding my life since birth toward documenting the progress of those with disabilities in America. I am sure God is touching the lives of others with disabilities so they know for sure they are equal to holding down a job and living life each day with joy.

Jerry Wolffe is the writer-in-residence/advocate at large at the Macomb-Oakland Regional Center. He can be reached at 586 263-8950.

Service animal teams should have photo ID to prove legitimacy

People who pretend their dog is a service dog deserve to be bitten in the butt.
They are as despicable as able-bodied people who park in places reserved for those with disabilities.
On these two issues, Mr. Norton, my service animal who was trained to never bark or bite, and I agree. He keeps saying with his big brown eyes: “Let me at ‘em Jer, let me at ‘em.”
Mr. Norton, my beautiful brown-eyed Golden Retriever-Labrador mix, became my constant companion and helpmate more than seven years ago when my wife, JoAnn, and I picked him up at Paws with a Cause in Wayland near Grand Rapids.
It would have cost $18,000 to buy Mr. Norton but he was given to me by the nonprofit. Mr. Norton (I call him Mr. out of respect) underwent two years of training before we worked together for 10 months with trainers to become a certified team so he could pull me as I sit in my wheelchair.
He can also pick up anything I drop from the size of a credit card to a TV remote. He can bring me the phone, take off my shoes, pants, and cover my feet up with blankets in bed. He opens doors and keeps an eye on me whether he is in his “service dog” uniform or not. One time, in fact, he scared off a guy who was going to rob me in a parking lot by just staring the fellow down.
We’ve only been questioned once about being together in public.
To prove Mr. Norton and I are a certified service team, I pulled out my photo identification given to me by the organization that trained us. It shows a picture of Mr. Norton sitting next to me in my wheelchair. It says “Norton Trained for Jerry Wolffe.” On the back of the license, it says: “United States Federal Law” and quotes the ADA saying Mr. Norton and I have “access to all public places and commercial centers under Federal Law.” If we are denied admittance to any public place, I can call the Justice Department at (800) 514-0301 and file a complaint or sue the entity that denied us service for discrimination in federal court.
To stop bogus service teams, my opinion is any dog/human service team should have photo ID just like Mr. Norton and I have had since we got my pal from Mike Sapp Sr., the executive director of Paws. Dogs that are not as well trained as Mr. Norton hurt my rights if that animal urinates or causes a commotion in a place of public accommodation.
And having a well-trained dog such as Mr. Norton at my side makes me safer and more capaable, thanks to his muscles. And when I die I expect to see Mr. Norton at St. Peter’s gate wagging his tail as I walk into Heaven to be with my silent four-legged angel.

Jerry Wolffe is the Advocate-at-Large/Writer-in-Residence at the Macomb-Oakland Regional Center. He can be reached at 586 263-8950.

 

Community Network Services announces fundraiser to help those with mental illness

People with mental illness die, on average, 25 years earlier than the general population, according to a study by the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors.
It is partially because they have poor access to established monitoring and treatment guidelines for physical health conditions, the association said.
Another factor in premature death is that 42 percent of those with mental illness disorders are obese and fewer than 20 percent of people with schizophrenia engage in regular moderate exercise, said the Center for Integrated Health Solutions.
In addition, one-third to one-half of people with serious mental illness live at or near the federal poverty level and unemployment for those with the most serious illnesses is 90 percent.
The Community Network Services, a nonprofit which has offices in Waterford Township and Farmington Hills, is trying to change that by raising funds at a "Journey to Wellness" fundraising breakfast from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. Oct. 24 at the Auburn Hills Marriott Pontiac Centerpoint in Pontiac.
With the theme, “Connecting Mind and Body,” CNS aims to raise $50,000 to endow a CNS Wellness Program fund that will bring chronic disease management, fitness, nutrition, and smoking cessation resources to benefit the adults with severe mental illness who receive behavioral health services at CNS. 
CNS has been drawn to the wellness mission based, first of all, on the data that reflect that people with severe mental illness die 25 years younger than their peers without mental illness. Secondly, the creation of an integrated behavioral health/ primary care clinic in partnership with the Oakland Integrated Healthcare Network in Waterford in March has generated the synergy to optimize resources to better manage chronic diseases and offer preventative solutions. 
The fundraiser is free, with no obligation to donate.
The Journey to Wellness breakfast takes place on the 50th anniversary of the initial legislation signed by President John F. Kennedy creating the community mental health structure.
While the community mental health movement has come a long way in 50 years, much remains to be done.
"We believe our wellness initiative and the associated fundraising breakfast represents a significant step forward in funding solutions that address the total health of those with severe and persistent mental illness," said Mary Madigan, manager of development and community relations at CNS, which provides services to 5,000 adults annual at the two clinics in Oakland County.
For more information on the fundraiser, call 248 871-1488.

Jerry Wolffe is the Writer-in-Residence & Advocate-at-Large at the Macomb-Oakland Regional Center. He can be reached at 586 263-8950.

Too many will be hurt if government defaults

In the spirit of “Profiles in Courage” by the late President John F. Kennedy, someone of political and moral courage must step forward and break the deadlock over the shutdown and impending insolvency of the federal government.
The stakes are too high for the American people if the government defaults on Oct. 17 on paying its debts.
The person apparently in the driver’s seat days after the shutdown began is House Speaker John A. Boehner, R-Ohio. He has admitted there’s enough Democratic and Republican votes in the Lower Chamber to pass a “clean” bill to fund spending for several weeks, avoiding an impending financial disaster.
But sources indicate he fears losing his leadership role if he cobbles together a measure and sends it to the Democratic-controlled Senate where it will be passed and we temporarily will have dodged a bullet.
In the long run, most Americans will see Boehner as a hero whether they are Democratic, Republican or independents. We also need the example of someone with courage who is willing to sacrifice short-term political gain and stop the foolishness.
Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said in a letter to congressional leaders after 800,000 federal workers were told not to report to work Monday that his department is quickly exhausting measures to keep the federal government from breaching the debt limit in less than two weeks.
“There are no other legal and prudent options to extend the nation’s borrowing authority,” beyond Congress raising the borrowing cap, Lew said.
It would only be a short time before liquidity in banks, businesses, the mortgage industry and stock market would dry up, causing havoc no economist can accurately forecast. But worse, many millions of Americans, especially those who are disabled, who depend on federal government programs to survive will be out of cash to buy essentials such as food, keep caregivers or even pay rent.
It just seems nearly insane to put Americans through this type of agony. Even though it is not in our U.S. Constitution, we should have the right to have a “vote of confidence” of our political leaders so that we can replace those who cannot hear our voice of reason. Right now, latest polls show only 10 percent of Americans give House and Senate members a favorable rating.
We should also note there is a viral message in social media about a “proposed 28^th Amendment” to the U.S. Constitution. Rather than see lawmakers tear the nation apart over The Affordable Care Act, to which they are not even covered but retain their platinum-for-life medical coverage, such an amendment as the following should be considered by lawmakers in the states. It simply says:
"Congress shall make no law that applies to the citizens of the United States that does not apply equally to the Senators and Representatives; and Congress shall make no law that applies to the Senators or Representatives that does not apply to the citizens of the United States.”
It’s more than time for the 535 members in the House and Senate to quit acting like spoiled brats.

Jerry Wolffe is the Writer-in-Residence/Advocate-at-Large at The Macomb-Oakland Regional Center. He can be reached at 586-263-8950.

 

 

Michigan sends furlough notices to some Michigan employee unions

Michigan Budget Director John Nixon said today (10.2) the state has begun to take steps to address the partial shutdown of the federal government, including the issuance of furlough notices to employee unions with workers partially or fully funded through federal money, Gongwer News Service reported. 

Nixon said the notices do not peg a specific number of workers who could be subject to furlough or indefinite layoff if Congress remains stymied on authorizing federal spending. Majority Republicans in the U.S. House are pushing for some type of delay or defunding of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act as part of authorizing spending for the federal government.

“We hope not to have to trigger the actual furloughs or the indefinite layoffs,” he said.

Nixon said he is asking state departments and agencies to limit discretionary spending in federal programs to preserve cash flow. And he has ordered a hiring freeze on any state programs that receive federal money. He did not have a number on how many open positions would be frozen.

Nixon said state government receives about $55 million a day from the federal government with 65 percent of that for mandated spending on programs like Medicaid and unemployment. But the rest is non-mandatory spending.

One major concern is that authorization for the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families and food assistance programs also expired at midnight today, Nixon said. Usually, those programs would fall under the area of mandatory federal spending and be unaffected by the shutdown, but without authorization, those programs will get hit, he said.

Federal food assistance benefits have been provided to recipients through October. TANF money, or cash assistance, will begin to run out in two weeks, Nixon said.

“In two weeks, we really start to feel the pain. In a month, we’ve got a lot of problems,” he said.

Other programs with immediate funding concerns are the Women, Infants and Children program, which has enough money for about 10 days, the child nutrition and school lunch programs (with enough funding for about two weeks), low-income energy assistance (if a cold snap hits sooner than expected), the labor market division and the social services block grant, Nixon said.

If Congress and President Barack Obama reach an agreement to reauthorize federal spending before the end of the week, the impact to state government operations will be minimal, Nixon told reporters. But if the shutdown stretches longer, especially more than two weeks, serious problems will begin to unfold, he said.

“Right now we’re in a very difficult situation,” he said. “I don’t care what it looks like, just get it done.”

Jerry Wolffe is the Writer-in-Residence and Advocate-at-Large at the Macomb-Oakland Regional Center. He can be reached at 586-263-8950.

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Northville couple win hero award

A Northville couple was presented with the prestigious September Hero Award by Oakland County Community Mental Health Authority for advocating for people with mental illness during the past 20 years.

In honor of its 50^th Anniversary, OCCMHA is presenting monthly Hero Awards throughout 2013 to individuals who champion for change, inspire and support others, lead anti-stigma efforts, advocate for equality and independence, and give back to their community.

 Leon and Mary Ellen Judds are two of the original founders of National Alliance on Mental Illness Metro, a grassroots, all volunteer, non-profit organization, dedicated to improving the quality of life for persons with serious mental illness and their families through advocacy, support, and education.

 Leon currently serves as NAMI Metro’s president and Mary Ellen is the treasurer and education chair responsible for the Families in Action and In Our Own Voice programs. They lead one of the largest Annual NAMI Walk teams, known for their bright, yellow T-shirts that read: “Stigma Stinks!”

The Judds are also well-regarded for their warmth and consideration toward parents who are struggling with a loved one’s illness, said Christine Burk, a spokeswoman for OCCMHA.

Nominations for the hero award are due the first of every month and are available online at www.occmha.org. Email completed forms to registerme@occmha.org or send completed forms to Debbie Wisser at 2011 Executive Hills Blvd. in Auburn Hills.

Jerry Wolffe is the Writer-in-Residence and Advocate-at-Large at the Macomb-Oakland Regional Center. He can be reached at (586) 263-8950.

MORC to host Resource Fair

The Macomb-Oakland Regional Center will host an open house and resource fair from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 25, at the Auburn Hills office at 1270 Doris Road.

Individuals will have the opportunitiy to learn more about MORC's services and have their questions answered by individual department representatives.

Departments represented include Supports Coordination, Intake/Respite, Clinical Services, Recreational Services, Children and Family Services, Autism Waiver Program, Consumer Financial Affairs, Peer Support Services, Family Support Subsidy, Independent Facilitation, Supports Intensity Scale, Training, AMORC Parent Group and Friendship Circle.

In addition, microbusinesses run by individuals MORC serves will be on hand to sell a variety of products and refreshments will be served throughout the day.

For more information, call (586) 263-8701.

Transition Network sponsors series on Building Bridge to Future

Three organizations are hosting a three-part series on subjects ranging from transition services to person-centered planning.

Sponsors for the initial training session, which runs from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 1, at the Oakland Public School System headquarters at 2111 Pontiac Lake Road in Waterford, include the Regional Inclusive Community Coalition, Oakland Schools, and the Oakland County Community Mental Health Authority.

At the first session, Annie Lubliner-Lehmann, will speak about what she has learned in raising a son with autism.

Lubliner-Lehmann, who published “The Accidental Teacher: Life Lessons from My Silent Son?” will speak about her personal experiences with transition and person centered planning.

She has been a freelance writer for more than 25 years, has published articles in many newspapers and magazines, including The New York Times and Detroit Free Press.

The second session will be held Nov. 5 at the same location and is entitled: “Community Mental Health: Eligibility to Services” while the final session on Dec. 3 is on “Person Centered Planning: The Plan for Adult Life.”

The Oakland County Transition Network, a collaboration of committee members from OCCHMA, Oakland Schools, and the Oakland County Regional Interagency Consumer Committee, put together the series. To register, visit www.oakland.k12.mi.us or call (248) 209-2500 or (888) 263-3867.

If you have questions about the presentation content, call Cathy Schmidt at (248) 209-2504 or Lynda at (248) 975-9835. There is no cost to attend the training which is aimed at parents, young adults and those who support transition, said Lynn Maginity, executive director of Imaginity@newgateways.org.

The series will take a closer look at transition for students with an Individual Education Plan as they move from school to adult community agency supports. Learn planning tools, the process, and resources at the training sessions. Each session will feature a parent and/or a young adult sharing their tips and lessons learned.

Lubliner-Lehmann lives in Michigan with her husband and two of her three children. Her eldest son, 24, has severe autism. All proceeds from the book will be donated to the research arm of Autism Speaks. Lubliner-Lehmann says she lives by John Ruskin’s words: “The primary reward for human toil is not what you get for it, but what you become by it?”

Ilitch Charities donates $50,000 to MORC

In front of 41,000 fans in Comerica Park, the Ilitch Charities gave $50,000 to the Macomb-Oakland Regional Center that will go to the Futures Foundations to provide money for items and services that government funding does not cover for those with disabilities that MORC serves in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties.

“It was a spectacular evening,” said Gerald Provencal, the executive director of MORC. “It was the greatest rainy night in my life,” he said. “Holding a check for $50,000 from the Ilitch family was an exciting, gratifying, and humbling experience.”

In addition to the donation, MORC received “tremendous recognition for the work we have been doing for the last 41 years and it will pay dividends to us well into the future,” said Provencal. “It’s a testament to the integrity and the passion of MORC and all of us who contribute to its success.”

Another exciting moment Friday Sept. 20 was when Mark Stillwell, who formerly lived in the state institution in Lapeer, rolled out onto the field in his wheelchair and watched the check-presentation ceremony. Tiger Manager Jim Leyland walked over and shook Mark’s hand and wished him all the best.

“The Ilitch companies are proud to be part of the fabric of our community, and giving back to the communities where we do business is very important to us,” said Christopher Ilitch. The $150,000 that went to MORC and two other nonprofits was raised in late August at the Sixth Annual Ilitch Charities Celebrity Golf Classic, the organization’s annual signature fundraising event.

“Among many other initiatives, our annual Ilitch Charities Celebrity Golf Classic is a great way for us to raise funds each and every year that go directly back into making our community a better place for all,” Ilitch said.

MORC was nominated for the award by Executive Programs Director Larry Hudas of Aon Risk Solutions of Southfield, who has been a long-time supporter and admirer of MORC’s humanitarian work.

Ilitch, the son of Tiger owners Mike and Marian Ilitch, presided over the event and presented MORC the check.

A picture of the check presentations was posted on the Tigers’ Facebook page after the Tiger-Chicago White Sox game which Detroit won 12-5.

Each of us walked out separately to receive the check and had our picture taken, Provencal said. Other recipients of $50,000 each were the Michigan Humane Society and Detroit Historical Society.

“It was a wonderful, wonderful night for MORC staff and consumers at the game. It will be long remembered by those who love MORC and love baseball.

Jerry Wolffe is the Writer-in-Residence/Advocate-at-Large at the Macomb-Oakland Regional Center. He can be reached at 586 263-8950.