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DELA
The Advocacy Newsletter of ILRCSF |
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Summer seems to be flying by. July saw ILRCSF staff busy working on two great ADA anniversary events, which you can read about in this month's issue of DELA. First off, though - the real excitement at ILRCSF has been about the first round of projects being funded by The Herb Levine Legacy Fund. We hope you'll take an interest in the work being done by all of the worthy groups that received funding from ILRCSF to carry out advocacy at a grass roots level. We also hope you'll support this donor-generated fund, and help us keep it going, long into the future.
Also in this issue: a youth advocacy summit, weekly fun at the de Young Museum, a TBI speaker series at the Janet Pomeroy Center, and more. |
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Herb Levine Legacy Fund: Inaugural Grants
On July 26th, the 21st anniversary of the ADA, ILRCSF Executive Director Jessie Lorenz released the names of the six groups to be awarded funding from the recently launched Herb Levine Legacy Fund. "Every proposal we received had merit," she noted, "this was not an easy decision to make, but I'm happy with the choices we've made. We're proud to be funding such a wide array of programs and projects that highlight the best in grass roots activism."
The new, donor-generated fund, named in honor of ILRCSF's previous E.D., is intended to provide support to grass roots community organizing efforts which focus on disability rights activism and advocacy.
Teresa Favuzzi, of CFILC, one of the groups to receive funding, says:
"We are proud to be funded through the ILRCSF Herb Levine Legacy Fund! Our Youth Organizing! Disabled & Proud program strives to live up to the activism and vision for positive social change that Herb Levine has achieved over his lifetime in the disability rights movement."
"These are small grants - none is larger than $1500," Jessie says, "the emphasis here is on how it doesn't necessarily take a lot of money to make a difference. The greatest resource all of the applicants have at their disposal is the people who are making things happen. That's what grass roots activism is all about."
Adrienne Lauby, collective member, Pushing Limits, KPFA's disability radio program agrees: "It's a rare funder who understands the value of our unincorporated volunteer effort enough to throw some money our way. This relatively small amount gives us the support to make a huge leap in our service to the Deaf community and we're thrilled,"
The full list of recipients:
Communities United in Defense of Olmstead - for ASL interpretation at public meetings related to defending consumer's rights under the Olmstead act
KPFA Radio- for their efforts to make their Pushing Limits program available to the Deaf community via transcript
California Foundation for Independent Living Centers - to sponsor one youth intern who will be part of the their Youth Organizing - Disabled and Proud program
Consumer Rights for Community Living - to hold a public forum which will raise awareness of and encourage advocacy regarding cuts in Medical benefits to seniors and people with disabilities
Through The Looking Glass - for providing adaptive baby care equipment and advocacy to families with disabilities living in San Francisco
Designing Accessible Communities Newsletter and Quick Sheets - to promote, facilitate and support the use of policies, accessible design, and use of accessible manufactured products to ensure that all individuals, regardless of disability or age, are able to live within and participate fully in all aspects of their community and society
The Herb Levine Legacy Fund is a 100% donor-generated fund, which we hope to offer on an annual basis. Please consider making a donation to the fund, and helping ILRCSF support grass roots advocacy efforts that support Independent Living, choice, and a fully accessible community.
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BLOG for ACCESS and LIVES EXPLORED:
The ADA Comes of Age
To mark the 21st anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, ILRCSF held two events. Both events were departures from the traditional party held at City Hall.
Blog for Access was a virtual event, in which people from all over the world were asked to dedicate their blogs, Facebook entries, Twitter messages, and other social networking activities on July 26th to the theme "disability access." The response to this call was overwhelming: bloggers and other Internet users from as far away as Burma siezed the opportunity to use social networking as a valuable tool to get others involved in this important conversation. Close to 200 people signed up for this event via Facebook , while others heard about Blog for Access from friends and colleagues, and sent us emails telling us of their intention to participate.
Blog for Access proved so popular, one of our Facebook friends, Martina Robinson, of Springfield, MA, wrote to tell us she was inspired to adopt the idea for the upcoming Hardwick Fair. Instead of a day of blogging, the Hardwick Fair is holding an essay contest based on ILRCSF's Blog for Access.
ILRCSF also held a traditional, in-person literary event on July 26th. Lives Explored, a reading presented in partnership with the San Francisco Public Library, featured 7 writers who have disability as a part oftheir lives. The evening was a huge success, with approximately 100 people in attendence. In addition to the formal program, which included the MC talents of journalist/author Greg Archer, attendees enjoyed a wine and cheese reception and a book sale.
ILRCSF wishes to thank Marti Goodard and the SFPL audio/visual team for all their hard work, Audrey Maloney for volunteering her real time transcription services, and Greg Archer for the gracious and generous contribution of his time and talents. And, of course, a huge thank-you to the writers who shared their work:
Amber DiPietra
Bridgett Brown
Derek Zarda
David Fish
Jennifer Gibbons
Michelle Puckett
Belo Cipriani |
Friday Nights at the de Young
On Friday nights, the entire museum is open until 8:45 pm (mid-January through November).
Friday Nights at the de Young offers a variety of interdisciplinary arts programs, including live music, poetry, films, dance, tours, talks and more. The café is open with a special Friday Nights dinner menu and a no-host cocktail bar offers drinks. There are art-making activities for everyone. Programs take place in the free zone of the museum.
Cultural Encounters at the de Young is a series of interconnected programs created in collaboration with community arts organizations and performing and visual artists. These programs are designed to attract new and diverse audiences to the museum while creating exciting educational and artistic possibilities from the permanent collection and temporary exhibitions.
Friday Nights at the de Young is part of the Fine Arts Museums' Cultural Encounters Initiative, generously funded by The James Irvine Foundation, The Wallace Foundation, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and the Winifred Johnson Clive Foundation and our media sponsor The San Francisco Bay Guardian.
For those wishing to visit the galleries admission is always free to members; regular gallery fees apply for nonmembers.
For more information about Friday Nights at the de Young contact publicprograms@famsf.org or call 415.750.7694.
Accessibility at The de Young Museum
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Youth Advocacy Summit
The Own My Power Youth Advocacy Summit will launch YO! Disabled & Proud's anti-bullying campaign during the weekend of September 16th to 18th, at Sierra Health Foundation's Grizzly Creek Ranch in Portola California.
At this summit, youth and adult allies will come together to discuss bullying, share their experiences and create an organizing plan to bring the Own My Power campaign to their schools and communities.
Grizzly Creek Ranch is an accessible camp and participants will enjoy a real camp experience, including a ropes course and campfire!
Space is limited
A committment to volunteer to work on the campaign throughout 2012 is required
More Information about the summit can be found at http://www.yodisabledproud.org/organize/own-my-power-youth-summit.php
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TBI Speaker Series
The Janet Pomeroy Center, San Francisco Traumatic Brain Injury Network, will be presenting a speaker series every Friday from 9am-noon regarding Living with Traumatic Brain Injury and Services.
The following is the speaker schedule:
09/02/11- Dr. Todd Schirmer
Types of brain injuries and associated concerns
09/09/11- Dr. Ron Ruff
Emotional trauma regarding TBI and community
re-integration
09/16/11- Larry Robbins
Understanding How and Why the private sector hires
09/23/11- Dr. Kevin Carroll
Behavior management in society regarding TBI
09/30/11- Q & A Forum
Caregivers and TBI Survivors
RSVP by August 25th, 2011 due to limited space.
To learn more about SF Traumatic Brain Injury Network please contact Rowena Fontanos at rfontanos@janetpomeroy.org or call (415) 213-8525 .
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The MHSOAC Client and Family Leadership Committee and the Cultural and Linguistic Competence Committee present:
A Community Forum: The Impact and Progress of the Mental Health Services Act (Prop 63)
When
September 27, 2011
3:00 PM to 6:00 PM
Where:
San Francisco LGBT Community Center
Rainbow Room, 2nd Floor
1800 Market Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 865-5555 (Directions only)
Space is limited.
Please RSVP.
RSVP to:
mhsoac@mhsoac.ca.gov or
(916) 445-8696
Interpreters will be made available upon request. Please contact the MHSOAC at, mhsoac@mhsoac.ca.gov or (916) 445-8696for these requests. Providing at least 72 hours notice will help to ensure availability. Late requests will be honored if possible.
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Engage: Psychotherapy Intervention for People 60 and over
Are you 60 years or older? Are you feeling down, 'blue', or depressed? Potential to earn $60 to answer research questions about your mood & health.
UCSF is working with the Institute on Aging to find an effective treatment for depressed, older adults.
Qualifying individuals would be eligible to participate in nine weeks of a new psychotherapy intervention we're calling "ENGAGE"for older adults. Participation is free of charge. Please call the UCSF Over-60 Program to learn more about this project.
Your participation will help us learn about effective treatments for older adults!
For more information, please call the Over 60 Program at UCSF. All calls are confidential.
We look forward to hearing from you!
415-476-7439
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Independent Living Resource Center San Francisco
Community Computer Program
Need a quiet place and a computer to:
- do some school research?
- order groceries?
- look for housing?
- catch up with emails and social networking?
- type up your resume?
Schedule computer time at ILRCSF's Accessible Consumer Computer Kiosk
Call 415-543-6222. Ask for an Assistive Tech Educator.
Half hour/one hour slots available from 9am to 4:30pm. Please, no drop-ins. Computer is only available for persons with disabilities.
This is not a training session. If you have questions or need support around your computer tasks, you can pre-arrange a more personalized session with an AT Educator.
The development of this accessible workstation was made possible by a grant from AT&T, and with the expertise of The Center for Accessible Technology.
ILRCSF is wheelchair accessible and provides reasonable accommodations on request, including ASL interpreters and print information in alternative formats. ILRCSF is a scent-free office in order to be fully accessible to all people with disabilities. Please do not wear any scented products including perfumes, aftershave, hairspray, etc. to any meetings, groups, or workshops held at or by ILRCSF. If you are wearing scents, you will not be able to remain in the office.
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Help ILRCSF provide Community Access Tickets to our consumers
Community Access Ticket Service (CATS) provides cultural, recreational and educational experiences to tens of thousands of people though partnership with hundreds of social-service organizations. These types of experiences represent positive socialization and community integration opportunities that are otherwise unavailable. CATS has successfully provided these experiences to over 300,000 people since 2004.
ILRCSF is trying to raise $375 to purchase a one-year membership to CATS, which would enable us to provide free tickets to museums, plays and other cultural events to consumers. To help us make the CATS program a part of what ILRCSF has to offer people with disabilities, please specify on the note section your donation check, "CATS."
Donations may be sent to:
ILRCSF
649 Mission Street, Floor 3
San Francisco, CA 9410 |
August 18
How Work Affects Your Benefits - for those on SSI &/or SSDI
August 25
Basic Benefits Overview ILRCSF Benefits Workshop Schedule
ILRCSF offers two different workshops on benefits:
1. Basic Benefits Overview
2. How Employment Affects your Benefits - for those on SSDI &/or SSI
All workshops are on Thursdays at 9:30am. However, only one topic - basic benefits or employment -- is covered each Thursday. Please attend the workshop that best suits you. For example, if you need information about applying for SSDI, SSI, Medi-Cal or other benefits, come to the Basic Benefits Overview workshop. If, on the other hand, you already receive SSDI or SSI and are considering going to work, come to the workshop entitled How Employment Affects Your Benefits. At this Employment Workshop you will learn how to use work incentives to keep some of your benefits as you transition into a job, as well as how to use the PASS program, and Ticket to Work. To hear the schedule of upcoming workshops, call 415-543-6222 ext. 155.
Upcoming workshops:
August 18
How Work Affects Your Benefits - for those on SSI &/or SSDI
August 25
Basic Benefits Overview
September 1
How Work Affects Your Benefits - for those on SSI &/or SSDI
September 8
Basic Benefits Overview
September 15
How Work Affects Your Benefits - for those on SSI &/or SSDI
September 22
Basic Benefits Overview
September 29
How Work Affects Your Benefits - for those on SSI &/or SSDI
NOTE: ILRCSF is wheelchair accessible and provides reasonable accommodations upon request. In order to be fully accessible to all people with disabilities, ours is a scent-free office.
When visiting ILRCSF, please do not wear any scented products, including perfumes, aftershave, hairspray, etc. |
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The Independent Living Resource Center San Francisco is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit organization. Donations from the public support our mission to ensure that people with disabilities are full social and economic partners both within their families and within a fully accessible community.
Tax deductible donations may be sent to:
ILRCSF
649 Mission Street, 3rd Floor,
San Francisco, CA 94105
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