Podcasts about independent living center

Freda Uwa grew up in Nygeria. There she attended college securing a bachelor's degree and then went on to do some advance studies as well. She is a trained nurse. She also is a nutrition expert and, as she tells us, she loves to cook.   Five years ago Freda moved to Canada. She spent time as a mental health case manager even before her husband and three boys moved to Canada to join her. As she tells us, while she absolutely loved her time as a case manager, the job was quite taxing on her. She had to handle many cases where she had no one with whom to share her experiences. As we discuss here, not having any opportunity to decompress by talking to a spouse or others is by no means healthy.   Eventually Freda gave up her case management job and, just about a year ago, she assumed the job of Executive Director of Independent Living Canada. This organization oversees 24 independently operated independent living centers which are spread throughout Canada. She has shown that she is ideal for the job due to her leadership and project management training and skills. Freda is the first black leader of IL Canada which has been in existence for 38 years.   Freda gives us lots of insights on leadership and community. I hope you enjoy our time with Freda and that you will take the time to give this episode and Unstoppable Mindset a 5-star rating.       About the Guest:   Freda Uwa is a distinguished leader and advocate in the fields of independent living, accessibility, and mental health. Freda draws from her extensive experience in Canada to drive impactful initiatives and foster inclusive communities.   Currently, Freda serves as the National Executive Director of Independent Living Canada, overseeing 24 Independent Living Centres led by individual Executive Directors across the country. In this role, she made history as the first Black leader in the organization's 38-year history and the first African in Canada to ever lead the sector as National Executive Director.   Freda's notable accomplishments include her work as the Project Manager for the Creating Accessible Events Project for the Government of Canada through Accessible Standards Canada. This role underscores her commitment to ensuring that events across the nation are inclusive and accessible to all individuals, regardless of their abilities.   As the Regional Coordinator for the IDEA Project for Race and Disability Canada, Freda plays a pivotal role in addressing the intersectionality of race and disability, advocating for policies and practices that promote equity and inclusion.Her extensive background in mental health is exemplified by her previous role as a Mental Health and Addictions Case Manager, where she provided critical support and care to individuals facing mental health challenges and substance use issues.   In addition to her leadership and advocacy roles, Freda holds a Canadian Red Seal Endorsement for Skills and Trades, showcasing her dedication to professional excellence and her commitment to fostering skill development and employment opportunities.     Freda Uwa's career is marked by her unwavering dedication to championing the rights and needs of marginalized communities, her innovative approach to project management, and her exceptional leadership in promoting independent living and accessibility. Her work continues to inspire and drive positive change across Canada, Africa and beyond.   Ways to connect with Freda:   IL Canada Facebook Link - https://www.facebook.com/MyIndependentLivingCanada?mibextid=ZbWKwL Freda's LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/freda-uwa-7515a235?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=android_app  Freda Instagram (Business page)  - https://www.instagram.com/luluseventsandkitchen?igsh=YW10OWs3ODY5d2Q1   About the Host:   Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog.   Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards.   https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/   accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/   https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/       Thanks for listening!   Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!   Subscribe to the podcast   If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can subscribe in your favorite podcast app. You can also support our podcast through our tip jar https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unstoppable-mindset .   Leave us an Apple Podcasts review   Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.       Transcription Notes: Michael Hingson ** 00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us.   Michael Hingson ** 01:21 Well, hi everyone, and welcome once again to unstoppable mindset where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet, and we do get to talk about inclusion today. And as some of you know who are regular listeners to this podcast, the reason it is inclusion, diversity in the unexpected is it's inclusion because it is. Diversity comes second after inclusion, because if you talk to people about diversity, typically they never talk about disabilities. We get left out of the discussion. And then the unexpected is anything that doesn't have anything to do with inclusion or diversity, which is probably most of the guests that we deal with. But today, we are going to have the honor of speaking to Freda Uwa and Freda is the executive director of independent living Canada, which has responsibility or works with the 24 independent living centers around Canada. And so I'm really looking forward to learning more about that and hearing about it and looking forward to hearing all that Freda has to say. So Freda, we want to welcome you to unstoppable mindset, and we're really glad you're here.   Freda Uwa ** 02:29 Thank you, Michael, thanks for having me. Well, I   Michael Hingson ** 02:33 love to start kind of little bit different than maybe some people do tell us about the early Frida, growing up and all that sort of stuff, anything that that you want us to know, and you don't have to tell us all your secrets, but tell us about the early freedom.   Freda Uwa ** 02:49 Oh, that's fun. Thanks. Michael. Freda, the little girl. Freda i Oh, that's so much fun. Now I think about growing up and all of the memories that that comes with so I I am privileged to have grown in a closely middle class family in Nigeria. I grew up in Nigeria, one of the countries in Africa, and it was fun, right? The bills, just happy go lucky child. I was the one child that had all the breast of energy, and I just loved to laugh. So that was all of that. There was family, faith based activities, and I also had schooling, of course. And went to college, did my nursing, went on to do a BSc in home Science and Management, and with an option in nutrition and dietetics and so all of that was fun. And of course, I enjoyed having to be part of a family that loved to do things together. So that was, that's Freda, oh, the little girl. Frida, yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 04:02 that's the little girl. Frida, well, that works out pretty well. So you have a bachelor's did you go anywhere beyond a bachelor's degree or   Freda Uwa ** 04:11 Yeah, so in Canada, I had, I took a post grad certificate in nursing, leadership and management, and then community mental health certificate as well. So yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 04:23 what that works out pretty well and certainly kept you busy. And what did? What did you do with all that? Once you got your degrees,   Freda Uwa ** 04:33 I evolved. You evolved.   Michael Hingson ** 04:37 You grew up then, huh?   Freda Uwa ** 04:39 Absolutely, absolutely. So there was a lot of growth that came with that, a lot of responsibilities. I moved to Canada, figured out new part and all of that. So there was all of the growth that happened and that forces you to evolve. So the degree, the experience and all of that. So in the short answer is I evolved with that. So yeah. Us.   Michael Hingson ** 05:01 Okay, and so what kind of jobs did you hold   Freda Uwa ** 05:09 all my life? You mean, or you're just asking for a period in my life?   Michael Hingson ** 05:13 Yes, so once college was over, what kind of, what kind of jobs did you actually do then for a while?   Freda Uwa ** 05:19 Okay, so I, I am a registered nurse as well, so I'm right. I have many parts, right? So I did nursing. I also have a business, a food business as well. So I was into events management and catering at the time, and then the core of what I do now, also started in Nigeria, where I led a nonprofit for about four years before moving over to Canada, did some schooling, and then came back to the space that I love, and that's social services around people, supporting people with disabilities and all of that so and that's a pack of all that I did in terms of work.   Michael Hingson ** 06:01 What brought you from Nigeria to Canada?   Freda Uwa ** 06:05 First of all, it was cooling, like I came to experience that other side of education, right? So I came with that flare, and then family moved over, and now I'm here.   Michael Hingson ** 06:19 Well, that works out pretty well we i People won't necessarily see it, but we just have company joining us. My cat has joined us. I see and I'm trying to get her up on the back of our desk chair so that she will hopefully leave us alone. Anyway, there we go. Well, so how long ago did you come over from Nigeria to Canada? I've been in   Freda Uwa ** 06:45 Canada going on five years now. I I moved here at the peak of, not the peak at the beginning of the pandemic. So I came in just as I got into Canada, everywhere was shut down. So I'm like, is this the reality? Is this what it feels like being here? So I was almost locked up right away. So yeah, that's, that's my journey. So it's about going on five years now.   Michael Hingson ** 07:10 Wow. So you've been here a while. So you, you came over here and you, you decided that your passion was really working in the arena of disabilities and and so on. So what? What really caused you to do that? Why did you decide that that's what you really wanted to do with your life?   Freda Uwa ** 07:34 Great question. Michael, so I've always known that I had what I call a greater calling, like I've always wanted to live my purpose in life. I know I did share that. I am a registered nurse in Nigeria, and having all of that, and also business owner in Nigeria, but I find that in all that I did, there was something, there was a missing piece, right? So I needed to, I needed to fill that void and recall that I told you that I grew up in a close knit family setting, so my younger sister that I love today, by the way, she has a disability, and I've been a primary caregiver I had, or I was her primary caregiver for a while, and I also watched my mother struggle through that. At some point, my mother, my mother's life, was almost on hold because she needed to take care of her child. So that, in itself, created the need for me to just fill a void, right? So it was beyond just where, where's the money, right? It was beyond that, and I needed to just leave out my purpose and find a career that would really and genuinely make me happy while I'm touching life in the way that I know how to   Michael Hingson ** 09:05 Yeah, well, and I believe very firmly in the fact that if you're really doing what you like to do, then it isn't really a job. It's it's a whole lot more fun, and it's a whole lot more rewarding. Absolutely,   Freda Uwa ** 09:19 I'm having fun, Michael, I'm having funded. So yes, which   Michael Hingson ** 09:22 is, which is really important to be able to do, what if I can ask, is the disability that your sister has? She's   Freda Uwa ** 09:30 She has intellectual disability. So it's, yeah, so it's all and again, with misdiagnosis and all of that. So that's a whole situation going on, right there. So that's why, that's how I how come I, I'm like, there is a void that needs to be filled, right? So it's all of the complications that comes out from misdiagnosis and her living through that all her life. Yeah, yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 09:54 Now is, is she and your family still in Nigeria, or did they move over here too?   Freda Uwa ** 09:59 I know my my mom and my sister are still in Nigeria. In   Michael Hingson ** 10:04 Nigeria, well, I assume you go back and visit every so often. That's all we have. Yeah, you gotta do that well and and when you can't go back, you've got things like zoom so you can still look at them and talk to them.   Freda Uwa ** 10:18 Absolutely we, we thank God for technology. So it's all of that, yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 10:24 yeah, technology has certainly made a significant difference in the whole art of communications over the past, oh, especially 10 years, but certainly in the last five years, just because of what the pandemic has done and so on, for sure. So how did you end up specifically deciding to get involved with independent living centers, and how did you end up being the executive director of independent living Canada?   Freda Uwa ** 10:55 Oh, interesting. That's a great question. Michael, so I, I, I say this always, my story and journey has always been that of resilience and just a journey of self discovery and awareness. I'll give you, I'll share with you. Michael, right, as I came into Canada in 2020, at the beginning of COVID, I was in, I was in a I was in on a conversation with a friend at the time, and he was sharing an experience, and was speaking to me about somebody, and speaking to me about a newcomer who had come into Canada and was leading an organization like an like an administrator at the time, and this history was about the consequences of mismanagement of some sort. Hm, and he, he let me know that the, the woman got into trouble, and, you know, was relieved of her job and all of that because she didn't do something, right? But while I was listening to that story, a seed was planted in me that, hold on, I've got this experience, I've got this much knowledge, I've got this much abilities, I've got this much skills. Then if a newcomer could transfer all of that here to Canada and do all of this. That means there is space for me somewhere. So it wasn't more so of yes, what you shouldn't do, it's something, it didn't come to me as though, like it's a test for your competence or something. I knew there was, there was a possibility somewhere. So that was when the seed was planted in me. And as soon as I began to look for jobs, I started looking out for the jobs that aligned with what I had done, including my executive executive leadership in Nigeria. And that was how it happened that I was done schooling, and I started looking for opportunities, and I went out to apply for jobs that would speak to my competencies and and the rest that says history. So I we, that's how the seed was planted. I'm like, okay, yeah, there I go, and I'll tell you what happened with my very first interview and Michael, I didn't get called for an interview and Ed role. And I, I'm not sure if you know about the process with executive hiring, it's a lot of steps, like you do the phone the phone interview, you do the writing, you go for, like a first phase, a second phase, and all of that. It was really daunting. And I went through all the phases, and I was feeling really confident and good about it. I actually went through to the last phase where I had to go in person to see the outgoing Ed who was retiring at the time, and kind of like had a meeting slash interview situation that it looked as though I was getting on boarded, but it wasn't, like official. So in my head, I felt that this is it. I'm there, yeah. So I did, I did all of that. I went back home, and a couple of days later I got the email, you know, one of those emails, and I'm like, oh, oh, no. So this is it's that's no way on from here that this is it. I And then like, Oh, thank you for your time and all of that. So we've moved on to XYZ, and you know all of those words, I'm like, oh, in that moment, I didn't feel like, I didn't feel too bad, because I felt like, Oh, this is my first and I got this close, then that's something, right? So yeah, I'm like, okay, that's not too bad. But what happened next was what really got me thinking I continued my job search, right? So a couple of weeks later, I get an email from the same organization asking if I. Still available for the role and for the job. And I was excited again. I'm like, Oh yes, I can. Why not? And then in their response there, they wanted to have a second interview, set of interview. I'm like, hold on, what's going on? I'm like, okay, that's not too bad. I will, I will make myself available for the interview, and I did, and I think we had the next one, and I got really worried. And then after that, I got an email saying the same thing, that they had given the role to somebody else, and that got me angry. Yeah, right. So I needed to know what it was. You name it. Let me what I so I sent out an email to them. I'm like, Oh, hold on. So what's all this? What's, what's, what's going on, let me know why my like, I just needed to know. And then they responded to say that I was over qualified for the role. I'm like, that's, that's, that's a dumb answer, right? So, Hawaii, why would you say that to be now that, now that I'm thinking about it, right? So I took all of that in, and I decided to move on from there and just pick up the lessons. And then went forward with that. So that experience in itself shapes me into the resilience of not just giving up, because I knew I was very close to getting what I wanted right. So I went on from there, and I became an addictions case manager, addictions and mental health case manager, a job that I really, really love. It was so beautiful I had. I had the privilege of going to flying into the isolated reserves in those little, small airplanes and all of that. So I give so many emergency responses, whether it's flawed calls for suicide and all of those mental health work. I really loved that job, but it was so heavy on me, and it was at the time when I was going through a lot in my my own self, like emotionally and my mental health, I was by myself in Canada. At the time, my my family, that my husband and kids were still in Nigeria. So the weight of all of that was too much on me, like there was nothing to decompress to, if you know what I mean, right? So you go, you hear all of these heavy things, and you cannot really process your own feelings. And then I'm also thinking about the same situation, and I'm thinking about, Oh, what's going on? What's my what's what's going on in my head? So I didn't, I didn't, I didn't stay too long on that job. And then I and also I left because it was too much, like I said, even though I loved the job. And then I went on to become the CEO of an Ability Center, which is also supporting individuals with intellectual disabilities. And from there on, was when I, I moved on to il Canada, and I'm loving it. So that's my story of resilience.   Michael Hingson ** 17:59 Yeah, it is really tough when you're you're by yourself, and you don't have anyone to talk to and to share things with, because talking with someone, talking things out, is always important and is always helpful, because it helps you put things in perspective. And when you can't do that, it just bottles up inside of you, and that's that's not good. Mm, hmm,   18:23 absolutely,   Michael Hingson ** 18:26 well, but, but you, you moved on. So how long have you been in il Canada? Now   Freda Uwa ** 18:33 going on one year? Oh, September, yes. So it's just what going on one year in September. So, yeah, feel very new.   Michael Hingson ** 18:42 So tell me a little bit about il Canada and what you do and so on.   Freda Uwa ** 18:47 Okay, so I'll Canada. It's basically a network of independent living centers across the country. It started in, it was it started in it started as a movement a long time ago, in 1986 it was formerly known as Canadian Association of Independent Living Centers, and now now independent living Canada. So it's all about providing a collective voice on the on national issues for all of our member centers and fostering and maintaining partnerships in that regard, building capacity and scaling what we're doing, especially on the national level. So our member centers have the via our foot soldiers in different different communities and different local centers. So we are we've got il member centers in almost across every project, every province in Canada. It's in Saskatchewan, Ontario, you name it, it's everywhere. So IO Canada, it's we thrive on. Four core pillars of service, which would be independent living, skills development, peer support, Networking and Information and all of the resources that we do. So we provide a national voice for all 24 member centers, and they are all run by different executive directors and offering unique needs to their communities,   Michael Hingson ** 20:25 so and so. What you do is, do you do you coordinate services? Do you act as more of a case manager and distribute funds? Or what does IO Canada do for the 24 agencies, right?   Freda Uwa ** 20:43 Great question. So these, like I said, the 24 agencies or centers, are independent of like they are autonomous, like the source funds and all of that, even though we provide some substantial but it is really, they are very independent of what we do, so we are like a collective voice for the member centers on the national level. So that's what IEL Canada does. We there's monthly meetings, there is all of the accreditations that we do and just ensuring that all accredited member centers are operating within our four core pillars of service that promotes independent living for people with cross disabilities.   Michael Hingson ** 21:29 What relationship or how do you interact with organizations like the Canadian National Institute for the Blind and so on.   Freda Uwa ** 21:39 So that in itself. It's it will totally depend on what projects we're working on, right? So it would be project based or research based, right? So we are a national voice for all of our centers. So if, if any of our Centers are partnering, partnering with any individual Association, that is the partnership we're seeking, and we will support and encourage them. But on the national level, it's usually project based or collaboration in terms of research or information, or whatever that looks like, or maybe communities of practice and all of that.   Michael Hingson ** 22:17 Well, how does well, let me rephrase that, what does CNIB do, as opposed to what the independent living centers do? Do you know,   Freda Uwa ** 22:28 again, each independent living center is operating on different like they have, they have tailored made programs for their centers, right? So some people have communities that they have programs that support vision loss or the blind and all the other centers who have programs for youth, employment, housing, transportation. So they are all direct funding to support independent living in terms of managing your resources and other skills. So for in that regard, it would naturally lie with the centers and how they want to collaborate with cnid. So it's for us at the national level. It would mostly be on research or any collaboration on the project, but to actually reach out to the consumers or participants, it will be the independent centers, like the member centers themselves, right?   Michael Hingson ** 23:24 So a CNI be more of a funding agency or, or, well, I know that they do provide services, but I was just trying to understand where the overlap is, or, or how the two types of organizations interact with each other.   Freda Uwa ** 23:39 I'm not familiar with their model, like, I don't know about their model, yeah, but most, what we do with every organization, or most organization is collaboration or partnership, right? So they may have a different funding model for us at IELTS Canada. It's it's center is working on our four core pillars, providing different programs and services within these four populars, and they're at liberty to fill up make these programs to suit their communities.   Michael Hingson ** 24:09 Okay? So they they may work, and they may get some funding from CNIB for specific projects and so on. But I, I understand that you're dealing with being closer to the individual communities where   Freda Uwa ** 24:22 you are. Oh, for sure, that's with the member centers. Yeah, for myself, I am, like the administrative head for the national organization, the National aisle, right,   Michael Hingson ** 24:31 right. Yeah, right. Well, so when, when you've been working and you've you've now been doing some of this for a while, what would be for you a pivotal moment, given our philosophy, or our title, unstoppable mindset, where is a pivotal moment in your life, where you had to really demonstrate resilience? It's an unstoppability.   Freda Uwa ** 25:03 I like that question so much. I I kind of feel like, um, I've had so many of those moments, right? I've had the moment where I had to face the pandemic, pandemic all by myself, without my family here. And I'm like, No, so I have to be here for me. I have to be here for my family as well. So all of those is all of that. It's a part of the package, right? And then I also had the moment where I started on that conversation with my friend that spoke about that lady, and it planted a seed in my heart, like I was there was something for me if I was going to transfer all of my skills from Nigeria. I could do it right and and then again, the next big thing that happened to me was having a meltdown on my job as a as a case manager for mental health and addictions. So all of those moments left me, like you said, with that unstoppable mindset, like growth is not always linear, like you get bumps, you get heat, and then you have to get up and you keep moving. Yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 26:13 yeah, you you've got to make that decision to do that, to make the decision to to move forward. And that's an individual choice, but when you decide to do it and you stick to it, you get such a wonderful feeling of accomplishment, don't you Exactly,   Freda Uwa ** 26:30 exactly, that's, that's, that's, yeah, yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 26:35 which is, which is pretty cool. So you are able to, you know, to move forward and do the things that you do, the things that you got to do. So you're also unusual in another way, in terms of being the first black executive director of independent living Canada and one of the first two black leaders in a lot of different areas and aspects of the whole rehabilitation and independent living environment. Does that get to be a challenge for you, or do you regard that as a plus or what?   Freda Uwa ** 27:15 I think it's both, because it comes with a lot of pressure, for sure, and then there is that feeling of who, what's here, like, am I finding somebody that looks like me, and what's there to learn from? Right? So, who's gone ahead before me, and where's the where is all the mentorship? Where would that come from? Right? But I also find that I've got a lot, a ton of support from my board. Yeah, ever so supportful, self supportive and yeah, so that has helped. So it's a feeling of of there is work to be done, and, of course, a feeling of accomplishment of some sort, but more so that I I've got a bucket to feel with what's been expected, like I need to give back with what's been poured into me, right? So that's all of that, but in one hand, in the one hand, I see that I there is a gap. There is a gap in representation, for sure. I know we talk about inclusion in terms of people with disabilities, and also thinking about building capacity for young leaders and newcomer leaders coming forward, and making sure that they find a mentorship and some form of support to build capacity in leadership. In that regard, because they are usually different, different levels of expectations from a racialized person as a leader and a non racialized person. So it's all of that, all of that pressure for sure, and having to face that, and constantly telling your story or living through barriers, even as a leader, you have constant barriers you keep facing and then kind of rewriting your own story. I would say,   Michael Hingson ** 29:07 now you don't have a disability in any traditional sense, right? I   Freda Uwa ** 29:12 would say undiagnosed, because I don't know. I feel like I know I have something, but it's undiagnosed. So yes,   Michael Hingson ** 29:19 well, there you go. Something, something to figure out, right? Yes,   Freda Uwa ** 29:24 for sure. And I've always said it, it's, it's a continuum, like it's a spectrum. So it's, everybody's just one life event away from a disability, right? So you never know until you until you find out. Well,   Michael Hingson ** 29:37 of course, people have heard me say on this podcast that actually, everyone has a disability. For most of you, it's you're light dependent. You don't do well when there isn't light around for you to see what you're doing. And inventing the electric light bulb kind of led to a cover up of your disability. But it's still there. It's just that it doesn't manifest itself very often. And the reason, I think it's important. Important to take that kind of a view is that all too often, and I'd be interested in your thoughts on this, but all too often, when people think about disability, they think about, well, it's called disability because it's a lack of ability, and it isn't really, but people think less of people who they regard as traditionally having some sort of disability, and the result is that they look down on or think they're better than somebody with a disability. And I adopted the definition that we all have disabilities, they just manifest differently. In order to try to help start to level that playing field and get people to understand that in reality, we all have challenges, and we all have gifts, and we shouldn't look down on anyone just because they don't have some of the gifts that we do.   Freda Uwa ** 30:53 That's a great way to look at it. Michael, I so in recent times in my work, there is this I've heard about social location, this phrase called social location, Michael, I   Michael Hingson ** 31:07 have not heard much about that. I'm not overly familiar with it, so go ahead, I can imagine. But go ahead. Okay,   Freda Uwa ** 31:13 so that's like, exactly where you are on your social map. I would say, just to put it in a clear way, right? So it's all of those identity markers that make you, right? You might think you don't, you have it all here, but in the next high you're you're not as much privileged as the next person. So it's being on different sports in that social map, right? So I could be, let the I could, I could not have a disability that I know, but in some way I'm I'm disadvantaged, right? So it's all of that coming together and realizing that when we when we're seeking for inclusion for all, it's actually all. And the definition of all can be expanded to mean actually every single person, and not just people with stability. It's every single person ensuring, keeping, taking into consideration that you are not always at the top all the time. You could be privileged in so many areas, and then you are disadvantaged in some area. So it's that social location concept that should, that should inform our need to level the playing fields at all time.   Michael Hingson ** 32:31 Yeah, um, unfortunately, all too often, people won't adopt that principle, and they won't adopt that mindset. So they really think that they're better than others. The unemployment rate among persons with disabilities is still very high compared to the general population. It's still in the 50 to 60% range. And it's not because people with disabilities can't work. It's that people who don't happen to have those same disabilities think that people with those disabilities can't work and so as a result, they're never given the opportunity.   Freda Uwa ** 33:11 Yeah, that's a constant struggle, for sure. Yeah, and that's why we do what we do,   Michael Hingson ** 33:16 right, which is very important to do. So you, you, you work as the executive director, is the CEO of the organization. Do you do all the independent living centers, then do a lot of work with consumer organizations and other things in their local areas, so that they keep very close ties to consumers.   Freda Uwa ** 33:44 Oh, for sure, that's the, that's that's the that's the structure of innovative living Canada, right? So il Canada and il member centers are close to the local communities. So all il member centers are community based centers. So they're, they're in the communities and partnering with, partnering with local communities to meet any unmet needs for persons with disabilities. Okay, yeah, so, yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 34:15 So now you're, you're obviously more in an administrative kind of role, but what kind of involvement or or interactions do you have with like consumers and consumer organizations? That's a tricky   Freda Uwa ** 34:29 question, right? So I I've only been here one year. Yeah, I understand. I can speak to the last 11 months, right? So so far with consumer organizations, I am only, only partnered in terms of a project or a research it's still a project or project, right? So whether it's but I feel like that comes from the centers as well, because my the independent living centers. You. Get us involved in partnerships that it's just beyond them, right? So we get partnership partnership, and we need to standing as a national organization to get three or four of our IELTS member centers into that partnership. So that's the level we play. More like we the go between and giving that voice to them. But generally I am more of the administrator than being involved in consumer agencies or organizations, right?   Michael Hingson ** 35:32 Yeah, no, I understand that's I was just wondering if, if, if there is involvement, or how you ever get to interact with them, because I would think that working with consumer organizations in some manner can strengthen what you do as an organization.   Freda Uwa ** 35:51 Yeah, yeah, for sure, we're still, we are open to partnerships, for sure, but it's a process. It's yeah, it's a process, and then for sure, it's what the local centers are needing, and that's what we are doing at the national level, right? So it's, it's a, it's a two way street with the local sense, local member centers. We are nothing without our member centers. So that, yeah, right,   Michael Hingson ** 36:13 right. No, I understand. Well, that's that is still pretty cool, though, and it gives you, it gives you some freedom, and it gives you the ability to look at things from a higher level. But I would assume that it also gives you the opportunity, then to look at how you can work and make a difference in the whole independent living process around Canada.   Freda Uwa ** 36:39 That's for sure. That's for sure. There is work for sure, and that's what we have started doing. So there's a lot of traction happening right now, and just taking one day at a time and reviewing all our partnerships and building other collab partnerships and collaborating in other areas as well. So yeah, I agree. Yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 37:01 Yeah. Now, I didn't say it earlier, but we met through Sheldon Lewis at accessibe. So I guess you have, have you looked at accessibe as a product, and are you working with Sheldon on that sort of thing, or, or, How is accessibe involved with the Independent Living Center movement in Canada, I   Freda Uwa ** 37:21 would say we are currently having that conversation right now. So, yes,   Michael Hingson ** 37:28 well, so, so at this point, you're looking to see where it might fit and and how, how it would work. Yeah.   Freda Uwa ** 37:39 So we're reviewing all of that. We are reviewing the product and going through the board and test running everything. So, yeah, so just reviewing, what, how that works, yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 37:49 So you're actually, so you're actually testing it and looking at it to see what it does and doesn't do and so on.   Freda Uwa ** 37:55 Exactly, yes.   Michael Hingson ** 37:57 What about the whole concept, from your standpoint of Internet access and inclusion, the problem that we see overall is that in our world, maybe 3% of websites have really made an effort to put something on their site to make the website accessible or inclusive, but Most places still haven't done that. How do we change   Freda Uwa ** 38:22 that? I think this is as it's it's still the whole package, about 31 step at a time, and I'm very careful, and I caution against tokenism and just wanting to do something because you want to check up the boxes, right? Yeah, what? What's the intention? Really? Are you really concerned about your consumers, your customers, your clients? Are you really wanting to reach everybody, and everybody, right? So what does that look like for you? So I'm Yeah, it's concerning, for sure, that we have such low percentage of people of websites who are looking into being more accessible and not just checking off one box, right? So, and it's broad, it's really broad because accessibility is it's not just one thing, right? So internet accessibility for sure, it's the next big thing. And at our planned AGM coming up here in September, we are, that's the key, the the main theme of our of our meeting, it's AI and the future of accessibility for all. So, yeah, so that is a good thing that you asked it, because we are looking to build a future where accessibility is second nature to everybody.   Michael Hingson ** 39:51 Someone said something once, and I think is a is a really wonderful thought to have, and that is that we a. All look forward to the day when we are so inclusive that access, or accessibility is a term that we forget and never have to use anymore, because it's just so automatic.   Freda Uwa ** 40:12 I like that. I like that. That's second nature, right? So we don't have to think about it like this is what it is. It's universal. It's a universal design. This is right. Want to see, right? So, and again, like I said, it's not you're not doing it for them. It's not an us, them conversation. It's for all of us, because it's one live event from one disability to the next. So it's creating a world where everybody can thrive, and I empowered to thrive equally, right? Yeah, and   Michael Hingson ** 40:44 I think that is that is so important, and I hope that that day comes sooner than later, but I think it's still a ways off, but I think it is one of those things to really strive for, because as as you and I have both talked about today, everyone has gifts. We all don't have the same gifts, and no one should look down on anyone else just because we're different in some way. And yet, unfortunately, all too often, we do, which is a problem.   Freda Uwa ** 41:20 Yeah, that's right, Michael. And that's, it's really sad how the world has turned humans against humans. And that's, that's not the world we want to see. You know, I'll tell you something that's a renowned writer in Nigeria, Chimamanda dice, she spoke about the evil word for love. IBO is my local dialect, my native tongue, and the evil word for love, love is if unanya And that, what that literally translates to is, I see you, so Michael, if I love you, I see you beyond anything else. I see you beyond your abilities, beyond your color, beyond any other identity marker that defines you. I just see your soul. So sometimes I feel like we African language is not fully the English doesn't do the English language doesn't do justice to the weight of our native tongue, right? So that's love seeing humans, seeing who you are, for who you are, nothing beyond that. So that's really, that's, that's the world I look forward to having, for sure. And   Michael Hingson ** 42:36 it is so important that we all look at each other for who we are because one characteristic doesn't define us, blindness doesn't define me, your being from Nigeria doesn't define you. It's part of your experience, but it doesn't define you, and it shouldn't.   Freda Uwa ** 42:57 Yeah, right, yeah, absolutely, yeah. Then   Michael Hingson ** 43:01 we have politicians, and they're all defined by what they do when we can pick on them. So it's okay, that's a smart move. But, but, but really, you know, it's one characteristic or whatever doesn't define us. It is part of our makeup, but it doesn't define us. And I think that's very important, that we really understand that we are the sum of everything that we do and that we are, and a lot of what we do and what we are comes from the choices that we make. And that's why I really like unstoppable mindset, because it's a podcast that really helps to show people who listen and watch that they are more unstoppable than they think they are, and what we really need to do is to bring that unstoppability out in everyone, and if it comes out in the right way, it also means that we learn how to work more closely with each other. And I think it is important that we start having more of a sense of community throughout the whole world. I   Freda Uwa ** 44:04 like that, Michael and I like your tie into the unstoppable mindset, like it's in the mind. Yeah, the seed is planted in the mind, and that's where it blossoms, and it's all the environment you give to that seed. How are you cultivating your thoughts? How are you, what are you feeding your thoughts with, right? So, how are you accepting values and projecting values and all of that? So it's in the mind. And so once the mindset is unstoppable, you can thrive, you can bloom, you can become, you can be established in every sphere that you choose. So that's, that's, that's the goal, really so, yeah, that's the unstoppable mindset for sure.   Michael Hingson ** 44:45 Yeah, it's very important. And I think that we all usually underestimate ourselves, and we need to work on not doing that. We need. To demand more of ourselves about what we do, and if we do that, and the more of that that we do, we'll find that we can go out of our what people call comfort zones, a whole lot more, and we'll find that we can do a lot more than we think that we can.   Freda Uwa ** 45:17 Yeah, and I like that. And to your point, Michael, I also, I also feel like we also need to give ourselves credits for all of what we've been through. Yeah, keep yourself the the empathy, like, take time, take a break, recharge and come back right. Like I said, growth isn't always linear. Sometimes you need to take those pauses and recognize that you need to stop, recharge and then go for it, right? So just give yourself credit for showing up. That's it. That's enough, right? You've shown up, that's enough. You've done the step one. That's enough. Show yourself some empathy, show yourself love, and that's the way it radiates to people around you, for sure,   Michael Hingson ** 46:02 I like the idea of showing yourself love you should and and I mean that, and I know that you do as well. Mean it in a positive way. It doesn't have anything to do with ego and thinking you're the greatest thing in the world since sliced bread, but it is recognizing who you are and showing yourself as much as anything that that love is also a significant part of or ought to be a significant part of your life.   Freda Uwa ** 46:29 Mm, hmm, yeah, absolutely. And show up for yourself. Show up for yourself. Yeah, you can be so many things to so many people, but how about yourself? Right? Don't show up for yourself and let yourself enjoy you as a person, right?   Michael Hingson ** 46:46 Well, I love to say, I used to say I'm my own worst critic, and I've learned that's not the right thing to say. The right thing to say is I'm my own best teacher, because I'm the only one that can really teach me. And I think that's so important to make things positive. And when something happens, it's not so positive, figure out what the issue is and how to address it, but you, but you can do that. We all can do that. Yes, right? So I think it's so important, and you can do that with   Freda Uwa ** 47:15 love as well, right? Yes, absolutely.   Michael Hingson ** 47:19 That's a good one. So you do a lot of work in managing projects and so on. So what? How did you how did you get to be a good project manager? Because that's part of, obviously, what you do. Was it something you were trained to do? You've picked up on. You have a natural talent for it?   Freda Uwa ** 47:35 Yes. So I've got training in project management. And of course, like it's I did events management back in Nigeria. So it's all of that, that training, the experience and, of course, natural talents to knowing how to manage people and little programs. So that's built into the training that I also had. So yeah, it's all of everything, a bit of everything, I would say,   Michael Hingson ** 47:58 What do you think makes a good leader. That's a toughie, I know. Oh, right, Michael, you   Freda Uwa ** 48:05 don't want to do this.   Michael Hingson ** 48:09 This sounds dangerous.   Freda Uwa ** 48:10 I know, right? So, yeah. So you know what I used to say? I try, I try to make people happy, right? But it's a really difficult job to be a leader, really difficult one. But my concept of leadership is showing people how to follow. So my concept is building leaders right modeling the way for people to follow. So a good leader is a servant leader. They are listening. And you're also wanting to build leaders, and that is giving empowering your following to do as you what you've done. So you're showing them you're doing it, and you're ensuring that you're leaving no one behind. So a good leader is leading and moving her team from behind. That's my That's That's the summary of what I would say. But then that doesn't always mean you're making people happy, because I always tell I say this sometimes, that if you want to make everybody happy, you go sell ice cream, you don't want to take a leadership role, because you you might hurt some people, for sure.   Michael Hingson ** 49:27 Well, I think also it's important to to say that good leaders, and you, you mentioned it, train other people and teach other people how to be leaders. I think one of the most important things, and I always said it to every person I ever hired, was I didn't hire you so I could boss you around my hiring you because you convinced me you could do the job I'm hiring you to do. But what you and I have to do together is to figure out how I can add value and. And enhance what you do. And that's really a tricky and challenging thing, because it isn't necessarily something that, as the official leader, if you will, is is best done by me. It's oftentimes better done by the people I hire who observe me and observe all that goes on around us. And who will come and say, here's how I think I can do better with your help, and here's how I how I think you can add value to what I do. And you know, I've hired a lot of people who can't do that. They can't go there. They're just not used to that kind of model. But I do know that the ones who who understand it and who accept it and who follow through on it, those people do really well, because we learn to compliment each other and their skills and my skills, which are different, but can coalesce together to mean that the sum of the parts, or the whole is greater than the sum of the parts, because we work together.   Freda Uwa ** 51:13 That's right, Michael, that's right. And you've said it right there. Like a good leader is only as good you as a leader, you're only as good as your team, right? So you want to make the team work, right? So, yeah, that's, that's, that's my view on leadership as well. What, what's my team doing, and how am I supporting them to to thrive and become,   Michael Hingson ** 51:36 yeah, yeah, that's, that's really important, and I think that's really a big part of leadership. Certainly, leadership has to motivate and and overall coordinate the efforts of what the team does, but the best leaders also know when to let someone else take the lead because they've got better skills in a particular arena or project than someone someone else does   Freda Uwa ** 52:05 absolutely, yeah, yeah, for sure. So,   Michael Hingson ** 52:09 in addition to being the executive director of independent living Canada, what else do you do? What are your other passions or hobbies, or what other kinds of things do you like to get involved in   Freda Uwa ** 52:22 alright, that's fun. I am a red seal endorsed chef. So I cook. I love to cook. That's my escape. I cook for family. I cook for friends. I'm involved in my local community here in Saskatoon, and my local cultural community. So all of that are the things I do, and more. So I am just about publishing my first book I started a long time ago. And so, yeah, I'm also an author at night. And yeah, so yeah, I'm excited about my book. It's called Jollof life, and I'm excited for sure. Yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 53:04 when will it be published?   Freda Uwa ** 53:09 I don't have a date yet, but I will, I will let you know soon enough.   Michael Hingson ** 53:14 So roughly, when do you think it will be published? Just, I mean, is it six months away, a year or three months or   Freda Uwa ** 53:20 I'm thinking, I'm thinking, six months away. Okay,   Michael Hingson ** 53:24 okay, cool. Well, that's exciting. That's exciting that you're, you're working on a book.   Freda Uwa ** 53:32 So do you know what Jollof is? Michael, no, what is that? Tell me. Let me. Let me coach you. So Jollof is it's a dish in Africa. It's, it's a type of rice that is cooked into my tomato, tomato, tomato broth and meat stock. And it's really, really flavorful. It's red, it's rich, and all of that. It's so good that, like I have, I'm a caterer in Nigeria. I know I need to say that when I was in Nigeria, I was a caterer. So if you go to an event, you must have a stand for Jollof rice. So it's really, it's really that good that there is a saying in Nigeria that any party without Jollof rice is just a meeting, right? There you go. It's, that is that good? So I call Jollof right, the queen of the buffet. So it's, it has to be there. It just has to be there. And it's so relevant that there is an online feud amongst African countries of Who makes the best job, right? So it's, that good, right? So I took that idea and turned that into life. What's what life that is, what makes you so relevant at what you do, and that's why I'm I switched that around to Jollof life, right? Just standing out and being the queen of your life, or the. Of your life and owning that space and just being as relevant and and having to dominate your space. So I cooked through a part of the love, right, while writing that book, and I was expressing myself through the Arabs and the flavors and cooking life through that book. So that's what the book is about.   Michael Hingson ** 55:18 Oh, that's exciting. And it makes sense that that's the title. And I kind of figured maybe that was sort of what it was when you said jolla life. But it makes, makes perfect sense, what's your favorite thing to cook?   Freda Uwa ** 55:32 And now, now that you now that you know, then it's Jollof. Of course. It's chill off.   Michael Hingson ** 55:39 What's your second favorite thing to cook. Oh,   Freda Uwa ** 55:42 pasta. Okay. I kind of feel like, I mean, earlier in my blood, right? So I love to cook pasta. That's   Michael Hingson ** 55:52 pretty cool. Do you make your own pasta from scratch or,   Freda Uwa ** 55:57 Oh, I do. I do, yes. So I Buy store bought ones, but I also make mine from scratch too. Yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 56:03 I bet it tastes better when you make it from scratch though. Oh,   Freda Uwa ** 56:07 it's so good. Michael,   Michael Hingson ** 56:10 that's exciting. Well, and your book is coming. So what other things do you like to do besides independent living and and cooking or nutrition?   Freda Uwa ** 56:22 So, yeah, I'm, I'm involved in my local community, cultural community of women, so we are out dancing sometimes, and, you know, having local events. So that's something else that keeps me busy in the weekend. And I love, I love that I'm still, I'm able to to connect with the my culture here in Canada as well. So yeah, those are the things I love, family. I love spending time with my family. That's I've got men in my house and like that. I teach sometimes, and I say that I live with four men, right? So three of those are my boys, and one is my husband. So I take some time to have the boy time. So I'm also, I'm also, I suck myself in that as well. So I do some boy activities. So I, yeah, so yeah, that's my, my downgrade.   Michael Hingson ** 57:13 But you gotta do some girl activities too.   Freda Uwa ** 57:17 That's, that's when I have my me time. Yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 57:20 What's important to do? And the boys probably go off and do their things too. How old are the boys? Yeah, I've   Freda Uwa ** 57:27 got a 14 year old, an 11 year old and an eight year old.   Michael Hingson ** 57:32 Ah, so are boys? No girls, no,   Freda Uwa ** 57:37 none. Yet,   Michael Hingson ** 57:40 there's another project for you. Oh, Michael,   Freda Uwa ** 57:46 whoopee, yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 57:48 I understand. No, I I appreciate that. It's, it's, that's, it's something, well, you have, you've had a lot of experiences. What do you think, or how do you think your overall life journey has made your mindset what it is.   Freda Uwa ** 58:09 Oh, boy, Michael, is I again, I said I spoke about growing and evolving. So that's the mindset. I am not there yet, like I feel like I'm not there yet. Yeah, I'm still I'm still growing and involved evolving. So it's just not being satisfied or settling for nothing short of the best. I don't like to use the word perfection, but I want to keep going and keep pushing and getting better than my just growing and getting better than yesterday. Yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 58:46 going and growing. And that's that's important. Well, with that in mind, if you had the opportunity to do it, what would you go back and tell your 10 year old younger self? What would you tell that 10 year old Frida, and what and more important, if you told her, would she listen? But anyway, what would you tell her?   Freda Uwa ** 59:08 She was loud. For sure she was loud. I know she'll be. She was hyperactive, so that I know, so I will let her know one step at a time you have made huge progress. You have made huge progress. I am so proud of you. I am indeed living your dreams, and I'm hoping that I have checked off most of the boxes that you've always wanted to do. So that's what I would say to my 10 year old, Frida, and I hope that she listens to that.   Michael Hingson ** 59:46 Yeah, that's the trick, of course, is with any of us is to to get the younger of us, or younger people in general, to listen all too often we just think we know everything, and it's so difficult to get people to step back and. It's one of the things that I think we really, collectively as a society, need to do a lot more of, which is at the end of the day, at the end of every day, step back. Think about what happened. How can you improve what happened? Even the good stuff, but especially the things that didn't necessarily go as you planned. Step back and look at them and adopt a mindset that you want to teach yourself how to do it better, whatever it is that that is that has got to be a way that we can help get others and ourselves to listen more than we tend to do.   Freda Uwa ** 1:00:33 Mm, hmm, yes, for sure, and and looking to give back as well. Like, are you coaching and mentoring people. So, yeah, yeah. So if there are any freedoms out there, you can always reach out to people that would speak and leave seeds in your hearts of greatness, like see the good in every situation. Like I did, see a good in the conversation that I I heard about that lady or that woman at the time. So that is a good in every situation you meet, right? So you pick the seed that you want, you want, and then water it and nurture it to grow and grow, you always find,   Michael Hingson ** 1:01:13 yeah, and I think that we, we can do that. We can do a lot more of that than we tend to do, but I think it's important that we we do our best. And you talked about servant leadership, and it's as much about serving yourself and your soul as it is about being a servant leader to other people. Absolutely. And the thing that we never, well, I won't say we never, but the thing that we don't do nearly as much as we probably could, is listen to our own inner voice that probably has the answers we seek, if we would but learn to listen for them. Mm,   Freda Uwa ** 1:01:45 hmm, absolutely, yeah. And I like I like that to your point, serve yourself too, right? So for seven leaders, serve yourself. Listen to yourself, take those pauses, give yourself credit for all your hard work. And you know, sometimes you get that guilt when you want to spoil yourself. I'm like, Okay, this body made this money, right? So I need to take care of this body. So that's, that's, yeah, that's, that's a way to give yourself some credit, like physical treats, yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 1:02:17 yeah, physical treats. And not necessarily overdoing it, but physical treats and and mental treats too. This this weekend is a holiday in the United States, and I know that I'm going to take some downtime just to to kind of relax. I think it's important that we all do that all too often when people go on vacations. I'm sure it's true up there too, but it's so true down here, they go on a vacation, they go somewhere, they do a lot of hiking and a lot of work, and when they come back from the vacation, they need a vacation because they work so hard.   Freda Uwa ** 1:02:51 Oh yeah, tell me about it.   Michael Hingson ** 1:02:55 And it's it's important for us to learn to rest and let our, let our brains recuperate too. Let our, let our mind recuperate. But, you know, yeah,   Freda Uwa ** 1:03:06 it comes I, I needed that. I needed that for sure. It's a long weekend here in Canada as well. Oh yeah, so I'm just going to unplug and take some downtime and recharge, right? So it's needed for sure. It   Michael Hingson ** 1:03:21 is that's that's good. Well, you know this, this has been a lot of fun to do, and I've, I've enjoyed it, and I want to thank you for being on and I want to thank all of you who are listening to us and watching us. We really appreciate you being here. I hope that you've enjoyed what Frida has had to say, if people want to reach out to you and maybe talk with you in some manner or contact you, how do they do that? Hi.   Freda Uwa ** 1:03:47 Oh, so I'm on Instagram and I'm on LinkedIn, Freda Owa , and   Michael Hingson ** 1:03:53 yeah, is UWA, yes,   Freda Uwa ** 1:03:56 UWA, UWA. So that's Frida or right on LinkedIn. And of course, you can reach out to IO Canada website and ask to speak to me. So, yeah. Well, cool. Well,   Michael Hingson ** 1:04:12 I hope people will do that. I hope that everyone has enjoyed all of all of our discussions and your insights today, if you did enjoy it, we would really appreciate you. Wherever you're listening to us, give us a five star rating. We value your reviews and ratings very highly. If you'd like to reach out to me, you are welcome to do so. I'm easy to find. You can email me at Michael, H, I m, I C, H, A, E, L, H, I at accessibe, A, C, C, E, S, S, I, B, e.com, so I'd love to hear from you. If you know of anyone who you think would be a guest, that we ought to have an unstoppable mindset. Freda to you as well. If you know anyone who ought to be a guest, we want to hear from you. Just before we started this podcast, I received an email from someone who said, I got a great guest. You said, If. I found anyone that I should reach out, and I'm reaching out. I got this great person. So we hope that all of you will will do that, and that you will stick with us, and you'll be back next week to listen to more of or our next episode, more of unstoppable mindset. We really appreciate your time and value the fact that you're here. So once again, Freda, I want to thank you for being here. This has been a lot of fun, and we ought to do it again sometime,   Freda Uwa ** 1:05:28 for sure. Thanks for having me, Michael, and good luck, and very well done. Job with the unstoppable mindset.   **Michael Hingson ** 1:05:40 You have been listening to the Unstoppable Mindset podcast. Thanks for dropping by. I hope that you'll join us again next week, and in future weeks for upcoming episodes. To subscribe to our podcast and to learn about upcoming episodes, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com slash podcast. Michael Hingson is spelled m i c h a e l h i n g s o n. While you're on the site., please use the form there to recommend people who we ought to interview in upcoming editions of the show. And also, we ask you and urge you to invite your friends to join us in the future. If you know of any one or any organization needing a speaker for an event, please email me at speaker at Michael hingson.com. I appreciate it very much. To learn more about the concept of blinded by fear, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com forward slash blinded by fear and while you're there, feel free to pick up a copy of my free eBook entitled blinded by fear. The unstoppable mindset podcast is provided by access cast an initiative of accessiBe and is sponsored by accessiBe. Please visit www.accessibe.com . AccessiBe is spelled a c c e s s i b e. There you can learn all about how you can make your website inclusive for all persons with disabilities and how you can help make the internet fully inclusive by 2025. Thanks again for Listening. Please come back and visit us again next week.

A recording of the 2024 Western New York Independent Living Meet the Candidates Day held on October 22, 2024 and the Independent Living Center of the Genesee Region. Candidates in attendance were Steve Hawley; Candidate for Assembly, David Wagenhauser; Candidate for Congress, and Joseph Graff; Candidate for Genesee County Sheriff.

A recording of the 2024 Western New York Independent Living Meet the Candidates Day held on October 24, 2024 and the Independent Living Center of Niagara County. Candidates in attendance were Angelo Morinello; Candidate for Assembly, Jeffrey Elder; Candidate for Assembly, Robert Ortt; Candidate for State Senate, Brian Seaman; Candidate for District Attorney, and Michael Filicetti; Candidate for Sheriff.

A recording of the 2024 Western New York Independent Living Meet the Candidates Day held on October 16, 2024 and the Independent Living Center of Buffalo. Candidates in attendance were Darci Cramer; Candidate for Assembly, Mike Bobseine; Candidate for Assembly, John Moretti Jr; Candidate for State Senate, a representative for Diane Sare; Candidate for United States Senate, Christine Czarnik; Candidate for State Senate, Jeffrey Harrington; Candidate for Erie County Family Court Judge, Michael Keane; Candidate for District Attorney, Sean Ryan; Candidate for State Senate, Deborah Kilbourn; Candidate for Assembly, and Kara Buscaglia; Candidate for Erie County Family Court Judge.

We learn more about the history of accessible voting and why it's so difficult for disabled people to get to the polls with Cliff Perez from the Independent Living Center of the Hudson Valley in Troy, NY, and Kathleen Watt with the Spina Bifida Association of NYS. Rate, review, subscribe, and get in touch on Facebook/X @blaisinshows. Support Blaisin' Access Podcast by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/blaisin-access-podcast Send us your feedback online: https://pinecast.com/feedback/blaisin-access-podcast/1bce15d4-803b-4ab3-8e20-e7f6b2339ab6Read transcript

The Independent Living Center of the Hudson Valley, along with the Spina Bifida Association of New York State are hosting a Disability Voter Registration event. It's happening on Tuesday, September 24th and Thursday, September 26th from 2:30 p.m.-7:00 p.m. Blaise Bryant sits down with Cliff Perez from the Independent Living Center of the Hudson Valley and Kathleen Watt from the Spina Bifida Association of New York State.

For a disabled person who needs a ride, paratransit sounds great. You call them up, someone comes in a wheelchair accessible van and away you go! But, the reality is not that simple! Despite the fact that more vehicles are used for paratransit than any other type of public transportation, a plethora of issues plague paratransit services. What happens when your paratransit pickup is late and you're late for the meeting? What happens if your driver drastically exceeds the speed limit? And, why are so many of the vans so poorly maintained? According to a bus service in Rochester N.Y., “paratransit is a shared ride public service intended to serve as a safety net.”  It's for “individuals who, because of their disabilities, are unable to ride the ADA compliant RTS {Regional Transit Services] fixed-route bus for some or all their travel”. But, is the safety net really that safe? Nearly 70 thousand vehicles were available for typical peak paratransit services in the U.S. in 2013 – more than all the buses and trains combined. So, why isn't paratransit a shining star in the lives of people with disabilities? Helping us navigate all these complexities and more is disability advocate Christine Fitzgerald. More specifically, she is the community advocate for Silicon Valley's Independent Living Center. As a member serving on the Committee for Transportation and Mobility Access, she works at the local, state, and governmental levels to ensure that people with disabilities have their access and transportation needs met. Christine Fitzgerald This program was hosted and produced by Dominick Trevethan. Useful links: Silicon Valley Independent Living Center 10 Things You Didn't Know About Paratransit What is Paratransit? The post Paratransit Problems – Pushing Limits – July 5, 2024 appeared first on KPFA.

Since 1978, Independence, Inc. has served as a resource in Lawrence and Northeast Kansas through our mission to maximize the independence of people with disabilities through advocacy, peer support, training, transportation and community education. As an Independent Living Center, we work with people with various disabilities to live in the environments of their choice. We offer options, resources and advocacy to help people live fulfilling lives. Our vision is to work together in transforming our communities to be the best places in which people with disabilities can live, learn, work and play. https://independenceinc.org/

You may or may not be aware of ARC. This is an organization that for many years has championed the lives, rights and welfare of persons with Intellectual and developmental disabilities. One of the main funding sources for ARC is its thrift stores. Not only do these stores provide a revenue source, but they also provide employment for many persons with all kinds of disabilities.   Our guest, Lloyd Lewis is the CEO of the ARC Colorado Thrift Stores. For the past 18 years he has grown the Colorado network from approximately $2 million to a large operation employing several hundred persons and greatly helping to financially support the activities of ARC.   My conversation with Lloyd is far ranging and quite informative. We talk a lot about the broad subjects of disabilities including the myths and fears promulgated within society. Lloyd offers some keen observations on how we can and should work to make society more inclusive. Lloyd's education and earlier business and legal background afford him a unique and strong skill set for the job he does today. I think you will find our conversation well worth your time.     About the Guest:   Lloyd Lewis is the CEO of the Arc Thrift Stores of Colorado, one of Colorado's largest nonprofits, employers of persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and relief organizations. Under Lewis' tenure, Arc Thrift has funded over $250 million to nonprofit causes and charities since 2005.   Lewis is a passionate champion on a crusade to promote a new way to think about inclusion and diversity.   Lewis the recipient of a Civil Rights Award and received the World Citizenship Award from the International Civitans, an honor that has included such noted past winners as England's Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Eunice Shriver, the founder of Special Olympics.   Lewis sits on the board of The Arc of the United States Foundation and is treasurer of Inclusion International, a worldwide organization advocating for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, with members in over 100 countries.   Lewis has a 19-year-old son with Down syndrome.   He is the author of Why Not Them? a book about how his life was transformed by the birth of his son. In it, Lewis hopes to change the way our communities think about, connect with, and employee people with disabilities.   Why Not Them? is about a purpose-driven organization, arc Thrift Stores, whose mission is the success and inclusion of all of its employees, regardless of their abilities. It's about opening doors, challenging the way we do business, and touching hearts and minds.   Written from the perspective of a father and a businessman, it asks us all to join in the fight for inclusion and understanding. It is educational and moving and challenges us – as individuals and as a community – to perhaps look at the world just a little bit differently. ** ** Ways to connect with Dr.Jonathan :    https://lloydlewis.net/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lewislloyd/     About the Host: Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog.   Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards.   https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/   accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/   https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/       Thanks for listening!   Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!   Subscribe to the podcast   If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can also subscribe in your favorite podcast app.   Leave us an Apple Podcasts review   Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.     Transcription Notes: Michael Hingson ** 00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us.   Michael Hingson ** 01:21 Well, hi, everyone, and welcome to another edition of unstoppable mindset where inclusion and diversity in the unexpected meet. And we get to talk today about inclusion and diversity. And if we're not, we may hit the unexpected as well, which is anything except inclusion and diversity. But our guest today is Lloyd Lewis, who is the CEO of the ark, Colorado thrift stores. And we're going to talk about ark and the thrift stores and everything else under the sun and why he's doing it and all that. So I'm not going to talk much, because that's his job. So Lloyd, welcome to unstoppable mindset. We're glad you're here, Michael.   Lloyd Lewis ** 02:00 It's great to be with you. And I really appreciate our opportunity to get to know each other and have a conversation. Looking   Michael Hingson ** 02:06 forward to it. Now we're in Colorado, are you?   Lloyd Lewis ** 02:10 We're actually I have stores across Colorado, from Fort Collins in the North Pole in the south across what we call our front range. And also on our western slope. My company is headquartered in Lakewood, Colorado, which is just a little bit southeast of Denver. Okay, we are all across the state. I   Michael Hingson ** 02:31 get to be in Littleton in May for the board meeting of the Colorado Center for the Blind and Littleton.   Lloyd Lewis ** 02:37 Oh, nice. Very cool. Yeah, Littleton is isn't as the city very near to us where we have a store and a very successful operation. And it's a wonderful city. Well,   Michael Hingson ** 02:49 I'm going to have to make sure that when we're going to be there that maybe we can at least meet in person. That   Lloyd Lewis ** 02:58 would be great. Please let me know when you're here.   Michael Hingson ** 03:01 I will. I don't remember the date. But I think it's around the ninth of may. But I'll let you know.   Lloyd Lewis ** 03:06 Maybe we could meet at my warehouse. We have a lot of wonderful blind call center agents there with adapted software. They do an amazing job for us. And I think they would appreciate getting an opportunity to meet you and and get to know you a little bit.   Michael Hingson ** 03:22 I may just stay an extra day or come in a day early to do that.   Lloyd Lewis ** 03:26 That'd be very cool. Very well. In any case, why   Michael Hingson ** 03:29 don't we start with you if you would tell us maybe about kind of the early Lloyd growing up and all that. Yeah, the   Lloyd Lewis ** 03:36 early Lloyd grew up in Tacoma, Washington. And I have a lot of family there. And the early Lloyd moved around a bit. California bit Bakersfield, high point North Carolina and Oklahoma City. And I had a stepfather who was doing transfers as a FAA controller. And I grew up, you know, doing well in school and playing sports. And really appreciate where I grew up, where we can see Mount Rainier from my backyard. And we had covered playgrounds because it rained all the time. Not like the kind of rain you're getting now. But it rained a lot in Washington and I actually like rain if it's the appropriate level. Not the LA rain you got right now but I've always found it refreshing. You had some snow this year. We've had a lot of snow this year. And we had that this past weekend. We were expecting a couple inches we got eight or nine inches. And we're having better weather right now as we're speaking. But this weekend, we could get even more so it's you know, I just wish we weren't getting so much of this because it interferes with my stores. If the roads aren't drivable people aren't likely to be out On the road, visiting my stores. So hopefully it'll be milder than what they're predicting right now.   Michael Hingson ** 05:08 Just for a point of reference, we're recording this on February 6 2024. So that's why we're talking about rain and snow and everything else. And typically, a lot of the weather that starts out in California does go East and elsewhere. So it's probably going to be a follow up to the storm that we have here that that you get. But it's a very slow moving storm. And that's why it's been so crazy out here, because we've had so much rain since it's just stayed over us and dumped a lot of moisture.   Lloyd Lewis ** 05:40 We see it on the news media, and it's very, you know, concerning. It's a lot of damage there. And power outages. And, you know, we in Colorado, we are, you know, sorry, this is the experience that you are having. Yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 05:56 well, and we will we will deal with it, which is cool. But at least we can and the cities and the government is doing their best to try to keep up with it all.   Lloyd Lewis ** 06:06 Well, I hope they can.   Michael Hingson ** 06:07 I hope. So. You did you go to college in in Colorado, or   Lloyd Lewis ** 06:13 I did not I ended up going to undergrad at the University of Oklahoma, in Norman, Oklahoma, and got a degree in political science.   Michael Hingson ** 06:23 Now, why did you go there as opposed to sign close? And I was   Lloyd Lewis ** 06:27 I was in high school at the time there. My stepfather had transferred Oklahoma City because he was teaching at the FAA Academy which is located. Yes. And then when it came time to do my undergrad. I had some counselors who thought I should attend an IV instead, I followed my friends to Norman, Oklahoma. And that was my undergraduate education.   Michael Hingson ** 06:53 Then what did you do? Then   Lloyd Lewis ** 06:55 I followed a girlfriend out to Massachusetts. From there, I did a paralegal training program in Atlanta, then hired at the Tennessee Valley Authority in Knoxville, where I spent a few years as a paralegal and applying for a paralegal job with an investment firm in Philadelphia, because I'd never been in the big city in the Northeast. And I ended up prior to grad school, being a municipal investment banker working on municipal financing projects, ultimately with Smith Barney, which Wow, fairly prominent firm at the time. Yes.   Michael Hingson ** 07:33 Did girlfriend follow you around or?   Lloyd Lewis ** 07:36 No, she that didn't work. He did her own thing. She actually she's done quite well. She went to do a PhD at Princeton and English, and became a professor at the University of Mississippi in a very successful career.   Michael Hingson ** 07:51 That's great. So did you ever find another girlfriend that took?   Lloyd Lewis ** 07:57 I did? Oh, good. Okay, I found a few. And then from Philadelphia, we thought the 1986 tax bill would disrupt our industry. So I took the Graduate Management Admission Test the GMAT application test for business school, I got admitted to Duke to Michigan to some other schools and Oh, my word and versity of Chicago. Which is, you know, considered, I guess, the best business school in America, per US News rankings. And I did an MBA graduate in 88, with a specialty in finance. It came out to Colorado in Boulder with IBM, as a senior financial analyst in their executive training program, and from there did a series of companies. I was director of finance for publicly traded medical equipment company. I was a CFO for high tech ultimately sold to micron. And then in 2003, my world changed. I had a little boy born with Down syndrome, whose name   Michael Hingson ** 09:07 I'm sorry, his name again. Kennedy.   Lloyd Lewis ** 09:11 Okay, and I got involved in scientific research advocacy. I met a neuroscientist at the University of Colorado working in that arena. And we partnered up and advocated at CU University Colorado across the country to try to get more funding for Down syndrome research at the time. It really didn't receive much funding and met a philanthropist daughter, whose father had founded stars encore she has a little girl my son's age with Down syndrome. We partnered up and ultimately that family created what's now the largest world's largest Down Syndrome research facility. The Linda cernik Institute named for the neuroscientist that I met and worked with initially on advocacy. My whole world changed with the birth of my son candidate What?   Michael Hingson ** 10:00 What caused you to really decide to make that change and go away from being a financial analyst and being very successful in the corporate world to clearly something else, just just because of his birth? Or did things happen that changed your life or when   Lloyd Lewis ** 10:17 he was born? You know, a lot of parents if they have a child with Down syndrome, you know, surprise them at birth, they might get anxious or depressed or angry or concerned. For whatever reason, none of that occurred to me, I just thought he was great would always be great. And I immediately thought about trying to help Kennedy, because people with Down Syndrome and intellectual disabilities have a lot of challenges and obstacles. So I went to a personal development seminar. I announced my goal in life was to raise $25 million in Down Syndrome research and Everyone applauded. And when I got down from the podium with that, holy smokes, I don't have money, I don't know anybody with money. And ultimately, the philanthropist daughter that I met, that family created the world's largest Down Syndrome Research Institute gifted with 32 million from that family believer in pointing the bat to centerfield, and, you know, shooting for the moon during the moon shot. And a few years later, unfortunately, the neuroscientist who was my friend and partner passed away from an aneurysm I took was my best friend at the time, I took a hiatus from Down Syndrome research, and was recruited to our by a friend that I had at IBM, and I joined arc, Mio five as CFO. Why? Well, I thought I could take my business skills and help create funding programs that would help people like my son.   Michael Hingson ** 11:56 So tell me more about Ark. So where it came from, what it is, and so on, if you would. Ark   Lloyd Lewis ** 12:03 thrift stores was created in 1968. To find Ark advocate chapters, who helped people with intellectual disabilities by jobs, housing, medical services, services and schools, affiliated with the Ark United States, the ark in the United States was the first parent organization during the 1940s, to advocate for humane treatment in large institutions where people like my son were being abused. And had my son been born in the 1940s. We would have been told, send him to Tunis, and forget about him, he won't walk or talk, tell people he died, don't tell people about him. But the Ark United States set about trying to create more humane conditions in these large institutions followed by deinstitutionalization advocacy, mainstreaming inclusion, public education, people like my son now live with their families, they participate in their communities. And the arcade United States with chapters all across the country, one of the top 10 charities in America does direct services and advocacy all across the United States, including advocacy in DC, with Congress and people, you know, important departments of the US government. So the art chapters of Colorado, all across Colorado, 15 art chapters, work with 1000s and 1000s of families and kids and adults. And again, try to help them achieve goals that, you know, a lot of us take for granted. How to find this job, how to find a place to live, you know, how to get your medical needs cared for, you know, how to be treated with respect in schools. And in our world, as as much progress has been made. You know, just through inclusion, people like my son have gained, on average 20 IQ points going from severe to mild impairment, moderate impairment to moderate to mild impairment. But still, there are tremendous challenges. 80% of people with intellectual dis 80% of women with intellectual disabilities will be abused. 40% multiple times 40% of men. There's an 80% unemployment rate for people with intellectual disabilities, the highest in the country. There's extreme shortage of housing and supports, there's a higher need for medical care. schools still have segregated classrooms for people with intellectual disabilities. So a lot of progress has been made, but there's a lot of progress yet to be made that the arcs are working.   Michael Hingson ** 14:54 Now is arc today an acronym for something. Now   Lloyd Lewis ** 14:57 it's no longer an acronym. Back in a Yeah, the word retarded, which is never used was actually an improvement over previous descriptions like Mongoloid ism, etc. It's no longer acceptable, right? It's just our it is just art today legally things are name as did the United States as have all the art chapters across the country, which   Michael Hingson ** 15:19 is, which is great and which makes perfect sense. And I kind of always wondered that whether and I sort of thought that that was the case. Well, my experience of being blind going back to when I was born in 1950, doctors told my parents the same thing, send him off to a home because no blind child can ever grow up to be a contributor to society. And he's just going to be a drain on your family. And that was the the tent the tone and the trend at the time, it was even worse than the other countries where they would just dispose of kids with disabilities when they were born.   Lloyd Lewis ** 15:57 Right, you know, we have many blind friends in Colorado, and they've all had similar experiences growing up, and challenges and obstacles. And, and, you know, our deep belief is that people with all disabilities, whether it's mental health, blindness, intellectual disabilities, physical disabilities, should be treated equally and afforded the same opportunities through education or employment as anyone else in society. And that's what we endeavored to do.   Michael Hingson ** 16:31 Being a little bit of a rabble rouser and troublemaker, of course, my position is, every person in society has a disability. And for most all of you, it's the fact that you're like, dependent. And if the lights go out, and you don't, well, if the lights go out, and you don't have a smartphone, or a flashlight nearby, you're in a world of trouble. Yeah,   Lloyd Lewis ** 16:51 I mean, everyone has issues of some type, whether it's, they have, you know, physical, physical issues, or, you know, they have hearing issues, or issues related to aging, or mental health. Or for some people, it's alcohol, some people, it's drugs, sure,   Michael Hingson ** 17:14 but I really, but I really do seriously choose to believe that life dependence is a disability, the only thing is that Thomas Edison invented the light bulb, and now light on demand has become so ubiquitous, that your disability is covered up, but it doesn't change the fact that it is one of the things that most people have to contend with in some way or another. Well,   Lloyd Lewis ** 17:36 you know, thank you for sharing that, you know, and you are absolutely correct if to do anything in our household, before we go to sleep depended on light. And without light. And without vision, I would be completely immobilized.   Michael Hingson ** 17:57 So and and the reality is, of course, you don't have to be but that's the way we're, we mostly are brought up. And the result is that we keep talking about blind people as being visually impaired, which is so wrong on so many levels, because visually, we're not now we look, we don't look different, simply because we're blind, necessarily. And impaired, is what some of the professionals in the field have made it but impaired or not. And it's it's really wrong for people to ever accuse anyone who has a so called traditional disability, physical or intellectual, of being impaired, because that means you're really just comparing us to someone else. And that's so unfortunate.   Lloyd Lewis ** 18:45 Well, thank you for sharing that. That's, that's very profound. And that's very meaningful and impactful. So thank you for sharing that. But   Michael Hingson ** 18:54 it is, it is something that we, we all deal with, in one way or another, and it's just kind of the way it is. So if we, you know, in looking at a lot of all of this, what about EI and people who are dealing with intellectual disabilities and so on.   Lloyd Lewis ** 19:18 But really, I just came to this conversation, from a meeting with my dei director, who happens to be African American, and our senior staff of 10 plus individuals, talking about the importance of Dei, with respect to people who have intellectual disabilities, with respect to broadening the tent as much as possible across the company for people with various various challenges in their own lives. They might be homeless, or they might be, you know, from poor economic or backgrounds, or they might be immigrants or refugees or veterans or formerly incarcerated or black or Latino, female, or we just, you know, every, every part of our society, we like to reach out to as much as we can to offer opportunities to be involved with us. We're very diverse company, which is pervert produced our latest EDI report. And we believe that diversity makes us all stronger, that everyone's different in some way. How   Michael Hingson ** 20:41 did we get most people in society, however, to recognize that we're not including disabilities in the diversity discussion, if you talk to most experts about diversity, they'll talk to you about sexual orientation, and race and gender and so on. And they won't deal with disabilities at all physical or intellectual or developmental. I   Lloyd Lewis ** 21:07 think it's a matter of awareness. I think it's a matter of reaching out and having these discussions, I presented to a group of two or 300 CEOs last year about the importance of including people with intellectual disabilities in their dei programs. I've spoken to national organizations. I've written a book, I'm at work on a movie with a film producer. And to me, I think it's a matter of, we need to reach out, we need to bring this to people's attention. And we need to advocate for our communities. And make sure we're included in DDI programs and discussions, I mean, that the ones that people talk about are more than deserving they're really deserving. But we are no less or no more deserving than other parts of dei programs, right need to be speaking out on behalf of people with disabilities to make sure that we're included in these conversations and in these programs.   Michael Hingson ** 22:15 Well, and we need to teach and help people with disabilities speak out as well, because the reality is that we tend to be ignored. And it's it's so unfortunate, you know, we're talking this month in February, about Black History Month, and so on. In October, it will be in Disability Employment Awareness Month and Disability Awareness Month. But you won't see anywhere near the visibility and the publicity and the talk about it. Even though it's a larger minority than black history, or blacks or African Americans or any of the other minorities who get recognized at one time or another during the year.   Lloyd Lewis ** 22:55 I think it's on us, I think it's on us to really speak out. And, you know, make sure we're represented, make sure we're included, make sure we're part of these conversations. And we need to bring this to people's attention and advocate, just like other groups have that advocated. And they're no less deserving of more than us. But it's really on us, it's on you and me and, and others disability leaders and people with disabilities to make sure that we have seats at the table.   Michael Hingson ** 23:33 Yeah. And I think that, that is a lot of it. We've we've got to get Congress and the states to do more to stiffen the laws and give us more of the laws that we need to have. Even though it should be a no brainer to do so. We don't find that legislators work nearly as fast as they ought to on some of these things. For example, we're just seeing reasonable movement on a bill that would require medical devices to be accessible. We still have debates regularly in the states and even in Congress about the fact that while the Americans with Disabilities Act should cover the internet, and the Department of Justice finally said, so there's still a lot of argument about it. And the result is a lot of places say well, I don't need to really make my website accessible because the Internet didn't come until long after the the ADEA. So the ADEA can't add in any way involve the internet, which is a ridiculous argument. But yet it is what we encounter.   Lloyd Lewis ** 24:52 Well, that is a problem. And you know if we could turn out 50 to 100 people to go talk to our legislators Talk to them session after session, day after day, week after week, we will get their attention. And we will make sure that we get these kinds of issues. You know, I chair five disabilities in Colorado, one of which is a Colorado cross disability coalition representing people with all kinds of disabilities. And the leader of that organization has become very prominent as an advocate, we have a policy aide for the lieutenant governor, who is my co chair for that organization. And we are making big strides in Colorado, getting lots of good legislation, but there's still there's still advocacy to be done. And we're talking about creating a permanent disability office as part of the governor's cabinet. But it again, it's on us to go after these issues. To get the attention of the decision makers, the legislators, the corporation's to make sure that we're not ignored to make sure that we're not back to the bus.   Michael Hingson ** 26:07 Yeah, it's it is a process and there's been growth, there's been movement, but there still is so much more that that does need to be done. And we also have to be proud of our own history and, and recognize that we've made a lot of progress. But there is a lot you have to do.   Lloyd Lewis ** 26:28 I am chair of something called the Atlanta Community Foundation, which is was a sister organization of Atlanta's community Inc, which was the nation's second created Independent Living Center initially on it, or it's helping people move out of nursing homes and get independent living skills. And we manage 200 affordable apartments for people with cross disabilities. And part of the history of this organization is the formation of an organization called adapt, which you're probably familiar with, which does all kinds of advocacy, nationally, nationally has annual sins and protests. Famously, in the 1980s. A gentleman Wade Blank, would march with Dr. King was in Denver, and he was Associate Director for a nursing home where he tried to create, you know, fuller lives, more enjoyable lives are some of the residents, his reward was getting fired. When he got fired. He started suing, you know, the nursing home, getting people removed from the nursing home and creating this independent living center. And one of the more notable actions he organized was something called the gang of 1919 people in wheelchairs, went out to a Denver bus stop as the bus rolled up, they rolled in front, some roll behind another bus rolled up, they roll behind that one. And that led to the first accessible buses in the country here in Denver, that spread out across the country. But they're you know, Berkeley and Denver are two prominent centers of disability history in America.   Michael Hingson ** 28:41 A couple of years ago, I read an article that said that New York City Manhattan specifically made a commitment that they're going to make, I think it was 95%. But it may have been even higher of all subway stations accessible, which meant wheelchair accessible, and so on. And I and I know, having lived in the area and been on a lot of those subway platforms. That is a monumental task, because some of them   Michael Hingson ** 29:20 I'll be interested to see how they create the space to put an elevator in to get people down, which is not that it shouldn't be done. But it was a pretty major commitment. And I gather it's moving forward because I'm not hearing anything that saying that people aren't moving forward with it.   Lloyd Lewis ** 29:35 Well, that hopefully they fulfill that commitment. Yeah. It's again, as you say, it's very important to listen to our community. And make sure that we are included to make sure that we have accessible means to live just like everybody else. How   Michael Hingson ** 29:54 does this whole lack of in some senses regarding disabilities dei I affect the civil liberties of people with disabilities.   Lloyd Lewis ** 30:06 Well, you know, if you're discriminated against in employment, you know, that is a financial impact that is unequal and unfair in very disturbing, there's a very high rate of poverty in our community, which is, needs to be addressed. And those are things that we are working on. And people need the ability to have equal opportunities employment. Similarly, in housing, housing needs to be accessible, it needs to be affordable, needs to be available to people with disabilities, medical care, there's higher needs of medical care. Yeah, there needs to be more attention in Medicaid and other insurance programs to make sure that our community get the kind of medical care that that that they deserve, as human beings, as citizens who should be treated equally with everyone else, you shouldn't have to be rich to get medical care. Yeah, you shouldn't have to be without the disability and the way we think of disability to get appropriate medical care, similarly, in schools, there's still segregated classrooms and school. Yeah, in the world of abuse. People with disabilities, extreme experience higher rates of abuse than others, just in every aspect of society. We are we are hurting people with disabilities if they're not treated fairly and equally with equal opportunities. We   Michael Hingson ** 31:52 were talking earlier about the whole issue of becoming more involved in the conversation and what you were just talking about reminded me of something. My wife, when she was alive, was in a wheelchair her whole life, we were married for two years, and she passed in November of 2022. One of the things that she loved to do and so she got me to watching it as well was television shows like The Property Brothers on HGTV, or they call Property Brothers. Okay. And it's to get two twins, twins, who will go renovate homes for people and, and so on. And they, they do build some, but the thing about it, and there are so many shows like it, that are all involved on Home and Garden Television, with renovating homes, fixing up homes and so on. I don't even even though it would make sense to do, especially since we have an aging population, what I don't see is any of these people making a part of their vernacular or vocabulary or modus operandi, putting in appropriate things to consider the fact that somebody in the future who may get that home will have a disability. And, and so the result is we don't, you know, they don't do it. I think I saw one Property Brothers show where it was a wheelchair issue, or there was a person in a chair. But they don't do it as a matter of course, and it would make sense to do. And some architects will point out why it's sensible to do.   Lloyd Lewis ** 33:36 That's a very important point. Again, we need to be reaching out to the cable show producers, we need to be reaching out to the media, we need to be reaching out the networks, the streamers, Netflix, Amazon, we need to be reaching out to the builders, the builders associations, they can't ignore accessibility. Accessibility needs to be able to be built in everywhere, everywhere. And it's unacceptable to gloss over our community and not really listened to our requests for accessibility and inclusion is just not acceptable.   Michael Hingson ** 34:21 I suppose. And I hear what you're saying. And I don't argue with with that at all. But I do suppose on the one hand, where where should people focus most of their attention? I know in the National Federation of the Blind, for example. Well, the whole issue of access in the way we're talking about for people in chairs and other people isn't quite the issue. It really is. But at the same time, how do you decide where to focus your efforts?   Lloyd Lewis ** 34:57 Well, you know, I I'm very involved in cross disability advocacy. I'm very involved in affordable housing integrated for people with disabilities. I'm very involved in a state disability funding committee funding innovative disability projects on the ark of us Foundation Board, working in the arena, trying to assist them expand their funding capacity. I'm on an international board with members in 100 countries because as much challenge as we have in America, in some parts of the world, it's even Oh, yeah, extremely challenging, and concerning and troubling. And I'm very involved in my own company, and providing relief to our community and food, food insecure, employment opportunities to marginalized populations. And we've hired hundreds of employees with disabilities to my company. You know, where one focuses, it is really dependent on one's primary concerns. And one's bandwidth. I am fortunate to be blessed with an ability to sort of, you know, do a lot of things all at once. And so I try to do as much as I can as much as many different arenas as I can. But, you know, whatever the primary issues are for the National Federation of the Blind. If that's one's main concern, you know, go for it, you know, start reaching out to as many people as you can,   Michael Hingson ** 36:53 yeah. Well, and, and they do. But I, but I think that the, the challenge is, is for all of us so overwhelming, but it doesn't mean that we shouldn't be dealing with it. And one of the reasons that is overwhelming is that there are so many myths and so many poor attitudes and misconceptions about things like employing persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities, or any kind of a disability, you know, what are some of the kind of myths that you encounter every day? And how do you? How do you deal with some of those?   Lloyd Lewis ** 37:30 Well, in my company, it's relatively easy to deal with the myths because I'm at the top of the company. So we don't have the same kinds of barriers and challenges that employees face in other companies. We are completely accessible, we are completely responsible, responsive to the needs of people with disabilities who work for us. With other companies, you know, it becomes more difficult because there are miss that it's going to be too costly, or there's going to be too many accommodations, or they're going to be safety issues, or legal issues or what have you. My response to all of that is, you know, we have to be provide accessibility to our employees, well make accommodations for all our employees. Well, so it's no no different than making accommodation for a person with disability than it is for someone who, who needs some time away with their kids or time away with an illness. Or they need a flexible schedule, or they need some kind of medical support. We need to think about providing accessibility and accommodations for everybody, regardless of ability or disability. Well, here's   Michael Hingson ** 38:51 another example. And one of the reasons I brought it up is to get to this point. So take the average employee who doesn't supposedly have a disability, right? What does any company provide them with? We provide them and I tell me this in a facetious way, but we provide them with lights so that they can see to walk down the hall and go to the restroom, and so on. We provide them with monitors and computers, and especially the monitors so they can see what it is that they have to do on the computer. We provide them with rooms that have coffee machines, so they can get coffee and other things like that. You know, we provide so many reasonable accommodations to the average employee period, that why should it be difficult to provide specific accommodations for maybe a subgroup of those people? And the answer is, of course, it shouldn't be a problem. If I go to work for a company, I instead have a monitor because I'm not going to use a monitor, although typically, computers come with monitors, but I need a screen reader to verbalize the the information that comes across the screen. But I'll get the argument well, but we didn't budget for that. And my response is, yes, you did. You provide what it is that people need in order to be able to access the information on the computer, just because what I use is a little bit different. We, a part of the conversation needs to be that we're providing lots of accommodations for everyone already.   Lloyd Lewis ** 40:35 Yeah, I completely agree. And in my own experience, it's no more costly to provide accommodations to people with disabilities and people who supposedly don't have disabilities. And it's just there's not really an expense differential anyway. And they were even if there were, we need to treat people humanely. People opportunities, well, where are we at as a society with our morality? Yeah, if we don't help everyone who can use our support? What what does that say about our society, even   Michael Hingson ** 41:11 if there were significant differences in expenses, which we know there are not. But even if there were, the bottom line is that any company that is doing anything, can figure out ways to offset those costs. But, but the reality is, there aren't significant differences at all. We   Lloyd Lewis ** 41:32 now live in this world of artificial intelligence. We now live in this world of the cloud. We now live in this world of extreme technical advances, medical advances. There's really no excuse not to support everyone in society, and give them reasonable accommodations. There's just no excuse. And that's   Michael Hingson ** 41:57 one of the reasons is that I object to the concept of being called visually impaired, because impaired is such a negative term, when you start to say anyone is impaired compared to anyone else. Everyone has impairments of one sort or another. And the reality is that we need to get that kind of concept out of our vocabularies, and least out of our mindsets. Well, I   Lloyd Lewis ** 42:23 again, I totally agree. Yeah. They totally agree.   Michael Hingson ** 42:27 So this is probably a little redundant, but what are some of the, the myths and fears that and this gets back to the whole conversation about disabilities? And I think why we're not so much included, but what are some of the myths and fears that people typically have about all of us, and especially I think, even more so with intellectual and developmental disabilities,   Lloyd Lewis ** 42:49 safety cost, legal accommodations, but we experience No, in my company, we have 450 employees with intellectual develop developmental disabilities, 450, Down syndrome, autism, cerebral palsy, all forms of types of developmental disability, my company has never been more successful. I got the company near 37. When we were doing all of 2 million in earnings, we have had 17 of 18 record years only interrupted by the COVID. year, we're now doing 20 million. And I've hired 450 employees with developmental disabilities.   Michael Hingson ** 43:34 How old is the company today?   Lloyd Lewis ** 43:36 is 55 years old? All right, so   Michael Hingson ** 43:39 in 18 years, look what you've done. Yeah, and,   Lloyd Lewis ** 43:42 you know, I attribute a lot of that to employ people with disabilities, love to contribute, love to work in teams are very, you know, positive and inspirational to their fellow employees. And they just appreciate being able to be part of the workforce, and do what the rest of us do. And, you know, to me, I would do it in any company. If I were the head of IBM or the head of Facebook or Apple, I would do the same thing.   Michael Hingson ** 44:20 I would, I would submit that one of the advantages of hiring a person with any kind of a disability who thinks at all would tell you I'm going to be more loyal to you because I know how hard it was for me to get a job and the very fact that you gave me a job is going to want me to stay there because you made me an offer and in theory, you made me feel welcome. Why would I ever want to   Lloyd Lewis ** 44:50 leave boys with with disabilities are extremely low in the hate to miss work? We get to three feet of snow on the road and they want to come into work. I have to order them not to. Yeah, I believe all of our employees with disabilities are our blind agents or employees with intellectual disabilities or wheelchair users. They are extremely loyal, the Colorado's, and they can benefit from employment period that the Colorado   Michael Hingson ** 45:21 Center for the Blind in Littleton has actually purchased an apartment complex where all the students reside. And they have to learn independent living skills, learn how to keep up the apartments and so on. But they go every day to the Senator. So it usually means taking a bus, I think it's close enough that you can walk but not during the snow. But again, people do the same thing. They're very committed to being there to learning the skills that that need to be learned. And they do whatever is necessary to make it work out. And that's what it should be.   Lloyd Lewis ** 46:02 Yeah, again, total agreement you did acquire,   Michael Hingson ** 46:05 I would add one fear that you didn't mention. And I'll, I'll say it and then I'll fall aside a little bit. The fear is, I could become like you, I could get a disability, it could happen to me in a moment's notice. Having said that, the response is, how often when we start to deal with fear, do we just worry about things to death? That will never happen? The reality is most people won't get a dis become a person with a disability in any way. Why are you worrying about it?   Lloyd Lewis ** 46:46 Well, in the employment world, I agree with you. But as we age, more often than not, people eventually acquire some kind of disability, physical mental, cancer, Alzheimer's, you know, as we age, more or less well, true herb as well, not everybody. But I think part of it is not realizing that, you know, at, at the end of our lives, most people are dealing with issues that they didn't deal with earlier now. Sure.   Michael Hingson ** 47:25 And so they also weren't prepared for that either, which is part of what society really needs to do.   Lloyd Lewis ** 47:32 So I think people need a deeper empathy and understanding of, you know, people like my son are born with Down syndrome. And, you know, they have typically cognitive issues, resulting in IQs, less than 76. And, you know, it's not like they chose that live. It's not like, you know, they didn't do things in their life to prevent that happening. My son was born with an extra chromosome 21. But he's, he's a wonderful human being. And he deserves the same kind of opportunities, and treatment as everyone else in society,   Michael Hingson ** 48:19 will he have a job somewhere?   Lloyd Lewis ** 48:21 He, he's already working part time at one of my stores. And he's finishing his last year of high school transition. Cool. But I think people need to understand that a lot of people don't choose their so called disability. They're born with it. And people don't understand that later in life. Most people will probably have some kind of issue they deal with, and how would they like to be treated later in life? Right? What kind of respect they deserve later in life? What kind of treatment do they deserve later in life.   Michael Hingson ** 49:03 One of the wonderful things that happens at the Colorado Center, and that I've talked about before is that if you enroll there, and become a student, if you are low vision, as opposed to blind, that is totally blind. But if you have some eyesight, you will still do most of your work, your travel training and so on, under sleep shades. And you will learn to do that as a totally blind person. And the reason   Lloyd Lewis ** 49:33 pardon me but describe sleep shades for me. Sleep shades are   Michael Hingson ** 49:37 the things that some people put on at night when their lights so basically, covering your eyes or got it. Yeah, I forget the other terms that people use for them, but that's basically just so that you don't see any light. Okay? And the reason for it is many people who enroll or matriculate into the center with and have who have low vision are people who have retinitis pigmentosa or something else has occurred with them. And they will probably lose the rest of their vision. And the philosophy of the center is. This is the time for you to learn all about blindness. And really what blindness means. And by doing so, when you lose the rest of your eyesight, which is not to say you shouldn't use the ICU half, but when you lose the rest of it, which very well could happen, you'll already know what to do. And you don't have to go through a second psychological trauma, and learn things all over again, which I think is so important, because we teach people that blindness isn't the problem. And I think it's true with other disabilities as well. It's not the problem. It's our attitudes and our perceptions that are the real issue that we face.   Lloyd Lewis ** 50:56 Yeah, I very much appreciate that kind of thought process. It's,   Michael Hingson ** 51:01 it's pretty cool. One of the things that you have to do if you're going to graduate from the Senator, is you have to cook a lunch yourselves, for staff and all the students, which means you're usually cooking for between 70 and 80 people, and you get to do the whole lunch plan, the menu and everything. It's really excited on graduation day for anyone when that happens, because they've learned Linus has been gonna keep me from doing stuff.   Lloyd Lewis ** 51:32 Do you know Brenda Mosby does that name ring a bell? No. She's my co chair for the Colorado processability coalition. And she has low vision, I believe. And that's a person that is you remind me, I will email intro I think you would really enjoy me with Brenda, who has a lot of your experiences and philosophies. And I think she would be an important person for you to get connected with in Colorado.   Michael Hingson ** 51:59 Sure. And on top of everything else, we can get her on the podcast.   Lloyd Lewis ** 52:03 She would she would be great on the podcast,   Michael Hingson ** 52:08 always looking for guests. So anybody who has a person you think we I   Lloyd Lewis ** 52:13 guess be at work? Yes.   Michael Hingson ** 52:15 We're always looking. So anybody listening, if you've got a thought for a guest, we want to hear from you. But that's great. I'd love to meet her. And, and again, we're going to be in Colorado, we'll we'll work that out. I think it'll be a lot of fun to do. But I think that for the most part, we really do need to recognize that what people think about us and not necessarily the way reality really is.   Lloyd Lewis ** 52:47 Here, I mean people's misperceptions that people have intellectual disabilities as an example. If they're not connected to someone, they don't realize the full value and contribution someone like my son can make. What I'd say get to know him, and his personality, and his sense of humor. And you know, the things he enjoys? Yeah, his ability to verbal communication is a little tough for him because of some, you know, physical features. Yeah, sometimes a company down syndrome. But you can miss estimate what his real intelligence level is, because the verbal thing, but   Michael Hingson ** 53:33 I will bet he's not shy about voicing his opinion or articulating where he can.   Lloyd Lewis ** 53:37 He's not shy at all. In fact, he's kind of like the life of the party. And he loves to give speeches. And he is not embarrassed at all, to be in front of 1000s of people and get the microphone and express his opinions.   Michael Hingson ** 53:55 What's the difference between an intellectual and a developmental disability?   Lloyd Lewis ** 54:02 Well, they describe two things intellectual is around IQ and developmental as around the various stages of development, you know, crawling, walking, the typical developmental phases of early childhood.   Michael Hingson ** 54:24 What are would you say some of the best industries? I'll be interested to hear your answer to this some of the best industries that are suited to support or employ persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities.   Lloyd Lewis ** 54:37 I would say every industry there you go. That's what we tend to think of certain industries that Yeah, look, but I'm telling you, every industry can have people with IDD work in that industry and be productive contributing members every year. I don't care whether it's tech aerospace, or the military, or every single and energy, retail groceries, every single industry can have seductive employees who have IDD and productive employees who have any form of so called disability.   Michael Hingson ** 55:24 Yeah, I think that's really the right answer. Why should we be limited?   Lloyd Lewis ** 55:32 Well, we're limited due to misperception. Yeah, that's my point, he went to lack of understanding, lack of awareness, lack of connection. And it's not always particularly the fault of these industries. Because unless you have a personal connection, you may not have had the opportunity to become aware of who people really are. This is same experience African Americans had back in the day and still have today that women have had and still have today, that gays have had and still have today. That there, there's a lack of understanding of so called, you know, diverse communities, that with understanding and connection, all of that goes away. All of that goes away   Michael Hingson ** 56:16 with all of the things that are going on today in society. And I think in so many ways, we are losing the art of conversation, and so on. Do you think that's making the opportunities and the whole potential for having the conversations that we're talking about tougher?   Lloyd Lewis ** 56:40 Yeah, these kinds of conversations can be tough, because people aren't familiar with them. And these are new concepts. And one has to set aside some biases, in a lot of cases unconscious biases, that again, with personal connections and awareness and direct contact. A lot of this stuff goes away. Yeah, you get to know who they are, she   Michael Hingson ** 57:03 got to know. Yeah. You discovered for   Lloyd Lewis ** 57:08 literally being in a room with somebody, or on the phone with somebody and getting to know,   Michael Hingson ** 57:12 you discovered that what you thought isn't really the way it is.   Lloyd Lewis ** 57:16 That is correct. That's absolutely correct. Well,   Michael Hingson ** 57:19 I want to thank you for being here with us and taking the time to chat with us about art about disabilities in general. Of course, needless to say, it's a topic that's near and dear to my heart. If people want to reach out to you and and talk with you more or or learn more about our How do they do that?   Lloyd Lewis ** 57:42 They can email me a Lewis l e w i s at ARC thrift.com, A R C thrift.com. On my cell phone 720-206-7047 Just say you heard this on this program. There   Michael Hingson ** 57:55 you go. Well, I hope people will do it, I hope people will reach out and the people will be more now stimulated and more knowledgeable about disabilities than they were before they came. I think that it's extremely important, and that they will help promote the conversation. And we'll have to work on getting the Property Brothers to come on to unstoppable mindset. These days. I think that'll be fun as less contact those guys. Yeah, Jonathan and drew Scott.   Lloyd Lewis ** 58:26 Wonderful conversation, really enjoyed getting to know you and have this conversation. And I think I learned a hell of a lot more from you than you learn from me.   Michael Hingson ** 58:35 Ah, not sure about that. I always love to   Lloyd Lewis ** 58:38 add a lot of wisdom in what you said.   Michael Hingson ** 58:41 Well, thank you. I appreciate it. I think we both learned a lot, which is the way it should be. I feel that if I'm not learning on these podcasts, and I'm not doing a good job, and I always find ways to learn so   Lloyd Lewis ** 58:52 this podcast is gonna be one of my favorite podcasts, you   58:55 will definitely get it. Well thank you and I want to thank you all for being here and listening to us. Love to hear your thoughts. Please feel free to email me at Michaelhi M I C H A E L H I at accessiBe A c c e s s i b e.com. Or go to our podcast page at WWW dot Michael hingson.com/podcast. Michael Hingson is m i c h a e l h i n g s o n.com. And I should have said and will now say that we met Lloyd through Sheldon Lewis at accessiBe you know, Sheldon.   Lloyd Lewis ** 59:29 Well, thank you. Thank you so much, Michael. I very much enjoyed this.   Michael Hingson ** 59:32 Well, thank you for being here. We really appreciate it. And let's do it again.   Lloyd Lewis ** 59:38 Please do it again. More to learn. Let's do it again.   Michael Hingson ** 59:45 You have been listening to the Unstoppable Mindset podcast. Thanks for dropping by. I hope that you'll join us again next week, and in future weeks for upcoming episodes. To subscribe to our podcast and to learn about upcoming episodes, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com slash podcast. Michael Hingson is spelled m i c h a e l h i n g s o n. While you're on the site., please use the form there to recommend people who we ought to interview in upcoming editions of the show. And also, we ask you and urge you to invite your friends to join us in the future. If you know of any one or any organization needing a speaker for an event, please email me at speaker at Michael hingson.com. I appreciate it very much. To learn more about the concept of blinded by fear, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com forward slash blinded by fear and while you're there, feel free to pick up a copy of my free eBook entitled blinded by fear. The unstoppable mindset podcast is provided by access cast an initiative of accessiBe and is sponsored by accessiBe. Please visit www.accessibe.com . AccessiBe is spelled a c c e s s i b e. There you can learn all about how you can make your website inclusive for all persons with disabilities and how you can help make the internet fully inclusive by 2025. Thanks again for Listening. Please come back and visit us again next week.

Blaise Bryant works for the Independent Living Center as a resource navigator and is a full time advocate for disability rights and services. He helps people get connected to the supports and services that help them stay independent in the community. He spoke with Vinny DamaPoleto and Sina Basila Hickey for Hudson Mohawk Magazine.

April 1, 2024 - The debate at the Capitol over a cost of living increase for human services workers is omitting some of the non-profit staff serving vulnerable New Yorkers, according to Association on Aging in New York Executive Director Becky Preve and Independent Living Center of the Hudson Valley Executive Director Denise Figueroa.

Amy SP Wilson Are you ready?  Ready for whatever comes at you?   No one can answer “yes” 100% of the time.  But we can take steps to be prepared.  And Pushing Limits is here to help.   This week, Amy SP Wilson brings a wealth of ideas about the perennial problem of strangers who are intrusive when they try to help people with disabilities.  Amy SP Wilson is the CEO and founder of the Safety Positive Foundation, a nonprofit in the business of solving the personal safety needs of the blind and visually impaired community.   Serra Rae And, Serra Rea explains how emergency centers teamed up with local Independent Living Centers to help keep people with disabilities safe during the recent Southern California Floods.  Serra Rae is the Disability Disaster Access & Resources Program Manager for the California Foundation for Independent Living Centers.   Listen up; Stay Safe; Be Prepared!   Interviewers and producers: Chelsea Lesner-Buxton, Bonnie Elliot and Dominick Trevethan. Audio editing: Denny Daughters, Dominick Trevethan and Adrienne Lauby. Host: Adrienne Lauby More about Amy SP Wilson: Amy SP Wilson's commitment to personal safety has been a lifelong pursuit. From playfully wrestling with her cousins during her early years to becoming the first female wrestler at the Missouri School for the Blind in 1996, her passion for wrestling led her to the United States Association of Blind Athletes nationals in 1997, where she discovered Judo. In 1998, Amy proudly represented her country in the World Championships for the Blind in Judo, as a member of the inaugural women's Judo team of the USABA, all before graduating from high school. Amy's eye condition, Stargardt's, diagnosed at the age of 10, prevented her from continuing her martial arts journey. Amy earned her first bachelor's degree in psychology, only to become a survivor of domestic violence shortly after. This was not her first experience as a survivor, and she is deeply passionate about addressing the alarming rates of mental and emotional abuse within relationships involving individuals with disabilities. Amy's pursuit of knowledge led her to earn a second bachelor's degree in social work.  For the past decade, Amy has been involved in instructing and developing self-defense programs specifically designed for the blind and visually impaired.  However, she found that these programs and organizations often had limited expectations for the Blind and Visually Impaired community, which did not align with her mission. Through the establishment of the Safety Positive Foundation, Amy shares her skills and empowers her community to embrace a safety-positive lifestyle.   More about Serra Rae:  While working with the County of San Bernardino in the Public Works department, Serra Rae learned a lot about wildland fires, flooding, and earthquakes.  Preparing for the next emergency and working as a Emergency Communications Specialist in the FireCorps, Serra attended American Military Academy and obtained a bachelor degree in Disaster and Emergency Management with a focus on Terrorism and Geological Disasters. Later becoming certified as an Emergency Management Specialist with California Specialized Training Institute. Serra Rae was introduced to the DDAR program while working at Rolling Start, an Independent Living Center member with CFILC. Working with the program at the center level gave her a good foundation to help the community open up the discussion of resources available to the community before, during and after an emergency or disaster event. The post Be Prepared – Disability – Pushing Limits – March 22, 2024 appeared first on KPFA.

Today, on the Hudson Mohawk Magazine: First, Elizabeth (EP) Press spoke with Troy Mayor Carmella Mantello about her first five weeks in office. Then, Hunter Wallace of the Independent Living Center of the Hudson Valley discusses the resources needed for Troy's people dealing with houselessness. Later on, we have part one of Willie Terry's interview with Sean Collins, Troy Area Labor Council President and Labor Organizer for Service Employees International Union (SEIU). After that, Isabella LaForte chatted with Grannies for Peace at their 2023 Valentine's Day protest. Finally, Marshall Hildreth interviewed owner and operator Rachel Anne of the Capital Region's first ever cat café, The Pretty Paw Lounge.

Next week stay on the topic of housing - specifically the topic of the removal of the encampment by Prospect Park in January. Hunter Wallace of the Independent Living Center of the Hudson Valley spoke on the issue of breaking up the tent encampment at the city council meeting and asked for City Council to invest more in housing needs.

With elections approaching in much of the country, Cliff Perez, Systems Advocate with the Independent Living Center of the Hudson Valley gives us a short history lesson on the Help America Vote Act (HAVA). Read more here: https://www.eac.gov/about/help_america_vote_act.aspx What do you think? Follow the podcast on social media and on your favorite podcast platform! Facebook and Twitter: @blaisinshows Support Blaisin' Access Podcast by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/blaisin-access-podcastRead transcript

September 7, 2023 - State funding to make homes more accessible for seniors and New Yorkers with disabilities is in high demand every year, but little is known about where the limited pool of funding ends up, so advocates for this program are looking to increase transparency. We talked about the campaign for annual reporting from the Access to Home program with Alex Thompson, director of advocacy for the New York Association on Independent Living, and Aaron Baier, director of administration for the Independent Living Center of the Hudson Valley.

March 29, 2023 - New York Association on Independent Living Director of Advocacy Alex Thompson and Independent Living Center of the Hudson Valley Director of Administration Aaron Baier make the case for increased state funds to pay for housing changes that keep them accessible for seniors and New Yorkers with disabilities.

In this special presentation of Hudson Mohawk Magazine, Blaise Bryant brings us a two-part conversation about accessible voting for people with disabilities. First Cliff Perez from the Independent Living Center of the Hudson Valley in Troy discusses the history behind the Help America Vote Act, his experiences as a disabled voter, and what he sees for the future. Then we hear from Keith Gurgui with the Resource Center for Accessible Living in Kingston who shares his voting experiences and his perspectives on the future of accessible voting.

Josh Whitmire joins Sarah Williams in explaining the Independent Living Center in Birmingham, Disability Rights and Resources, and how DRR and other Independent Living Centers around the state can help individuals and families. _ Alabama Care is partially supported by http://www.ACDD.org The views expressed are not necessarily the views of these organizations.

RoseAnn retired from being the Chief of the Technical Assistance Unit at RSA in 2021.   She talks about significant changes that shaped what VR is today, including independent living, informed choice and the impact of technology. RoseAnn elaborates on areas that VR is doing well, and areas VR can improve upon moving forward.  RoseAnn is currently contracting with VRTAC-QM, and you can find her work on Long COVID on the web at https://www.vrtac-qm.org/resources.   Listen Here   Full Transcript   VRTAC-QM Manager Minute: Listen to VR Legend RoseAnn Ashby, with her VR Reflections- Looking Back and Looking Forward   {Music} Speaker1: Manager Minute brought to you by the VRTAC for Quality Management, Conversations powered by VR, one manager at a time, one minute at a time. Here is your host Carol Pankow.   Carol: Welcome to the Manager Minute. Joining me in the studio today is RoseAnn Ashby, former Fed and part of the RSA team for 34 years. RoseAnn, I have to say, you are legendary. Everybody knows and respects RoseAnn. And for those of you newer to VR, RoseAnn started with RSA back in 1987, and she's supervised a number of units during her tenure there, including the Technical Assistance Unit, the Training Programs Unit, RSA Policy Unit, and the basic VR program unit. So RoseAnn, you retired from being the chief of the Technical Assistance Unit at RSA in 2021. And I have to say, wowsers, I think you've done it all at RSA except for maybe the fiscal unit.   RoseAnn: That's right. They keep me away from the fiscal unit, Carol.   Carol: I love it. I love it. So, RoseAnn, how are things going in retirement or should I say semi-retirement as you're helping us out on the VRTAC-QM with some contract work?   RoseAnn: Well, I'm loving my retirement. I will say it's very much less stress than I had when I was working. But I'm looking for ways to be engaged. And of course, I am enjoying my work with the center. I particularly love seeing my work on the website. That for me is really gratifying, that's for sure, and I hope to be doing some additional travel in the fall. You know, COVID has kind of crimped my style a little bit, but I'm looking forward to some opportunities there and some other volunteer opportunities. But I am loving retirement.   Carol: Good for you. Good for you. Well, we're loving seeing your work on the website, too, because there's nothing worse when we have coming soon. You know, we're going to be done with two years here in a minute. So we're like, yeah, we got to get this filled in. You have been just a big, big help to us. So, RoseAnn, I love that you said you're looking forward to fall, too, and getting to do some fun, travel and things, because I have always loved this month of August and this is the goofy part of me. Ever since I've been little. I like the smell in the air. I like how I can tell summer's ending and fall starting. I love that whole getting ready for school. And even when I was working at State Services for the Blind, I loved our planning. We did over summer and coming into fall for the new school year, we would do our Pre-ETS blueprint. And so I was sitting back and thinking about podcast and I thought, you know what? I want to do something where we can do some reflections with you because you have over three decades of experience in VR and you've seen so many changes. I thought it would be a fun opportunity to kind of reflect back and look forward. So RoseAnn, why don't you tell our listeners a little bit more about yourself and your background and how you got into VR in the first place?   RoseAnn: Okay. Thanks, Carol. So before I went to RSA, I was in the Independent Living Center in Miami, Florida. I was the assistant director there. I grew up in Ohio. I grew up in Canton, which is a little it used to be a factory town. My family was working class, but they always valued education. And I am a person with a disability. I am blind. And my mother, I credit my mother with really pushing hard to fight for mainstreamed education for me. Before that was popular before we had the laws that we have today. That's kind of my background in a nutshell. I went to college in Oberlin, Ohio, and I have a master's degree from the University of Miami in Florida.   Carol: Good for you. So what intrigued you about RSA? What do you think about work? Because did you have to move to D.C.?   RoseAnn: I did. I did. You know, I had worked at an independent living center doing direct services, advocacy, that kind of thing. And I just felt like if I could help influence some policies, that would be so terrific. And actually, one of the women who monitored our center told me about job openings there. And so in 1987, they were trying to bring on in RSA more people with disabilities. And that's how I got in.   Carol: very cool. And living in D.C., I just I have a love for DC. I love when the plane lands. I love everything about it.   RoseAnn: I do too.   Carol: Yeah. And that's exciting, being able to influence policy. So RoseAnn, and I know you came from that independent living side of services, how do you feel like that independent living movement has influenced VR?   RoseAnn: So as folks probably know, the independent living movement puts the consumer in control. The consumer is empowered to kind of control their services and their outcomes. Grew out of the civil rights movement and the feminist movement in the sixties and seventies. And we in VR used to have custodial attitudes that had to change because it used to be that counselors knew best what was good for people with disabilities. Well, after independent living came along, that was no longer true. For instance, in 1973, the concept of the IWR P, which is the predecessor to the IPE, came along. Folks with disabilities were partners with counsel. In determining their plan. And then in 92, of course, we had the introduction of informed choice throughout the VR process and in 2014 we had amendments that brought in the concept of maximizing employment, advancing and employment. So I think independent living needs to be given credit for really changing the scope of VR and how VR Counselors relate to people with disabilities.   Carol: I love that I sometimes help Maureen Maguire Kuletz from our team do a session for her grad students around self-advocacy. And I love looking back to those early days. You know, you go in the sixties, there's a lot of cool stuff that came out of that and it has really influenced and shaped what's happening in the world today, and that is amazing. So you've got to see that all.   RoseAnn: Absolutely.   Carol: RoseAnn, what do you think has been a real game changer in VR over the years?   RoseAnn: Well, one of the things I like to talk about as a game changer and there's probably many, but the one thing that occurs to me is technology and the advancement of technology and how that has opened up so many opportunities to people with disabilities that would just never have been there before. I remember typing on a typewriter a long time ago and having someone correct my typos. And now of course, with Jaws Screen Reader, I can do all that work myself. In fact, I edit other people's work and it is just so liberating. And that's just one very, very small example. All of the smartphones and tablets that are accessible right out of the box, that is so exciting for folks with disabilities. Now, of course, I'm most familiar with technology for blind people, but deaf folks now have video interpreting. They can live in the middle of a very rural place, and as long as they have Internet, they can get interpreters to help them facilitate their communication. And folks with physical disabilities, even very significant physical disabilities, have assistive technology to help them with their computers and to be independent at home and at work. I just cannot say enough. I think this has opened up tremendous career opportunities for people.   Carol: Yeah, I agree with that. On that technology, I think about when I was at State Services for the Blind, even just during my tenure there looking at equipment we bought early on. And then in the end you kind of want, hey, the iPhone does almost everything and there are a million awesome apps that are folks were downloading and going, Hey, we just need this. I don't need a bunch of other equipment, I just need a phone and this app and I'm good to go. I think that's cool. And for those young people out there, yes, typewriters. I remember typing master's papers and we had one line that could go back and correct. Otherwise we were using correct tape.   RoseAnn: Yes.   Carole: So, yeah. For those young people who have no idea what we're talking about, it's true. They can be grateful that there's been that advancement. So along with that kind of changes in technology, of course, what do you think is different about the expectations the newer, younger customers have as they access VR?   RoseAnn: Well, I think it's very exciting. So first of all, we've got to realize that young people were raised in a post ADA world. The ADA passed in 1990. So they expect things to be accessible. They expect services, they expect facilities to be accessible. They don't know that they shouldn't have those expectations. I find it's so gratifying to see young people with such pride and self-confidence. They demand services. They want everything right now. You know, we talked about this before, Carol, with Amazon. Amazon has raised people's expectations that they should expect their products to be delivered immediately. And I think young people particularly want the VR to reach out to them and to serve them quickly. And that's just not happening. I know we're doing some work on some modules that will be posting soon on rapid engagement, and that's just very exciting to me.   Carol: Yeah, I'm glad you made that plug for our rapid engagement series. So for our listeners, we are working on a really cool series that should come out and August and into September where we're going to talk about rapid engagement and some of the practices that could help you in VR to really more quickly engage with folks and hopefully then leads to better outcomes. And we're starting to see some really fun results from around the country. Four states that have entered into that. I know I'm working on a bathroom remodel right now and I just laughed because I was trying to order something off of Amazon and I thought, the contractor goes, well, it should be here by overnight tonight. But no, I have to wait four days. I'm like, What's wrong with that?   RoseAnn: That's right.   Carol: Oh, my gosh. So how do you those expectations that folks have now fit in with consumer choice and informed choice?   RoseAnn: Let me just talk a little bit about VR. And their role. I see the counselor as facilitating the dreams of people with disabilities. The counselor and the person with a disability are partners, and this is maybe new for some people or different kind of concept. People with disabilities have a right to try to reach goals that they want to reach. A good counselor can help them look at what's realistic. They can help them look at how different choices will have different consequences. But we can develop in VR interim objectives for somebody. For instance, if they pass a certain course, then they can go on to another course or the fall program. People with disabilities have a right to fail. We often learn more from our failures than from our successes, and I do see this whole concept of informed choice just playing into all of this that counselors need to honor that, respect that and support it.   Carol: I like that you said that learning from failure. I remember back to a parent when we were working with Pre-ETS students and they had that realization. They're like, I was trying so hard to protect my child from ever experiencing that failure, but they had this aha moment and we saw it in them and they went, You know what? We have to let them fail, just like we do our other children. Now, I love that you said that, Rosanne, you've talked to me before about Jo-Ann Wilson. She was the former RSA commissioner, and she had a whole philosophy about raising expectations. Can you tell us about that?   RoseAnn: Yes, absolutely. I love Joanne. I think she is a fantastic person and I really admire her. Honestly, she has never let anything get in the way of her doing what she wants to do. She travels extensively. She raised five kids. She headed up the rehab center in Louisiana before she became a commissioner. And she was a tireless advocate for people with disabilities. But one of the things that she always would talk about is one of our major barriers to success is low expectations. And she meant low expectations that people with disabilities have for themselves, low expectations that their families have for them, and low expectations that service providers have. And she would always talk about how we can just raise expectations. We would do so much to help people advance in their goals.   Carol: Those are wise words for today. They really are. They ring true even now. I think there's that soft bigotry of low expectations that still hangs around. Absolutely.   RoseAnn: Yeah.   Carol: So, RoseAnn, what are your thoughts about disability and poverty and how could we better address this?   RoseAnn: Well, unfortunately, you know, I don't have the exact data, but I do know that the percentage of individuals with disabilities living in poverty is higher than for the general population. I really think that the RSA's emphasis on good paying jobs is the key. It's not enough for someone to be placed in a minimum wage job or a job that just supplements SSI. I mean, obviously folks have choice about this. We need to be finding better jobs for people. Folks with disabilities have the same dreams as everyone else. They want to raise their families. They want to be active in their community. They want to travel, they want to have fun. And you can't do that if you don't have a good income. I think VR needs to work hard with employers to help them understand that someone with a disability can perform a job competently and as well or better than folks without disabilities. Unfortunately, Carol, there is still stigma or attitudinal barriers in our society. Some employers don't understand that folks with disabilities can be productive. And this is changing. But those barriers are still real. And I think VR needs to work on that.   Carol: Oh, you're dead on on that. I'm really hoping actually the one bright lining out of this pandemic is that it's been proven now that people working remotely, it's worked. I mean, it works really well, which can help individuals with disabilities who may have transportation barriers and other things being able to get into some good employment and employers being less critical about are they going to be able to do the job and giving them a shot for doing that and working from home. So I'm at least hoping I'm hopeful that that will prove to be true.   RoseAnn: I am, too. I think we have more flexibility now in our thinking than we did before the pandemic. And that's key because when we talk about accommodating somebody with a disability, sometimes it's just a matter of like restructuring a job a little bit or whatever. But I think that kind of like let's make it work no matter what.   Carol: Absolutely. So, RoseAnn, what do you think are things that VR is doing really well? And where do you think maybe we're missing the mark A little bit?   RoseAnn: I. First want to say that VR is a great program and I think we need to own that. There's hardly anything that cannot be provided to an individual with a disability if it's related to their employment outcome. We've got a great program to work with. I think it's exciting that VR agencies are beginning to really analyze their performance. That's one of the things I do think we're beginning to do well. I think another thing is that we have very dedicated counselors. It sure isn't the money that keeps them in the field. Right. But they're dedicated and that's wonderful. A few challenges or things that I think maybe could be better. I would love to see agencies work on getting more financial compensation for counselors. I think unfortunately, you know, we have a high turnover rate and if we paid people better, that would really help to keep them. In terms of the VR process, we allow the process to control us. We need to look at outcomes. The process in VR is good because it makes sure that people with disabilities are being treated fairly and equitably. It ensures that all the regulatory requirements are met. But that's not the end in itself. That's not what we're really all about. We're about outcomes and we need to focus our work on outcomes. Another thing I just wanted to mention, I don't think our agencies sometimes reward people on the staff who are creative and think outside the box, you know? And then the last thing I would say is we've often heard that VR is the best kept secret, but why the heck are we a best kept secret? We should be out there waiting to tell people what we do, to tell folks with disabilities, employers, other service providers, what we can offer because we are a tremendous resource. And that's an area where I think we can, we can improve.   Carol: I agree on that 100%. I know when I interviewed at State Services for the Blind, the director at the time told me, yeah, we're, you know, we're the best kept secret. I still remember that. And I remember telling staff when I got to the agency, I'm like, I don't want to be the best kept secret. We need to have people come in the door. And I love that we've got some agencies out now doing some cool things. I know David D'Angelo from Mass Commission for the Blind, he did a whole PSA campaign and it really impacted his numbers. He was, I think, one of the few programs during the pandemic, like their numbers stayed up. He wasn't losing tons of people.   RoseAnn: That's great. Yeah.   Carol: He made a big effort. And I know other folks have really been looking into that same kind of thinking, being able to get the word out so people can come in and find us. So do you have any ideas on how VR can shore up those areas where we might be missing the mark?   RoseAnn: Well, okay, so just to kind of continue along the same vein I was just talking about, first of all, I think it's really unfortunate that we lost our in-service training grants because of high staff turnover. We really need those training dollars. And I know, of course, agencies can spend their Title One funds on training. I'm sure they do. But I wish we had that dedicated funding source. if we had, I know there's a lot of training available online for counselors and maybe there'd be a way to provide incentives for people completing the training. Also, maybe some incentives for counselors who develop relationships with service providers. You know, we need our partners, Carol, to provide supports to people with disabilities that VR doesn't provide or can't provide. And so if we had folks going out and making contacts in the community and developing partnerships, I think they should be rewarded for that effort. I also think job development, that is a tough skill. It's a different set of skills than most counselors have, that's for sure. And we need dedicated folks to meet with employers and become liaisons with them and really develop jobs for folks. I mean, it is not sufficient to just give a person with a disability a link to Indeed a couple of job openings or whatever. You know, that's not what I'm talking about. I think we need to do some targeted job development more than we do.   Carol: Yeah, I couldn't agree more on that. That job development, it takes a skill set when you're doing that, and it's not always a skill set that a counselor has. And I know definitely some agencies require the counselors to do that work too. But boy, that's tough if that isn't kind of in your wheelhouse of engaging with employers that way.   RoseAnn: Right.   Carol: So Rosanne, if you had a crystal ball, what would be your predictions for VR in 20 years?   RoseAnn: Oh, my goodness. Okay. If I had a crystal ball. Well, first of all, let me say that I do believe we are at a very critical juncture right now. Unfortunately, our numbers are going down. I worry in this inflationary era whether funding for VR will become tighter. We have to prove. Our work, I think that if we offer diminished services and fewer outcomes. That's just not a good thing right now. We need to reinvent ourselves, as I talked about. We need to provide incentives for creative staff and support their creativity. We need to get our consumer partners, our individuals with disabilities to value us. And that's through working with folks with disabilities openly, honestly and being efficient. That whole rapid engagement thing we talked about earlier, educating employers about VR, what VR can do for folks with disabilities. Again, VR is a great program, but we need to market it. I see the future can be bright, but we need to do some work, I think some substantial work and we need to do it quickly.   Carol: Yeah, I agree on that. I was excited to hear the CSAVR group. I was on the director call yesterday and listening to some things that folks are doing to try to shore up recruitment, retention, and that was really encouraging with a couple of states and successes they've had. But I know the fall conference, they're focusing on some three main categories and one of them really is about outreach in the promotion of the program, which is smart. I think they're spot on and that they're in-tune to what's happening right now. So I'm encouraged about what we'll see this fall and hopefully that will get people energized across the country. So, Rosanne, I know there are a lot of people that are new to VR across the country. What advice would you give to them as they're learning and working in the program?   RoseAnn: Well, this has to be your passion. If you're new in this field, you're going to have to work hard. You're not going to get paid as much as you might if you were in some other field. So this needs to be your passion. If you truly believe that folks with disabilities have rights to full employment and should be treated equitably. You are so valuable to us and I really hope you'll stay in this field. But it's got to be a passion for you. We need you, that's for sure.   Carol: Well said. We need you, that's for sure. That is great. So, Rosanne, I just want to switch gears a minute and talk about the work you've been doing for us at the QM. You have been curating a lot of website content and also working on a project regarding long COVID. Can you tell our listeners a little bit about that work?   RoseAnn: Sure. Long COVID is something that gosh, you know, it's very distressing. When I saw the data, a very conservative estimate is that like 7.5 million individuals have long COVID. And that means that they have limitations that are characterized by having had COVID that may prevent them from working. And that's why VR needs to be involved with some of these people. And so the work that I did, which I believe has been posted, talks about when we determine that someone with long COVID has a disability for VR purposes, but it's an evolving area. Carol. I know I particularly want to be involved in keeping up to date because things are changing. There's some reports coming out of the Department of Health and Human Services just this week about long COVID and what supports people need. It's very exciting and I'm really glad that the center here is working on this.   Carol: Yeah, we really appreciate you doing that work. And for our listeners, you can find what RoseAnn has done on our VRTAC-QM.org website. And if you go to resources, you can either go on the search box or you can go to resources and look for the information on Long-covid. You'll find that right away on the page. And I know she's continuing to work on adding, so that'll be a kind of an evolving document, I believe, and going forward.   RoseAnn: right.   Carol: Yeah. We really appreciate it. So, RoseAnn, do you have any other parting words of wisdom for all of us?   RoseAnn: Carol, I don't know that I have any parting words of wisdom. I think working together, you know, at all levels, we're going to get this job done. And I'm very excited. I think we've got people with disabilities who are demanding their rights and wanting services. I think we've got people of goodwill and dedication in VR. I'm just very excited about what all this can mean. I think we need to work together, be honest with each other, communicate and really get the job done.   Carol: Well said, RoseAnn. Well, thanks for being on our program today. I really appreciate it. And I look forward to talking to you some more.   RoseAnn: Yeah. Thank you so much for having me. I've enjoyed it. I've never done a podcast before, but this has been fun.   Carol: Awesome. Well, have a great day.   RoseAnn: Thank you.   {Music} Speaker1: Conversations powered by VR, one manager at a time, one minute at a time, brought to you by the VR TAC for Quality Management. Catch all of our podcast episodes by subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts. Thanks for listening!

Homer's Independent Living Center has received a $98,962 grant to train staff working with individuals with traumatic brain injuries; this year, after dealing with exceptionally high gas prices, the Kenai Peninsula Food Bank burned through its entire fuel budget for the year by the summer; and Gov. Mike Dunleavy signed a bill Thursday that lets Tribes apply to create state-tribal compact schools.

Homer's Independent Living Center has received a grant, totaling $98,962, to train staff working with individuals with traumatic brain injuries; and early voting kicked off statewide Monday for several Aug. 16 elections.

lanning for your future with Mito… a workshop for parents & adult patients Monthly International Teleconference Outreach “It feels like each day is all I can handle – how can I possibly plan for the future??” Living every day with mitochondrial disease as an adult patient or a parent caring for an affected child can be completely consuming and overwhelming. Many of us forget or put off thinking about the future, especially when the future feels so uncertain. Jack Raycroft joins MitoAction with a compassionate perspective on simple steps you can take today to help ensure that your family’s future is more secure, giving us a little more peace of mind while we continue to live for today with Mito. Each month, MitoAction holds a toll-free, international teleconference to address topics important to the Mito community. Join us to discuss “LIVING TODAY WITH MITO & PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE” with guest speaker Jack Raycroft from Baystate Financial Services. About the Speaker John “Jack” Raycroft is a financial planner at Baystate Financial Services and a MetDESK Specialist with MetLife’s Division of Estate Planning for Special Kids. He works exclusively with families who have a dependent with special needs. Through workshops and consultations, Jack educates families (and the organizations that support them) on the issues critical to successful special needs planning. His work helps families prepare for the future and the time when they will not be present, or able, to care for their themselves or their children. He educates them on what they can do today and tomorrow to make their future more secure. Jack speaks publicly throughout Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island on the subject of special needs planning. He has presented at multiple organizations including The National Downs Syndrome Congress and LADDERS at Massachusetts General Hospital for Children. Additionally, Jack serves as the Adjunct Planned Giving Director of maaps(Massachusetts Association of Approved Private Schools), a network of over 100 schools/programs serving all populations of the special needs pre-22 community. Jack provides charitable planning services to these schools upon request. Jack is a parent of a child with special needs and he volunteers his time for the North Shore Arc, the Special Olympics and The Independent Living Center of the North Shore.

Ahead of President Biden's first State of the Union address, climate advocates gathered in Albany to urge him to declare a climate emergency and issue executive orders to end the use of fossil fuels. We hear from Eric Weltman of Food and Water Watch, Pippa Bartolotti of the Green Party, Julie Farrar of the Independent Living Center, and Mark Dunlea of PAUSE. By the Hudson Mohawk Radio Network.

Joining Carol Pankow in the VRTAC-QM Studio is Mark Erlichman, Deputy Director, Vocational Rehabilitation Employment Division, California Department of Rehabilitation. In this episode of Manager Minute, Mark covers the idea of Rapid Engagement. The idea behind it is to get customers in and move as quickly as possible to succeed. The California DORS Team has a variety of initiatives that they are working on. Mark and Carol will chat about a handful of those projects.   Learn about California's expedited enrollment process, resource navigators, and the sector-based service teams.   Listen Here   Full Transcript   You can find out more about VRTAC-QM on the web at: https://www.vrtac-qm.org/   Please stay up to date by following VRTAC-QM on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @VRTAC_QM   About VRTAC-QM Partnering with State Vocational Rehabilitation Agencies (SVRAs) to enhance service delivery and maximize outcomes through quality program and resource management. The purpose of the VRTAC-QM is to provide training and technical assistance that will enable State VR agency personnel to manage available resources, improve effective service delivery, and increase the number and quality of employment outcomes for individuals with disabilities. The VRTAC-QM provides TA and training in VR program and performance quality management, fiscal and resource quality management of the VR program, and general quality management of organizations. You can request technical assistance from the VRTAC-QM by contacting your TA Liaison directly, contacting any member of the Center you wish, or by filling out the information on our main websiteand clicking on submit. While on the main website, join our mailing list to receive updates on training and new activities occurring within the Center.     Full Transcript   VRTAC-QM Manager Minute: Get in and Get er' Done! Making VR Processes Work How California Makes VR Work for Customers!   Speaker1: Manager Minute brought to you by the VRTAAC for Quality Management, Conversations powered by VR, one manager at a time, one minute at a time. Here is your host Carol Pankow.   Carol: Welcome to the manager minute, joining me in the studio today is Mark Erlichman, Deputy Director, Vocational Rehabilitation Employment Division with California Department of Rehabilitation. So Mark, thanks for being here. How are things going in California?   Mark: Thank you so much for the invitation. Things in California are going about the same way they're going across the country. We're coping, we're managing, but I'm excited that we're continuing to look at improving. So in spite of the pandemic, we've been able to stay open and we've been able to sell, serve our consumers.   Carol: Glad to hear it. I'm glad to hear that. Well, today's topic covers this idea of rapid engagement, and the idea behind that is to get customers in and move as quickly as possible to succeed. You'd spoken to me a couple of weeks ago about the saying you like to go by. Our customers are and must feel more important than the process. And I hear a lot of Joe Xavier in that statement and eager to talk more about the variety of initiatives that you have in California. I believe that you have a list of over 20 projects that you and the California DOR team are working on, and so we're going to just chat about a handful of those today. So Marc, can you tell our listeners a little bit more about you, your career, the agency, like how many customers you're serving?   Mark: Sure, thank you. As you mentioned, I'm the deputy director and our employment division here. So we provide services to the general consumers when you have a blind field services division that worked with individual or blind, but we work with pretty much everybody else. And so in any given year, we probably serve somewhere between 80 to 90 thousand participants. So that includes our potentially eligible students with disabilities. So we have about thirteen hundred staff. We work out of about 80 dedicated offices and dozens of other locations, including one stops now called American Job Centers. So I started my career as a counselor way back in nineteen ninety four the dark ages pre-internet and it was right out of college, got my degree in rehabilitation counseling. But since I started, I've been very fortunate to move up within our department and I became a supervisor, a manager, then a district administrator. And then I joined the executive team in about 2012 as an assistant deputy director. And since 2019, I've been the deputy director and like I mentioned and responsible for VR Student Services and also our Business Services team.   Carol: I love to hear that I love it when people are kind of grown up through the system, and I think it's really cool. We've got that good opportunity working with Joe Xavier. I think a lot of him and his really awesome leadership style and his innovativeness.   Mark: Yeah, he's great. It's actually kind of fun working with him because typically I felt people try to be cautious and push back when you're trying to be innovative. Joe actually pushes us in the other direction. If we're not being innovative enough, we hear it.   Carol: Oh yeah, that's Joe for you. He pushes all of us, even if we don't work for him, makes the whole country better. I love it. So you told me when we were having our conversation before that consumers never more motivated in their life than the first moment that they engage us. So can you talk a little about your expedited enrollment process and what that entails and how that's impacted your data?   Mark: Sure, absolutely. And you're right. Our approach to customer service really starts from day one. When I was a counselor working with consumers, I realized, like you mentioned, that there never really are going to be more motivated than that very first time they make the decision to go back to work or return to work. They look us up or they find a department, they make an appointment, they make arrangements for transportation. They may need to make arrangements for childcare. They may take two or three buses to get to our office. Then they sit in the waiting room. They may sit through an orientation and then they're given a stack of forms to fill out and told to come back later. And they go through all of that just on faith alone because they don't know where there's actually anything in it for them. And we did ask that question is when is that individual ever going to be more motivated than at that point? So rather than putting them off by telling them we have 60 days to find you eligible, so don't expect to hear from us, what we do is we actually try to do everything we can that very first day. So we really look at what a consumer or an applicant wants. They really want answer to the three questions, which is how can you help me? Can you help me at all? And when can we get started? So what we decided to do, recognizing that we want to keep that momentum going is that we wanted to make an eligibility determination and start the process, keep that forward progress and keep their momentum going from the very beginning. So about three years ago, we began rolling out what we call expedited enrollment. This process supports our train rehabilitation counselors and they are all trained. All our counselors have master's degree. We use their professional judgment to make a determination about somebody's eligibility, and we started with the understanding of the federal regulations. Support this, then there's never, ever been a requirement for medical or school records to be put in the case file. There's never been a requirement for additional evaluations or sending somebody for testing. So what our counselors do is whenever appropriate, and it's almost quite frequently appropriate, our counselors make a determination based on a readily apparent decision. Ability that they have a disabling condition and through a skilled interview that they can benefit from services for us, one of the things we took a look at is what is the inherent risk in doing that? We found out that less than two percent of our consumers have ever found not eligible for services due to the severity of their disability. In those cases, we would have to do a trial work experience anyway. And the vast majority of individuals come in and are great historians about their disability. So we did a statewide rollout to all of our offices that included staff training and set the expectation that expedited enrollment or finding somebody eligible based on counselors observation is our standard method of determining eligibility and requesting lengthy records or ordering testing or further evaluations will always be the exception here. So we did statewide training. Like I mentioned, we included Joe and we conclude our directorate. Many of US executives went participate in the training, and we even had a staff attorney come out to assure staff that this is consistent with the regulations and nobody's going to get in trouble. We reinforce the message and continue to reinforce the message through a couple of things. We changed our services application form to reflect the enrollment process, recognizing the consumer is the best historians. So we asked them How can we help you? We generate reports of utilization and expedited enrollment, so we see how many individuals are found eligible using this process throughout the state. And we're also going to be updating our regulations to clearly and unmistakably reflect that this is the process that we use. As I mentioned, the counselor has always been able to make that eligible determination on relevant professional judgment. And if they have a readily apparent disability, we just help define that. So how are we doing? You asked.   Carol: I did ask, How's that going with the data?   Mark: All right. So even though cultural change and changing old habits is really difficult, we are actually in that as of the end of December of 2021. So as of this last December, about two thirds of all of our applicants are being determined eligible for services using expedited enrollment, and we're defining that as being found eligible within five days of application.   Carol: Wow!   Mark: In fact, 40 percent of the consumers that apply for services in December were found eligible on the actual same day of application. So they're actually everything was put into the system, including their eligibility determination. And for us,   Carol: that's fantastic!   Mark: Again, from where we were to having two out of three consumers are found eligible within the first five days is tremendous and we did look at the data. I do believe that that's fantastic. But for me, that really isn't enough because a consumer doesn't really care about eligibility determination. That's our process. And like we mentioned, the person should always be more important than the process. It really is about how quickly can we get somebody from interest to services? And so we've also been keeping track of planned timelines, how quickly somebody gets from eligibility to plan, and we've seen a reduction in that as well. So not only people have been found eligible more quickly, but their plans are also implemented much more quickly as well.   Carol: Well, I want to underscore what you're saying because I know a lot of agencies are really struggling with this area. There's a lot of old practices and I remember it even being at Minnesota Blind and people were requesting this medical report and all of that. I'm like, Listen, like you are a trained professional rehabilitation counselor. You can see this impairment as individuals coming in the door. You're going through that skilled interview, you're being able to assess that. We're able to benefit them. Like, why are we running people through these other paces? Because I think sometimes in VR, we're almost exhausting. Like it's exhausting for the customer, right?   Mark: And I don't think any one of us would want to go through the process that we put our consumers through. To me, that's always the best test of where you need to go. Would you accept that for yourself or a family member?   Carol: Absolutely. So how staff have they embraced this? Like, are people really like they're seeing what a change this has made?   Mark: I mean, universally, no. But the vast maj ority of our staff are seeing this as a tremendous boon to their jobs. I mean, they really like making that consumer feel like they're the most important person that they're working with. And really those individuals that are hesitant in this counselor and sometimes have been hesitant. It's been really around habit and it's been around fear. And so as we address those, we're seeing more and more people embrace this, and we did learn some lessons from the very beginning. We thought that everybody would be excited. And after a while when we recognize that there are some counselors that weren't, we went back through and generate a report. Change your application to really got communicated clearly that it's the expectation so people should feel comfortable.   Carol: That's excellent. And I feel like it's putting back kind of that professionalism into VR that counselors may have felt was stripped away from some of the more case management aspects of WIOA and all the data entry and all of that. It's like, this is a classic example of using your skills and what you learned in your graduate degree and making something awesome happening and making such a connection with that customer right off the get go.   Mark: Absolutely. And would also really help was communicating to the counselors that we're trusting your professional judgment and the operative word here is trust, and you're not sure that you can still request. Records, you can't still work with the consumer and do further evaluations. You don't have to and you shouldn't have to. But once councilors understood that it's their judgment and so for us, two out of three is great. I'm looking for more than that. We don't know what the exact right percentage is, but we do know that whenever possible, that momentum that we talked about, that momentum should continue for all of our consumers.   Carol: That's awesome. I love it. So let's shift a little bit to talk about another project you have cooking with your councilors, and that's the councilors getting in and working immediately with those customers at risk of losing their job or needing to retain their employment. So what does that look like? Are you seeing some success with this?   Mark: A great question, actually. I think what you're referring to is what we call our Rapid Engagement. And so I think that's kind of the theme of this, and we just try to find a catchy name for it. But in simple words, it's kind of keeping with Jo's message and Jo's message to us and we've ever heard, and it's been very, very clear that we need to meet our participants where they are. It doesn't matter where we are, we need to meet them where they are. And we're not just talking about physically because that's important too, but we're really are talking about where they are in their lives and in their job search and or in their employment. And so recognizing that not all applicants are at the same place, some could be employed right now. Others may have been unemployed for a long period of time, but they're all in a different place. We wanted to stop making everybody go through the same linear sequential process, which is again, process shouldn't Trump person. And so our pilot involves assigning a specialist counselor within a district to what we call a Rapid Engagement Caseload. So their primary responsibility is to assist individuals that will meet at least one of the following criteria. There were a former QR consumer. We still have available that information from their former case, so we're not starting over or is a referral from a public or private organization that serves individuals with disabilities like a kind of behavioral health program or a rehabilitation hospital or an agency serving the Blind or the Deaf and Visually Impaired? Clearly, they've already been determined that they have a disability or they have a readily apparent disability, which is that we have then go through Expedited Enrollment. So it's one of those conditions, and they either require assistance in regaining employment because they just recently lost their job due to a reduction in work hours or to a layoff. They require some type of job retention services because their personal conditions have changed or their employment conditions have changed. They may have an exacerbation or they may have gotten promoted, or the job duties may have changed and they need some assistance or that there require some services from us to promote within the same business. And so they clearly are eligible for services and they need services immediately. Why wouldn't we treat them a little differently and really expedite their services? And so what the counselor does is using Expedited Enrollment, they are found eligible and typically at that same time, they write the plan because what do you really need to know if somebody wants to keep their job? There's not a lot of planning involved. The effort in the it should be OK, what services do you need? But you're not doing job search. You're not doing research into the occupation. Where you really are doing is you're helping somebody, as you know, if you need to keep your job, you probably can't wait two weeks, three weeks or three months.   Carol: Right. Process shouldn't Trump, person? I love that. I just have to say that statement.   Mark: Absolutely.   Carol: That's awesome.   Mark: And the consumers have been extremely grateful. I mean, the feedback that we've gotten from the counselors and the notes and the thanks not just from our participants, but some of the employers have reached out as well that to thank us for how should I put it in a nice enough way because I'm government, we didn't act like government,   Carol: Which should be the goal of all we are. We don't want to be that bureaucratic government, even though we're in the government. Very cool. So are you seeing some good success from that then with people as far as your numbers, then with helping individuals to retain employment or regain employment, is that playing out in your data?   Mark: Well, we're not seeing anybody drop out pre-plan, which is always fun because it's always so discouraging when you see somebody who comes out to request for services and then before anything even gets started, they change their mind or they go away. So we don't see that for somebody goes online right away. And we're not seeing people drop out of their plans due to lack of contact or which is typically the most common. And so the success rate. And again, this is relatively new, relatively new pilot. So I can't say, look, we have a 65 or 85 percent success rate, which is I'm guessing that's where we're going to end up because of what we're seeing. But what we're seeing is the consumers are much more engaged and the services are getting at the consumer much more rapidly. So we're hopeful. And from what we're seeing, this isn't going to be a pilot for long.   Carol: Well, that's half the battle. I mean, I think the whole country is struggling with this because artists say they will hold up their statistics in a fall or spring CSAVR conference. And you're like, Oh my gosh, you know, all the people exiting before playing and people closing because you can't find them unable to locate and all of that. And so how do you get at this piece? I think there's going to be states definitely clamoring for your number later to try to talk to you about what you're doing because I know I've talked to many people and they're really. Struggling around this area,   Mark: And we continue to as well, that's where we're trying, and we don't expect that out of the 20 plus efforts that we're trying to modernize, that they're all going to work and I hope they don't because if they all work, then we're not trying hard enough and we're not being creative enough and we're not pushing the envelope. We're hoping that some of these do stick for us. It's important to keep data and to track these. In the past, we would try these efforts and never ask the question, is it working? And we're trying to approach these projects totally differently. They all have project charters, they all have evaluation plans, and the expectation is that we do more of what's working and stop doing things that aren't.   Carol: I love that. I love that. I think that's the message right there. Underscore VR, end of our conversation. Listen to Marc, let's do this. I like that you guys are trying a lot of things. I think sometimes people are really afraid and they've been stuck. You get stuck in patterns of doing things. It's taken that step back and taking a look and going, Why are we doing it that way? It is not working. It's not working out. So that's really cool. I know you have another newer pilot, you have a million of them, but this one with some positions that you added to your five districts, I think you called them Resource Navigators as part of a response team. So how does that pilot work?   Mark: We're calling it our Community Resource Navigator position, and we've got 14 districts in the state, and so we're piloting in 5 of them. And these are 5 districts that were particularly hit hard by 1 of our many or a couple of our our many disasters in California, particularly some of the fire impacted counties. And so these Community Resource Navigators and gauge applicants can eligible participants really early on the process. And again, that early engagement, we may not be able to do a Rapid Engagement in terms of providing them plan services because there's still some planning that needs to occur. For us, it's important for the consumers to continue that momentum. And so when our staffing engage with our applicants and our or eligible consumers, the plan is to help them gain the support and assistance that they may need down the road. It's not just telling them, here you need to go. Apply for financial aid if you want to go to school or here's the county welfare program. Or here's the Medicaid office apply for health care services or here in Snap or Food or Nutrition Assistance Program. These are the things you may benefit from. These are the supports that we think would help you matriculate into your employment program. There's no reason to wait to apply for them. And by the way, we're not just referring you there. The Sierra has actually walked the individual through and help them with the application process, and so they get to know your local welfare staff. They get to know the nutrition, the food stamp. When we call our peer the Snap program and they get to know the housing authority staff and they work with our consumers or applicants to help them apply for those services, they'll connect them with Independent Living Center. And so the idea is if somebody is coming to us because they absolutely have immediate needs and we know the hierarchy of needs, you know, if you don't have shelter or food, employment seems really far off. So we have some consumers that'll come. We'll help them. They'll actually get get on some financial assistance, then we'll get some housing assistance and they'll say, OK, let me stabilize and I'll come back so they don't start a plan, then decide that they're not ready for employment. They get the support they need right away. And those individuals that continue with us will have the support and the wraparound supports. And really, it really is what we call the application that whole person approach, which is it's not just about employment, it's about the whole person. So when we're talking about evaluation for us, we're evaluating the crowds by the number of individuals that are closed unsuccessfully. We want to see a reduction of applicants that go through the process just to drop out. And we are we're seeing, I think for us started this about a year and a half ago. So we're starting to see some of the first evaluations. And what we're seeing is there is a dramatic reduction in the number of individuals that were closed out successfully that received the CRN services because they didn't drop out because, well, they didn't have a place to stay. They didn't drop out because they had an exacerbation to their health and they became dependent on family support again and they connected them in the living services. So we are seeing that and I think we're optimistic that that's one of these things that we're talking about and say, Yeah, we'll do more of that.   Carol: I think that's going to be exciting. I think when you look longitudinally at that data and you go, you take it out now you're out a year and a half, you start taking that data out two and a half, three, four, five years. I think you're probably going to see some probably amazing results because like you say, the person doesn't have food. It's hard to worry about. Like, I'm going to get this job, but I don't even have anything to eat and I'm starving, and I have to go to an interview and try to be on my best foot. Or I didn't have a place to wash my clothes or I couldn't take a shower or do any of that. It's getting back to that. Yeah, Maslow's hierarchy of needs, like you said, very important. That is super interesting. You also have staff that are embedded in business. I thought this was really cool and you were talking about some staff embedded within an HR department. Can you tell me a little more about that?   Mark: Absolutely. Recognizing that business is a customer of our system, again, that was have been, but it's really emphasized through WIOA. We reached out to employers and said, OK, ask them, what do you need? So we. And one of the things that came back is that they wanted our assistance, they wanted to ask questions, but they wanted a single point of contact because they don't have to call a new person every day. They don't want to hear from multiple people reaching out to them. So we said, Great, will for this business, here's a single point of contact, and that's where we're talking as we were brainstorming. One of my managers pointed out saying, Well, we really are looking at more outstations and we really are looking at more of a mobile workforce and this is pre-COVID. So we actually were meeting people in person. And so the single point of contact and approach that employers saying, would you be interested in having a person come out and spend time with you? And they said, Yeah, that would be great. I mean, would you be willing to give them some office space and say, yes, we would be happy to do that and give her some office space in their HR shop. And this is a really, really very large employer. It's a military contractor. They've got thousands of employees in their facility in that county. And for us, that's ample opportunity to kind of make a difference there so that started with two days a month of office hours. And it's kind of quiet start because nobody knew she was there. And then when she introduced herself, they have a disability affinity group.So she started attending that and talking about rehab and rehab services. And so their employees with disabilities or family members of employees with disabilities became informed about what we did and why we were there. Managers who had issues or questions about disability or accommodations, they would have started approaching her. And so in the first 3 months after about the first 6 months, then COVID hit and then now we've been providing that same support virtually like the rest of the world. But in the first 3 or 4 months, we got six referrals from that employer. There are other self-referral or they're referred by one of their managers. All 6 were found eligible. Developed 5 plans within just within a few days of application because we just met them there at the employment side there, right and the 6th applicant that we didn't write a plan for or we worked on a plan, but we didn't actually implement. The plan was because their supervisor and the employee said, Oh, we can do that. We don't need you. We don't need your help. Thank you for the information. And they went ahead and provided the accommodation as the employee and that employee didn't need our services and the other 5 were serving. And really, we offered them services, job retention, job promotion, but really marketed in two ways. One, we can help them with their hiring needs because this counselor can also set up hiring events, and we want to help your employees remain productive for you as the employer. And so they really appreciated that.   Carol: Everybody's looking for that. I mean, they're looking at ways to retain their employees. And if they're struggling, you may love that where your counselor is able to go in and maybe they're struggling, they don't know the right thing to do. And even though they might have like a disability specialist on staff, sometimes I find those folks really aren't, you know, the people that are kind of charged with that role. So you're bringing this other lens in and really helping support those individuals so they can keep their employment. That is excellent, really awesome.   Mark: You're totally right because we found that most of the time where their disability expert is typically somebody who is a diversity person, and so they've got a wide range of responsibilities. And for us, we like our niche. We are really good with disability and they don't have to be experts because they have access to that expert and really become a really good partnership. In fact, that employer has several other sites in California, and they're asking for the same. There was another really large employer in the Southern California area that we started talking with right before the pandemic, that we have a follow up meeting later this spring to do that as well and were literally looking at having somebody there every week.   Carol: That is super cool. I bet that has to be really rewarding for that counselor again, looking at ways of developing work differently so the counselors they feel engaged in and excited about their work and want to keep working for VR and not leaving us for the VA or whatever else. But that's gotta be super Rewarding.   Mark: And absolutely anybody is thinking of this for us. Just bringing in the employer was really enthusiastic and we actually had to sign non-disclosure because the military contractor, there's a background check. But just offering that free, you know, free service to them and free support to them, they're extremely grateful. And if you want to change an employer's culture, make it really easy for them to hire, promote and employ and recruit individuals with disabilities because that's what changes it isn't wanting to be more disability accessible and more disability friendly. It's actually having the experience and having the employees that reflect the world for us, the rest of the state.   Carol: Yeah, you're spot on. I know when I talked to joe on a previous podcast, I love Joe because he was telling me the microscope and the telescope, you know, be looking down and looking ahead. But he mentioned something really cool that you guys were looking at Sector Based Service teams. So how do we learn a little more about that and how that works? Do tell.   Mark: Really excited about this. We have this concept. We've started working on identifying how we would roll something like this out, and we actually applied for one of the Disability Innovation Fund grants and we got it this year. And so we have a five year grant. And so this allows us to not just take the concept we wanted to try out, but actually create a real research study and bring technical assistance and tools to bear on to see how this may impact really our. And our consumer success, the grant name is the Pathways to Success program, but it is that Sector Based strategy.   Carol: Are you doing it alone or are you in a collaborative with another state?   Mark: Oh, we're doing it on our own.   Carol:  Ok.   Mark: We figured we had ample consumers to work with in California.   Carol: Yeah, that's awesome.   Mark: And we started laying the foundation because we started working on the process. But having the ability to have this a set aside with a study and web have the university partner with San Diego State University and we have other partners as well. We got 15 letters of support across the state, including from our labor agency and our workforce partners, so we're really excited about that. The way I explain the sector based strategy is this typically a consumer is served by somebody from our program based on their proximity. So it's a consumer zip code that typically dictates who they're working with and sometimes through specialization. So you may have a counselor for the deaf, or you may have a counselor that works with supported employment caseload, but typically that's it. If I'm your consumer is because you're my zip code or because you're specializing in the school caseload. And so I remember working as a counselor and I had a transition aide, youth caseload of some migrant farm workers, justice involved individuals and those in support employment. So I had a variety of consumers in my zip code. So I was expected to be a disability expert. So, you know, went to school, you know, got that and learned that the consumer is the best expert in their disability. So, you know, so I didn't have to be an expert in every disability, but it was also my job to help the consumer prepare for employment, and I needed to then know about all these occupations. So at one time, I think I had a butcher, a teacher, a janitor, a software technician, a security guard, dental hygienist and a bank teller. And I think maybe even a line cook. Those are all plans that I had. And so I was expected as a brand new counselor to figure out how a cook gets a job and how a teacher gets a job, or what does a dental hygienist have to go through to get a job? And what is the security guard need? And I did it every time we had to do research, and I was never, never became an expert in anything. I became a generalist but never became an expert. And so writing a really, really good IPE with someone really is a challenge. And so we said, what have we have rather than the proximity? Because that's not really that important, particularly not nowadays, because you can work with people remotely and that's part of our sector based program.   Carol: Absolutely.   Mark: So we said, OK, what if we look at what are the high wage, high demand sectors in California? There were employers are clamoring for employees and why don't we prepare them a workforce by understanding exactly what they need, developing relationship with the sector employers and then having everybody that is interested in those specific occupations work for that same counselor. And so since we can use technology that can be located anywhere in the state because, for example, we have a health care specialist who's working with consumers across the state and helping guide them through how the Irvine Medical Center hires or how Kaiser Permanente hires. But actually doing it because they know somebody for Kaiser. They know somebody at Irvine Medical Center because they've told them this is how we hire. This is how if you want to get in the door, this is the credentialing or this is the training that you need. And here are some programs. So they become experts. So this pilot or this actually this grant now, so we have five specific sectors. One is health care, advanced manufacturing and green energy with information technology and communications and with biotechnology. Those are high demand, high wage sectors in California, and we have one specialist counselor that works with each of those sectors. We call our sector the business consultants that actually work with the employers and develop paid work experience. And we wrote in a component that almost everybody, if they don't have experience in the field already, they're actually all going to get paid work experience in their field. And the employers are willing and we set aside funds to do that because there's nothing better than try it before you buy it on both ends because we know how great our consumers are. We want our employers to find that out as well.   Carol: I love that. I love that. So that's only probably been going a few months now.   Mark: This summer, we put a framework together. We got the grant started October one. We're actually working on our contracts for some technical assistance because we want these jobs to be available to everybody, regardless of disability. So we're working with some specialists that are going to provide technical assistance and training to work with individuals on the spectrum and also individuals with intellectual disabilities. Because we believe skilled manufacturing is skill. I mean, that high wage here in California, we want to make sure that everybody has that opportunity. And it was really interesting. Even though it's been a few years, a few months, we're already seeing quite a few exciting things happen. They've really built up their reputation with the employer. So we're actually seeing some of the employers referring people to us to prepare them for that employer so they know somebody. And so one example is there's actually we actually got a consumer who wanted to go to medical school but didn't have the resources she was working. And so she going have the resources to go to medical school. She heard about us and actually, it's really fun because the question we're getting now is we understand that you're looking for people to work in health care or a nurse and not have a disability. I want to go to work. I hear you're preparing people for these types of jobs. And so when that consumer or that, well, now she's a consumer. But when she applied to us, she didn't really know about it, except. For we prepare people to get into the medical field. She has a significant disability, so clearly right in our wheelhouse, and we wanted to work with her, so we actually found her eligible virtually. They have never physically met. They met virtually through Zoom. The counselor worked with the consumer and actually wrote a plan for a doctor. And so she's actually a medical school now. She wrote a really nice note to her accounts. They're saying for the first time, she actually feels like she belongs somewhere.   Carol: Oh man.   Mark: I got chills because that's exactly what we want. We want people to feel like they belong.   Carol: And you're talking professions, too, that are not food, filth and flowers. You know, it's you're talking above that and really family sustaining wages careers. That's what VR is all about.   Mark: I can't think of a more fantastic role model if going to a physician with a significant disability and recognizing yourself in that physician because, well, I've been going to doctors for a long, long time and I've never really seen somebody who reflected the people that I work with. Absolutely. That's really cool. This cancer, her experience now she can work with anybody in the state, is interested in medical school, nursing a school or other careers in the health care sector. Because not only does she know about it, she also has the connections now. And one thing that's really cool about this when we talk about sector based, if you align all these consumers by their vocational goal in their sector, there's another thing you can do that's kind of fun. And for us, part of the project part of the grant is we're developing some electronic tools, and one of them is a web based online learning management system where the consumers that are, you know, let's say, health care consumers, they're all we've got twenty five individuals looking for nursing jobs and they're nursing. They can actually sign up, become a cohort and like a classroom, and the counselor can share information and job leads with them. But they can also speak with each other and kind of create their own network because we know that's how people get jobs. They can voluntarily put in their own name and communicate to the degree that they want. They can share resources, they can share their experiences and hopefully they build their own network and we're going to allow them to continue to be on that forever. Even though a case is closed. If you're somebody who worked through that and you're a nurse, maybe you can be a mentor. Maybe you can be a reference, maybe you can be a resource, or maybe some day, maybe an employer, one of the consumers that is going through that process. So we're going to roll that out this year. We're going to try that as well as some other things, and we have five years to try this out. We're hoping that over the five years that we're going to serve these 13, at least 13 other individuals that we're going to see if this makes a difference and we really believe it will.   Carol: I know we'll see you at a CSAVR conference down the road talking about all of the outcomes from this very cool project. I do want to get to one other thing because I know you have like maybe 14 more, but I wanted to talk about how you are opening up your operations to serve customers seven days a week and you're looking at outside of kind of the normal eight to four or nine to five type of hours. Tell me a little bit about that.   Mark: Yeah, thank you. And now it's great because we're looking at some of our future initiatives and we've actually started having the conversations and looking into and putting together the proposal to roll this out. And really, this is just one of our continuing initiatives to improve our customers experience with us. And so since we have now through October, we had this force evolution where the world of work has changed and we have technology and we have a great percentage of our staff works at least part time from home. For us, there's no reason to believe that that concept won't allow us to do something else. And even though we are huge state and we've got hundreds of miles in each direction where consumers could live and interact with our staff, the ability to work virtually allows us then to cover the whole state for somebody that could be located in the middle of the state or in the north part of the state. And so currently we're serving participants predominantly between eight and five p.m. a Monday through Friday. Sometimes, you know, there's some wiggle room. We have some offices may start at seven or seven thirty, but typically it's between eight to five. But we know that people who are in school or they're working, that's probably at the same time as they're in school or working. And so it's really hard to connect. And we also know that emergencies, they don't keep an eight to five schedule either. And so using technology and recognizing that people are able to work from home, they can text, they can use FaceTime and Zoom. We want to expand the availability. So we're putting out the option for our staff, for counselors and for our support staff to change their schedules, to work Saturday and take a weekday off so they can work Tuesday through Saturday, or they can work Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday. So for us to start with opening Saturday and having five or six or seven, depending on utilization, we'll figure out what the right number of staff are. And through our website and through what we're building our portal out and through our portal or through our website. Anybody who has a need or a question can actually connect with a counselor and actually get services on Saturdays as well. And so we're going to take a look at that Saturday in terms of getting the technology and the systems to work and see what the utilization is. Plan is, whether it's seven or seven thirty in the morning to seven o'clock in the evenings, and again our staff would be able to work from home. The idea, again, is that if somebody needs something that they should be able to get a hold of somebody, an actual person next month. Actually, we're rolling out our consumer. Payment card is instead of having checks or other processes to get services to consumers, they'll actually going to have their debit card that we issue them. And the way we set it up is that upon ordering it, we can refill that card within 30 minutes of us requesting it from our vendor that if somebody needs books, supplies transportation or they're starting to work on Saturday and they need their work boots, or they need to get something for a work uniform that they can contact us, the counselor, like our counselor of the day, would during the regular week would be able to do the authorization, work with our office technician and then sponsor the card so they can get services on Saturday as well. And the goal for us really is and all these efforts is to both modernize and to improve our customers experience with us because we need to meet them where they are. And this is another one of examples of where we're trying to do that.   Carol: Well, I'm sure many of the things that you talked about today are going to pique some of our listeners interest. So I just wondering what is the best way for someone to get a hold of you if they just want to get a little bit more information about one or more of the things that you've mentioned today?   Mark: I'd be happy to connect with anybody. I mean, we started meeting with several other states, both we're taking information from them and we're sharing with them about some of our initiatives. If anybody else has any questions, probably the best way is, you know, just shoot me an email and I'll be happy to respond. And likely I will connect you with the experts in this because I'm talking like, I'm doing all this hard work is really my team and my team is phenomenal, and I connect with the experts and people are actually living this and be happy to participate as well. Anything I can do and any information I can provide or answer any questions. Really happy to do that. And we recognize that even though we're California, we're all one family. So across the country, we share resource information and we hope successes with all our other programs.   Carol: I've always appreciated that about California. You guys have always been really willing. I know I reached out many times in my time when I was Minnesota. I would reach out for different ideas and just to get more information. And I've appreciated that you guys have been super open and really responsive because I feel like when we lift each other up like it lifts up the whole country. So can you give us your email address?   Mark: Yeah. So it's mark m A r k period Erlichman e r l i c h man at D as in dog o r C A dot Gov.   Carol: Well, I appreciate that Mark. I really appreciate you spending time with me today. I know you're super busy, so thanks for being on the show. I'm definitely going to check back to see how some of these new initiatives are going down the road. You'll have more metrics and fun things to share, so I hope you have a great day.   Mark: Really appreciate it. Thank you. And have a good  day.   Speaker1: Conversations powered by VR, one manager at a time, one minute at a time, brought to you by the VRtAC for Quality Management, catch all of our podcast episodes by subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts. Thanks for listening!

A rebroadcast of the hybrid in-person & virtual "Meet the Candidates" forum for Genesee County that was run by Independent Living Center of the Genesee Region and Western New York Independent Living. The forum featured candidates for the Town Councils of Batavia, Bergen and LeRoy.

Jan Lemucchi from the Independent Living Center of Kern County (ILCKC) stops by the TehachaPod studios to share some valuable information regarding the work they do with members of the community with disabilities. ILCKC is a nonprofit organization that helps with a wide variety of services helping people with disabilities to live independently. Jan talks about emergency preparedness and things people with disabilities should think about before we enter the Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) season. Also she shares from her experience of being in the middle of a large wildfire and things she would do differently. ILCKC is a resource for the disabled community and also provides ASL Interpreting Services services for businesses among other things. Check out their website www.ILCofKernCounty.org We encourage you to send your questions and show ideas to Media@TehachapiCityHall.com 

# Blaise talks with Sonam Willow, Housing and Benefits Specialist at the Independent Living Center of the Hudson Valley in Troy, NY. They discuss Independent Living services, education, employment, housing, and much more! What was your big takeaway? Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.

Episode Notes In Q & C Part 18, I invite past guest Sara Camps on the show to talk about their experience with multiple disabilities during the pandemic. We also explore their work with an Independent Living Center in Indiana, and how those services have been affected by Coronavirus. Sara also highlights some work they've done as a contact tracer and how that can help and/or hinder the fight against coronavirus. You can follow Sara on Twitter https://twitter.com/cheesepickles If you want to be a part of a Quarantine & Chill Episode, be sure to e-mail us at disabilityafterdark@gmail.com using the subject line "Quarantine and Chill". Thank you for listening! This podcast is powered by Pinecast. This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

We are dedicating some episodes to highlight the experiences, research, and accomplishments of UAlbany School of Social Welfare students. This episode features BSW senior Jessica Rodgers.Jessica Rodgers is a senior at UAlbany preparing to enter the Advanced Standing MSW program. She has an associate degree in human services, is the president of the Baccalaureate Social Welfare Association. She has spent the last several months as an intern with the Independent Living Center of the Hudson Valley. Prior to going back to school to pursue a social work degree, Jessica worked with adults who have dementia and discovered a passion for direct-care work that had not been satisfied by her previous field of public relations. When she's not studying or at work, she enjoys reading and playing video games. 

LaMondré Pough is the Chief Sustainability Officer for Ruh Global IMPACT and host of the podcast 5P with LaMondré (5Ppodcast.com) where he combines both his personal and professional missions to “create environments where all people have a sense of belonging- where their insights, experiences and perspectives are truly valued.” LaMondré began his career in Disability Inclusion as a college student in central South Carolina where he became the leading advocate at The Disability Action Center, the state's first Independent Living Center.  He went on to launch The LaMondré Pough Show Empowerment Radio and to create the Best Buy Access Initiative for Best Buy Co. Inc., before joining TecAccess where he rose to VP of Sales and Marketing. A native of South Carolina, LaMondré was elected Chairman of the Student Advisory Board at Midlands Technical College where he studied Liberal Arts and English Literature. He was recently awarded with an Honorary Doctorate in Christian Humanities by The School of the Great Commission.Diagnosed before his second birthday with spinal muscular atrophy, LaMondré resides in Columbia, where he serves as the Chairman of Arts Access South Carolina and is a recognized leader and voice for the community of People with Disabilities.

Steve Vladeck joins us to dive further into federal courts and federal rights. After getting Steve’s take on our discussion concerning federal courts of appeals and gay marriage last week with Michael Dorf, we discuss the issues raised by what Steve thinks could be a major new case in the Supreme Court this term: Armstrong v. Exceptional Child Center. How and when can you enforce a federal statute or the Constitution against state officials? Simple question, right? This show’s links: Steve Vladeck’s profile, his writing, his info and posts on the Just Security blog, and his Twitter feed Oral Argument 34: There’s Not Really a Best Font with Matthew Butterick and Oral Argument 11: Big Red Diesel (when Butterick’s Practical Typography was first brought up on the show) Oral Argument 37: Hammer Blow, in which Michael Dorf delivered many lessons in the relationship between state courts and lower federal courts, an issue critical for the current state of gay marriage in the United States Danforth v. Minnesota (deciding that states, as a matter of state law, may apply retroactively new constitutional rules announced by the Supreme Court, even if federal law does not require retroactive application) Bush v. Gore (Rehnquist’s concurring opinion arguing that state courts may not interfere, even through state constitutional judgments, with certain legislatively enacted election laws that interact in advantageous ways with federal law) VOPA v. Stewart Stephen Vladeck, Douglas and the Fate of Ex Parte Young Douglas v. Independent Living Center The Eleventh Amendment: “The judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States by citizens of another state, or by citizens or subjects of any foreign state.” Ex part Young (And note in dissent we find Justice Harlan, the heroic dissenter in Plessy v. Ferguson, sounding the federalist alarm: Allowing private suits in federal courts against state officers for their official actions “would inaugurate a new era in the American judicial system and in the relations of the National and state governments. It would enable the subordinate Federal courts to supervise and control the official action of the States as if they were "dependencies" or provinces.”) The cases Steve cites as leading up to Ex parte Young: Hans v. Louisiana (interpreting the Eleventh Amendment to bar suits arising under federal law against a state not only by citizens of “another state” but also by its own citizens) and Lochner v. New York Adar v. Smith (the Fifth Circuit case to which Steve referred that permitted Louisiana to refuse to add a gay adoptive parent’s name to a birth certificate) Alexander v. Sandoval (marking the end of inferring private causes of action in federal statutes) Gonzaga University v. Doe Lyle Deniston, Opinion Analysis: A Right to Sue Under Medicaid – Maybe Pennsylvania Pharmacists Association v. Houstoun (in which then-Judge Alito notes that while providers may not sue under the Medicaid access requirements “Medicaid recipients plainly satisfy the intended-to-benefit requirement and are thus potential private plaintiffs” under section 1983) SCOTUSblog page for Armstrong v. Exceptional Child Center, which will be updated with briefs, arguments, and, ultimately, the Court’s decision Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida Steve’s amicus brief in Douglas Jonathan Freiman, to whom both Steve and Christian trace experience with detainee cases Special Guest: Steve Vladeck.

Individuals with disabilities find hope and help from the Independent Living Center in Westchester and Putnam counties; guest Joe Bravo.

Individuals with disabilities find hope and help from the Independent Living Center in Westchester and Putnam counties; guest Joe Bravo.

Host Kevin Willett is joined by Kevin Farrell from the Northeast Independent Living Program. The Northeast Independent Living Program, Inc. is a consumer controlled Independent Living Center providing Advocacy and Services to people with all disabilities in the greater Merrimack Valley who wish to live independently in the community.   Please support the NILP by participating in their golf tournament on June 25th at the Indian Ridge Country Club http://www.nilp.org/nilp_golf.html Audio file:  northeastindependentlivingprogram.mp3

Douglas v. Independent Living Center of Southern Cal., Inc. | 10/03/11 | Docket #: 09-958

A case which the Court remanded to the Ninth Circuit regarding whether or not federal law preempts state reductions in Medicaid payments.

First, we join our heroine Geri at her job interview at the local Independent Living Center as we play another scene from our original play, “Blind Man's Bluff”.  Starring Kris Yates, Mary Ann (Tidwell) Boussard, Doyle Saylor, Leah Gardner, Jan Santos & Patty Nash. From the memoir of the same name by Geri Taekens. Then Adrienne Lauby talks to Stephanie Sugars about a community of people living with a rare genetic disease, Peutz-Jeghers Syndrome.  The e-group she facilitates is celebrating its tenth year anniversary this month. These 250-300 people, who live with Peutz-Jeghers Syndrome, face decades of dangerous medical procedures and difficult reproductive questions.  They engage with each other from many countries, ages and income levels.  How do they handle the news of a miracle cure misinformation about medical procedures, abortion & fertility topics, death among their members and other potentially dangerous moments? The post “Blind Man's Bluff” Part Two, Peutz-Jeghers Syndrome Community appeared first on KPFA.

Joyce welcomes Cindy Mancuso, career counselor and diversity advisor at Canada's McGill University, Deborah L. Kennard, founder and board member of the Metropolitan Montreal Independent Living Resource Centre and Bob White, its acting executive director. Discussed on the show will be working for freedom and independence in Montreal, as well as a discussion of the McGill University programs and the Independent Living Center programs.