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Volume 18, No. 2 - Spring 2010 |
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What's Inside . . . Volume 18, No. 2, Spring 2010
Lotsa Helping Hands Create Community
Would you, your family, or someone in your community benefit from the organization of meals, transportation, in-home assistance, and/or information sharing? Many people find it difficult to ask for assistance and the coordination of extensive needs takes time and energy. Thankfully, there is a great solution available to you—Lotsa Helping Hands.
Enhancing Voter Participation of People with Disabilities
In the 2008 federal election, 14.7 million people with disabilities around the country voted. That is the good news. The bad news is that the voter turnout rate for people with disabilities was 7% less than the rate for people without disabilities.
Delaware Division for the Visually Impaired
The mission of the Division for the Visually Impaired (DVI) is “Working in partnership with Delawareans who are blind or visually impaired empowering them to be self-sufficient.” DVI provides a holistic, integrated service approach—serving over 1,000 individuals annually. Services are available to blind and visually impaired consumers from birth to death through a variety of programs.
Social Security Adds 38 Compassionate Allowance Conditions
Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, recently announced that the agency is adding 38 more conditions to its list of Compassionate Allowances. This is the first expansion since the original list of 50 conditions—25 rare diseases and 25 cancers—was announced in October 2008. The new conditions range from adult brain disorders to rare diseases that primarily affect children. The complete list of the new Compassionate Allowance conditions.
Homegrown in Delaware
Bishop Peggy Johnson, elected to the Peninsula-Delaware Conference of the United Methodist Church (UMC) in 2008, is a remarkable proponent of disability rights. As such, she has made a point to initiate changes in the conference that she leads. In fact, she has stated, unequivocally, that her vision for UMC houses of prayer are places where “all people feel welcome, supported and included in all aspects of church life so that each member, regardless of their differences or God given gifts, are enabled to be instruments of the church in action, living out its message in the community.”
The AT Bargain Basement
Hello, True Believers, and welcome to another action-packed installment of the AT Bargain Basement! I am Marvin Williams, your guide in the land of AT bargains. As usual, if you are a regular to the Basement, welcome back! If this is your first trip with us, I’m glad you could join the party! The rules of the Basement are simple—I find AT bargains costing $100 or less and share them with you. I will be sure to let you know if you can find the bargains locally or if you need to order them over the telephone or internet. So without further adieu, let’s get to the bargains!
We Connect Now
We Connect Now, was designed to connect college students with disabilities so that they could share experiences and work together on issues of common interest. The website began with seed money from a grant received from Young People For (YP4), which is a “strategic long-term leadership development program that identifies, engages and empowers the newest generation of progressive leaders to create lasting change in their communities.”
Gardening - Work Smarter, Not Harder
Gardening is healthful, a social outlet, and can improve thought processing, regardless of an individual’s abilities. In fact, it can be a lifelong activity. Gardening tasks are attainable with planning, functional tools, guidance and creativity. I encourage you to give some thought to your abilities and hope that the following will help guide you along your garden path.