Alert - Support Home Accessibility

The following alert is from the New York Association on Independent Living - https://ilny.us

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Take action to ensure Access to Home can serve people statewide!

Inaccessible housing remains a big barrier for people wanting to live in the community. New York's Master Plan on Aging is in the early stages, but we do not see a commitment to fund home accessibility in the Executive Budget. Unfortunately, New York State's existing home modification program, Access to Home, has been severely underfunded at a mere $1 million for several years. This has left many parts of the state unserved and has resulted in years-long waiting lists. We know that home modifications help people stay in their homes to prevent unwanted and unnecessary institutionalization.

What You Can Do:

Click the link below to visit our action center to send a message, call, and tweet a message to your elected representatives in the state. Ask them to include $10 million in state funding for Access to Home and share your story of why home modifications are so important.

Take Action Today in Support of Access to Home!

Background:

Access to Home is an important program administered by NYS Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) that provides funding for home modifications to allow people with disabilities and older New Yorkers to stay in their homes and out of costly institutions. For many people, the addition of a ramp to their front door makes the difference between being able to leave the house and being homebound. The Independent Living community advocated vigorously for the State to create Access to Home to help alleviate the housing crisis for people with disabilities in New York by assisting low and middle-income individuals and families to make home modifications. Yet, Access to Home was cut by 75% many years ago under the Cuomo administration. Ever since, Access to Home has been funded at a mere $1 million statewide, leaving many parts of the state without the program and resulting in years long waiting lists.

Access to Home requires significantly more funding to come close to meeting the need of people in this state to modify their homes to make them accessible.

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If you are interested in disability advocacy issues like this one, contact Colleen Downs, Systems Advocate at:

colleen@ncci-online.com

518-563-9058 Ext. 110

The Mission of the North Country Center for Independence is to help people with disabilities to live more independent and productive lives, and promote better policies and community understanding of disability issues. NCCI serves people with disabilities, families, and the community on issues related to physical and mental disabilities. NCCI is led and staffed mostly by people with disabilities. It is one of the 41 Independent Living Centers in New York State. There are also hundreds of similar centers throughout the United States. NCCI serves Clinton and Essex Counties, New York.

Alert - Please Ask Governor Hochul to Sign the Visitability Tax Credit Bill!

The following alert is from New York Association on Independent Living:

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The Governor just received our home accessibility tax credit bill to sign and we just finished our statewide accessible housing survey. The lack of options to get help with home modifications is not surprising to any of us, but we need your help to change things! Please call the Governor today. We've included the phone number and details below.

The Visitability Tax Credit bill, A.3409/S.7365 would provide homeowners with a tax credit of up to $2,750 to renovate their home to make it more accessible, or to go toward the cost of developing a universally visitable home.

What You Can Do:

Help ensure Governor Hochul understands the need for the State to off-set the costs of making one’s home accessible by calling her today at #518-474-8390. Press 3 and then press 2 to speak with a person.

"Hello, I'm calling to urge Governor Hochul to sign the Visitability Tax Credit bill, A.3409 / S.7365..."

You can also communicate to her how important accessible housing is in keeping people in their homes and out of nursing homes. You can explain how expensive it is to make modifications and how a tax credit, such as the one created by A.3409/S.7365 would help make it more affordable.

Background:

The disability community has long advocated for New York to increase the accessible housing stock across the State by incentivizing the use of “visitability” design standards. This includes basic accessible features, including:

• One no-step entrance

• An accessible path to the door

• hallways and doorways wide enough to accommodate a wheelchair

• An accessible bathroom on the first floor

Due to the high cost of home modifications, many people cannot afford to make changes to their homes to make them more accessible, or to move to a more accessible home. Most prefer to remain at home rather than move to nursing facilities or different, more accessible housing as their needs change. However, many are forced out because their homes are no longer safe or practical for them to live in. This tax credit will help to ensure that people with disabilities and older New Yorkers are able to afford these modifications and remain in their homes.

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If you are interested in disability advocacy issues like this one, contact Colleen Downs, Systems Advocate at:

colleen@ncci-online.com

518-563-9058 Ext. 110

The Mission of the North Country Center for Independence is to help people with disabilities to live more independent and productive lives, and promote better policies and community understanding of disability issues. NCCI serves people with disabilities, families, and the community on issues related to physical and mental disabilities. NCCI is led and staffed mostly by people with disabilities. It is one of the 41 Independent Living Centers in New York State. There are also hundreds of similar centers throughout the United States. NCCI serves Clinton and Essex Counties, New York.

Event Accessibility Survey

The North Country Center for Independence in Plattsburgh, NY is conducting a community survey about local events – like fairs, festivals, and community celebrations. The anonymous online survey takes about 5 minutes. We hope you will participate in the survey and encourage others as well.

Have you ever stayed away from local events due to uncertainty over accessibility, such as:

• Ease of finding parking or transportation to get there?

• Whether you can navigate the grounds once you're there?

• Adequate or size-appropriate seating.

• Other considerations about the setting and what you'd need to know before you got there?

What about friends / family members you may want to bring but have concerns about accessibility?

NCCI seeks to compile the results of this survey to highlight issues that may limit participation in events for people with disabilities or other impairments.

The survey can also be found on our Facebook page or our website at: www.ncci-online.com.

Action Alert: Visitability Tax Credit Bill

Governor Cuomo Can Support Community Living By Enacting Visitability Tax Credit Bill!

People want to live in homes, not nursing homes! Very often, basic home modifications make the difference between the ability to live one’s life in the community and being homebound, or worse, sent into an institution.

The Visitability Tax Credit bill, A.2493/S.2424 would provide homeowners with a tax credit of up to $2,750 to renovate their home to make it more accessible, or to go toward the cost of developing a universally visitable home. This bill was sent to the Governor Friday and he has until next Wednesday to decide whether to sign it into law or veto it.

What You Can Do:
Help ensure Governor Cuomo understands the need for the State to off-set the costs of making one’s home accessible by calling him today at 518-474-8390. Press 2 to speak with a person.

You can communicate to him how important accessible housing is in keeping people in their homes and out of nursing homes. You can explain how expensive it is to make modifications and how a tax credit, such as the one created by A.2493/S.2424 would help make it more affordable.

Background: The disability community has long advocated for New York to increase the accessible housing stock across the State by incentivizing the use of “visitability” design standards. This includes basic accessible features, including:

• One no-step entrance

• An accessible path to the door

• hallways and doorways wide enough to accommodate a wheelchair

• An accessible bathroom on the first floor

Due to the high cost of home modifications, many people cannot afford to make changes to their homes to make them more accessible, or to move to a more accessible home. Most prefer to remain at home rather than move to nursing facilities or different, more accessible housing as their needs change. However, many are forced out because their homes are no longer safe or practical for them to live in. This tax credit will help to ensure that people with disabilities and older New Yorkers are able to afford these modifications and remain in their homes.

Bowling Fundraiser Results!

The Second Annual “Winz N’ Pinz” bowling fundraiser on Saturday, September 28 raised just under $5,000! The money will go towards essential items needed by our transition services to assist consumers moving from a nursing home back into their community.

We want to thank all of our amazing sponsors and bowlers. The following local businesses helped us with this fundraising even:

Event Sponsors

Ann Michaud
Bill & Sue Hoke
Champy’s Fun City at Comfort Inn
Chazy Hardware
Cornerstone Drugs & Gifts
Cumberland 12 Cinemas
Dannemora Federal Credit Union
Derby Line Cutting
Dick’s Country Store
Dunkin Donuts
Friction Band
Good Guys
Koffee Kat
Mainely Lobster and Seafood
Mary Kozak
Maw & Paw Shop
Mountain Mart
Napa Auto Parts (Champlain)
Nelson’s Flower Shop
Nephew’s Wine and Liquor
Norma J’s
Northern Orchards
Olive Ridley’s
Patsy Latham Photography
Pennysaver
Perkins Family Restaurant
Play it Again Sports
Price Chopper
Primelink
Samples Lumber Co.
Sherry’s Kitchen
Sip
Stewart’s Shops
The Greenery
VFW Post 8793 (Ellenburg)
Vesco Ridge Vineyard

… and Sam’s Club for its very generous $500 sponsorship!

Lane Sponsors

20 Below
Adirondack Surveying, PLLC
Association Development Group, Inc. (3 lanes!)
CFA Insurance Agency
LaGoy’s Automotive LLC
Mike Foote State Farm Insurance
Monopole
Primelink
SymQuest
TM Auto Repair (Plattsburgh)
TwinState Technologies
Walmart
WeCare Transport Service LLC

… and North Bowl Lanes for once again being such a great host for our event.

Media Partners

Hall Radio
Home Town Cable
Lake Champlain Weekly
Mountain Lake PBS
Pennysaver
Star 92.9 FM
The Islander
The North Countryman
WCAX Channel 3
WIRY AM

And of course, none of this would have been possible without the tireless work of our staff and Board of Directors.

Thank you everyone!

Here are some pictures …

Shelly and Leslie

Bowling Team from 20 Below Deli

Christine, Matthew, Eli and boys

Tina and Carissa

Lynden

Robert and Kim

Christine

Megan and Regan

Christina

Leslie

Regan and Jenna (Regan is helping with information and referral)

Will and his teammates with the Overall High Score Award

Dora with the Pin Dodger Award

29th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act

29 years ago today, then President George H. W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act. In the years right after, the basic structure of the ADA became as familiar to people with disabilities as the backs of our own hands. But nearly 30 years after the law passed, it’s probably a good idea to review what’s actually in it. The Americans with Disabilities Act includes three main sections or “Titles”:

Title I: Employment

* Makes it illegal to deny employment and job benefits because of disability, as long as the disabled person is otherwise able to perform the essential functions of the job.

* Requires employers with 15 or more employees to provide reasonable, individual accommodations to disabled employees to enable them to do their jobs.

Title II: State & Local Government

* Requires state and local governments at all levels to make all of their services and programs accessible and provide equal service to people with disabilities.

* Program accessibility can include a combination of physical accessibility and individual supports and modifications to make each program as a whole generally accessible.

Title III: Public Accommodations

* Businesses and organizations that provide goods and services to the public must provide equal service to customers with disabilities.

* Businesses and organizations must make their public facilities physically accessible for all, and provide reasonable individual accommodations as needed to ensure individuals are able to get equal service.

* Accessibility is defined by the ADA Accessibility Guidelines, a set of specific physical standards to ensure a base level of accessibility in all types of facilities.

There is also a Title IV that deals with specific telecommunication services, like TV captioning and telephone relay systems for the deaf. The ADA also set ambitious long-term goals of making all kinds of transportation accessible, including buses and trains. Note that the ADA was designed to complement already existing disability rights laws such as:

• Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act covering the federal government.

• The Fair Housing Act covering housing, and

• The Air Carrier Access Act covering commercial air travel.

• Later on, Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act mandated accessibility of websites.

For more information on the ADA, try these links:

• Title I

• Title II

• Title III

• ADA Standards for Accessible Design

• ADA Update: A Primer for Small Business

• ADA Update: A Primer for State and Local Governments

• ADA Enforcement, including enforcement cases 2006-present

If you have questions about disability rights and accessibility, you can always call us at the North Country Center for Independence at 518-563-9058.

Action Alert: Act Now to Ensure All Voting Reforms Are Accessible To People With Disabilities!

This Action Alert was posted today by the New York Association on Independent Living (NYAIL) ...

The legislature is planning to take up a package of voting reforms on Monday. Among the package of bills is A.780/S.1102, which would implement early voting in New York State. NYAIL strongly supports making it easier to vote by enacting voting reforms like early voting and same day and automatic voter registration, but it is critical that accessibility is prioritized in all of these proposed policies!

As written, the current bill does not ensure full accessibility to voters with disabilities during early voting. It does not require that a ballot marking device be available during early voting. In other states that already have early voting, ballot marking devices have not always been available. It is critical that the state ensure they are available in New York! Other states have not always included BMDs during early voting. This is unacceptable!

Call the Election Law Chairs and the heads of the State Senate and Assembly today and urge them to ensure full accessibility during early voting when they take up A.780/S.1102 on Monday!

Action: CALL TODAY!

• Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart Cousins - 518-455-2585
• Speaker of the Assembly Carl Heastie - 518-455-3791
• Assembly Election Law Chair, Charles Lavine - 518-455-5456
• Senate Election Law Chair, Zellnor Myrie - 518-455-2431

Say:

"I strongly support making it easier for everyone to vote by implementing early voting, automatic voter registration and same day voter registration, as long as accessibility for voters with disabilities is prioritized in all voting reforms. A.780/S.1102 does not do this. The bill does not mandate a ballot marking device, which allows people to vote privately and independently, be available during early voting. Whenever and wherever elections are held and in whatever format, the State and localities must make all voting accessible to all voters with disabilities, and having a ballot marking device at all polling locations during early voting is an essential part of full accessibility."

Straw Ban Followup ... Action Needed

As previously discussed, the City of Plattsburgh is studying the possibility of a ban on disposable plastic straws. This is part of a growing nationwide trend ... a popular, seemingly simple way to respond the serious problem of mass plastic waste, particularly in the world's oceans.

The problem is that many people with disabilities rely on plastic straws to be able to drink, at home and in restaurants in the community. The North Country disability community needs to speak up now, and make sure that whatever ordinance is passed does not unduly burden disabled people, either by making access to straws more difficult and expensive, or by socially stigmatizing their use.

Click below to read more about what banning plastic straws means for people with disabilities:

The Problem With Banning Plastic Straws

City councilors have said they will take the needs of people with disabilities into account, and they are currently gathering feedback on the idea through an online survey. Please take a few minutes to fill out the City's survey on banning plastic straws. Click here to take the survey, it will close on September 30.

The Problem With Banning Plastic Straws

The City of Plattsburgh has been asked to institute a ban of disposable plastic straws, and several Council members are open to discussing it in a way that could lead to some kind of official ban.

City mulls plastic straw ban

Elizabeth Izzo, Sun Community News - August 8, 2018

This is part of a growing nation-wide trend ... a popular, seemingly simple way to respond the serious problem of mass plastic waste, particularly in the world's oceans. However, one important consideration has been consistently overlooked, and when brought up, has been largely dismissed, sometimes rather harshly.

The problem with banning plastic straws is that many people with significant physical disabilities depend on them to drink liquids every day. It is a basic and indispensable accessibility tool, with no replacement currently available that is durable, safe, and affordable. The disability community has spent the last several weeks trying to inform people about this problem, and help craft good-faith solutions that address the environmental problem while meeting the needs of people with disabilities.

One solution that might work for Plattsburgh is instead of banning plastic straws completely, to ban restaurants from handing them out without being asked ... while at the same time allowing them to continue to carry plastic straws for any customer to request.

It would be important to allow this "on request" provision not just for disabled people -- because having to make a “special” request stigmatizes disabled people. Some servers might be nice about it, but others might think it’s okay to question the disabled customer, or act like it’s lazy, selfish choice, or an annoyance. Disabled people are often treated poorly when they have to ask for special assistance, or even legally required and sensible accommodations. Even using handicapped parking can subject us to glares if we don’t “look disabled enough.”

As for using alternative types of straws:

Just about all alternative currently available have problems. Paper straws break down with hot beverages. Metal and other rigid material straws can cause injury. The reason some disabled people need straws is that they have difficulty controlling their hand and head movements. If a plastic straw pokes you in the face because of twitch or tremor, it’s no big deal. If a metal straw pokes you it can hurt you. Some people also bite down on the straw to control it, and a metal straw is bad for that, while plastic straws both give and hold up. And straws that bend are often critical. In fact, plastic bendy straws were originally invented for hospitals, for patients who couldn’t drink independently from a cup.

This all sounds very nit picky and particular to people who don’t have this kind of disability, but they are real issues.

It’s not just about disabled people who may be customers already, it’s that a straw ban becomes yet another barrier, a reason why a significantly disabled person might choose to stay at home, because being “out” in the community is just that little bit more uncomfortable. It’s another way to feel unwelcome, like a “problem.”

That’s not a social condition Plattsburgh should be contributing to.

We are asking that anyone who can talk about direct experience of using plastic straws for disability-related reasons let us know if they are willing to speak out on this proposal and possible alternatives. You can contact us through our website: www.ncci-online.com, or by calling us at 518-563-9058.

For further reading on this issue:

Plastic straw bans are the latest policy to forget the disability community

Karin Hitselberger, Washington Post - July 12, 2018

The Last Straw

Alice Wong, Eater - July 19, 2018

Why People With Disabilities Want Bans On Plastic Straws To Be More Flexible

Maria Godoy, National Public Radio - July 11, 2018

National Disability Voter Registration Week

Do you have a disability? Does someone in your family of voting age have a disability? Are you registered to vote? Are they registered to vote?

The deadline to register in New York State for the November 6, 2018 Midterm Election is October 12, 2018.

For more information or to register, call the North Country Center for Independence at 518-563-9058.

Important things to know about voting and people with disabilities:

• People with any kind of disability can register to vote, as long as they are U.S. citizens of voting age, 18 or older. Cognitive or mental disabilities do not disqualify someone from voting, unless an individual been ruled legally ineligible. Election officials and poll workers alone cannot determine a disabled person’s eligibility to vote.

• Disabled adults who are under legal guardianship may or may not be eligible to vote, depending on the terms of their guardianship. If you are not sure, you should find out. Guardianship terms can be changed if necessary to specifically allow an otherwise eligible person with disabilities who is under guardianship to vote.

• Polling places should be physically accessible, and have voting mechanisms that are accessible to blind, visually impaired, and physically impaired people. Some disabled people may, if they choose, request a mail-in absentee ballot, but that does not lessen the obligation for polling sites to be accessible.

• If transportation is an issue, and you want to vote, it’s best to make arrangements well ahead of election day.

• You may be asked to provide identification at your polling site. A driver’s license, passport, or non-driver ID will suffice.

• If you have any difficulty voting, or anyone tries to prevent you from voting, call your Board of Elections: Clinton Co. 518-565-4740, Essex Co. 518-873-3474, Franklin Co. 518-481-1663.

Lisa Schur and Douglas Kruse of Rutgers University have been studying voting participation among people with disabilities over the last few elections. Their most recent report, looking at 2016 voting, included some key findings:

About 16 million Americans with disabilities voted in 2016.

68.3% of voting age people with disabilities were registered to vote in 2016, compared to 70.6% of non-disabled people, a 2.3% registration gap. 82% of registered disabled voters actually voted, compared with 88% of non-disabled registered voters, a 6% gap in voting participation.

Kruse and Schur found that while voting by disabled people increased from 2008 to 2012, the voting rate for people with disabilities actually went down in 2016.

(Source: Lisa Schur and Douglas Kruse, Fact sheet: Disability and Voter Turnout in the 2016 Elections).