Be Sure to Vote on November 2^nd

The November elections are next week! If you haven't given much thought to the elections yet, now is the time to start. There are several things that you can do:

• Go to https://webapps.sos.state.mi.us/mivote/ on the Internet, enter your name, address and birth month/year or your driver's license number and birth month/year to verify your registration and see a local ballot
• Check your local news sources or Internet resources for information about candidates and issues on your ballot
• Plan to take your photo ID to the polls

Polling sites are required to be accessible. DNMM has reviewed some local voting- sites for accessibility. If you find your site is not accessible, have someone ask at the voting site how they can accommodate your ability to vote in THIS election. Then notify your City Clerk or other appropriate local official about the lack of accessibility and let the Disability Network know about the issue also. 

According to the Michigan.gov/vote site, all counties in DNMM's service area have AutoMARK voter-assist terminals available that let voters magnify the ballot, provides a touch screen for people who have difficulty with writing instruments, etc. 

Every vote is important. Please be sure to cast your ballot on Tuesday, November 2^nd!

Inaccessible Recreation Problem

Needs to Be Solved

By: Sara (Kristal) Grivetti

On a warm, sunny October afternoon I had the opportunity to join my fellow Access to Recreation committee members on a canoe trip down the Chippewa River. Although one might perceive our trip as entertainment, it also served an important purpose.

Three years ago the Midland Area Community Foundation, in collaboration with area non-profits, set out to improve the accessibility of several recreation sites in Midland County with the aid of a grant from the Kellogg Foundation. Our current project is adding universally-designed canoe launches at Manitou Park and the Chippewa Nature Center.

So, the purpose of our trip was to determine how INACCESSIBLE the current site was. We quickly discovered that carrying canoes and kayaks about an 1/8 mile down hill was not an easy trek... but when we discovered than one of our committee members couldn't walk that far we had no choice but to load him up in the canoe and carry him to the river. (See photos.)

While we recognized this was okay for the purpose of our trip, transporting a person in this manner is not feasible nor is it a dignified way for a person to be transported. People with disabilities want to participate in ALL types of activities, including recreation. And, they should be able to do it as independently as possible.

The canoe launch that is being designed for the Chippewa River is an award-winning launch design that not just people with physical disabilities can appreciate, but people with balance concerns also will appreciate. It allows easy entry into a canoe without the fear of tipping the canoe over.

But, in order to see this project come to reality the Access to Recreation committee needs to raise $280,000. If you want to help see this come to reality please consider a donation made payable to:

Midland Area Community Foundation

(c/o Access to Recreation)

76 Ashman Circle

Midland, MI 48640

www.midlandfoundation.org

How Disability Network Helped Elena

Elena is a 17 year-old girl with a learning disability who was raised in the Bullock Creek area. Introduced to the Disability Network of Mid-Michigan (DNMM) when she was 14 and in middle school, Elena feels that this organization has been nothing short of an amazing helping hand, guiding her through the years.

When Elena entered high school she met Nora Maza, STAGES Staff Member, and it wasn't long before she considered Nora one of her best friends. This relationship grew over the course of four years and consisted of mutual understanding, reliance, and learning. When asked her about life before she became involved with Disability Network Elena says, "I wasn't very social. I didn't know how to talk or communicate with people." She was lonely, she said. "I had little to no friends; simply making eye contact with another person was hard for me."  Elena had a difficult time in all sorts of social environments, had trouble with reading, and had problems comprehending questions and understanding what was wanted when people asked her to do simple tasks.

Elena and Nora met once a week during the school year. Nora would pick Elena up at school and they would venture together out into the community. It was on these adventures that Elena learned how to complete specific tasks important to living an independent life. These tasks ranged from cooking and cleaning to counting money and filling out job applications. "Nora would take me to DNMM's Skill Site and work with me as I learned how to bake cookies and how to cook basic dishes. I also learned how to pick up after myself. Sometimes there were several kids at the site and I got better at interacting with people my age." According to Nora, Elena's social and independent living skills greatly improved during these interactions. A lot of Elena's money management skills focused on daily handling of money, on budgeting to save for larger items instead of spending all the money she got when she got it, and on using a bank to keep her money safe and to help her handle it.

Along with mentoring students as academic learners, Disability Network also provides programs that help students learn how to get and keep a job. Learning specific strategies for applying for jobs, along with learning what to wear and the kinds of topics to discuss during job interviews are part of the training that Elena received when she participated in STAGES .

Over the course of her time with Disability Network, Elena made lots of changes. Along with improving her social skills, Elena is now taking several general education courses and has plans to graduate. "Nora taught me how to understand money, how to dress for jobs, and how go to interviews. I'll be ready to find a job when I graduate from school. She also taught me how to write a check and how to do the tasks that I will have to do when I live on my own. I have her to thank for so much. These sound like little things, but when I look back at them now I see that they are huge parts of my being able to be independent.

There's no cure for a learning disability, and you don't outgrow it, but it's never too late to get help. Most people with learning disabilities learn to adapt to their learning differences, and they learn strategies that help them accomplish their goals and dreams. Elena is a prime example of such a person.

Michigan Civil Rights Commission Addresses Disabilities

Sara Grivetti, Executive Director of the Disability Network of Mid-Michigan (DNMM) and Lead Partner in the Great Lakes Business Leadership Network (GLBLN), gave a presentation to the Michigan Civil Rights Commission on October 4, 2010, during an open forum. The presentation focused on strides DNMM is making to encourage and support individuals with disabilities in the workplace. About thirty area business professionals and individuals from local nonprofit organizations attended the hour-long forum at Midland's Great Hall Banquet and Convention Center.

Despite making noteworthy steps forward, some employers still harbor fears about hiring people with disabilities. Such fears often are the result of existing myths and stereotypes about individuals with disabilities in the workplace. Do-All, Inc. President and CEO Christopher R. Girard told the commission that this incorrect thinking has built up barriers to employment and it has to stop.

According to Girard. "If we can understand that people are not their disabilities we are moving forward," Vice Chair Zelley said. "I use a wheelchair but that does not define me. It is not who I am. I play guitar - I'm not a nuclear scientist or a lawyer - but I still do a lot of good."

"A significant change comes about when companies realize that individuals with disabilities - because of the environment they come from - can be valuable employees," Zelley added. "They are extremely adaptable, because they've had to be. And they are problem solvers. These qualities often lead to success in the workplace."

Currently, DNMM is working with The Dow Chemical Company in a pioneering disability training program. "We started with senior management, moving down to middle management and down," Grivetti said. She hopes that the model for the training program can be marketed to other area businesses. When companies get training for their staff and then encourage other businesses to get the training, then the training program comes full circle. "It's a business telling another business what has worked for them. It's not a social agency telling them what do to," Grivetti said.

Kathy McCreedy, co-owner of DiverseAbility, emphasized that college students who have disabilities need opportunities to get practical job experience through internships before graduation. "Too many people are graduating with a degree, but without any work experience," she said.