Accessibility Resource Center

October 3, 2013 

Open Enrollment for New Health and Dental Insurance

Massachusetts residents can now apply for health and dental insurance during open enrollment: October 1, 2013 - March 31, 2014.  There are new plans and new ways to get help paying for health insurance.  Commonwealth Care consumers must re-enroll in new coverage.

Locally, Community Action Committee of Cape Cod & the Islands is available to inform and assist individuals on how they may qualify for affordable health coverage and help with enrollment in new programs or re-enrollment in existing programs.  To set up an appointment or for more information contact CACCI at 508/771-1727 or walk in at 372 North St., Hyannis.

Individuals can also seek enrollment assistance online at MAhealthconnector.org or call 1-877-623-6765 for questions, help completing an application, and a list of Navigators in your area. 

You are invited to attend the upcoming Cape Cod Bicycle Summit: Healthy Cyclists, Healthy Communities 

If you are interested in learning how to increase safety for bicyclists on the Cape and Islands, encourage more locals to use our beautiful pathways, and educate our communities on the economic, environmental, and personal benefits of cycling, please register for this event today!  Read more ...

Doors open at 8:30 a.m..  A light breakfast and lunch will be provided.  There is no fee to attend, but participants are asked to RSVP as limited space is available.

For more information or to register for this free event, please click here.

SAVE THE DATE

Disability Youth Leadership Network events:

• Boston: Easter Seals MA, 89 South St., October 5th, 1-3 p.m.
• Worcester: Easter Seals MA, 484 Main St., 6th floor, October 12th, 1-3 p.m.
• New Bedford: Easter Seals MA, 256 Union St., New Bedford, October 19th, 1-3 p.m.
• Springfield: CHD Disability Resources, 332 Birnie Ave, October 7th, 5-7 p.m.

For more information check the facebook events or email Desi at Dforte@eastersealsma.org

The FREE Art show is presented by Dance in the Rain, a peer organization working within the mental health community on Thursday, October 17, 2013 from 5:30 - 9:00 p.m. at the Guyer Barn, 250 South St., Hyannis.  Artists will bring together the mentally ill peer community, the mental health system and the C&I community to challenge the stigma facing mental illness. 

For more information click here or contact Mary Munsell at mary@danceintherain-mary.com or visit the website.

Barnstable County's AmeriCorps Cape Cod is seeking grant funding through the Massachusetts Service Alliance (MSA) for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service in 2014.   AmeriCorps is seeking proposals for a volunteer event.  We ask that you consider pooling resources with AmeriCorps to create an exceptional MLK Day of Service!

The next training on Accessing Affordable Housing: Permanent Supportive Housing will be held on Tuesday, October 22 from 9:30 to 12 noon at the Harborview Conference Room at the Barnstable County Complex.

This is Part 3 of a FREE training series on Accessing Affordable Housing Resources sponsored by the Client Coordination Council of the Regional Network to Address Homelessness. Attendance at the first two trainings is not required to attend this training.

View flyer with registration form and directions. If you attended the first and/or second training, just click here to RSVP; if not, please complete the registration form so we'll have your correct contact information. This training is open to all: please forward to anyone who you think would benefit from learning about housing resources in our community. 

The Family Caregiver Support Program of Elder Services of Cape Cod & the Islands is hosting a six week, evidence based program for caregivers called Powerful Tools for Caregivers.  Learn tools designed to help family caregivers care for themselves by reducing stress and guilt and communicate more effectively. 

The classes will be held on Tuesdays, October 22 - November 26 from 1-3 pm at Elder Services of Cape Cod & the Islands, 68 Route 134, South Dennis.  To register call 508/394-4630 x450.  The program is free and participants will receive a copy of the Caregiver Helpbook.

Plain Talk - bringing local teens together with leaders in education, the arts, health & human services, philanthropy and government who serve at-risk youth in a safe environment where students can speak freely about topics impacting Cape Cod youth, hear what the kids want that works, listen to why some programs aren't successful, understand why kids don't participate and discuss as a group how we can provide solutions.

Scheduled dates are:

Tuesday, October 22nd 8:30 - 10:30 a.m. in Falmouth Cape Cod Conservatory of Music & Arts, 60 Highfield Dr. RSVP 508/540-0611 or cjohnson@capecodconservatory.org

Thursday, October 24th 8:30 - 10:30 a.m. in Wellfleet Wellfleet Preservation Hall, 335 Main St.

RSVP 508/349-1800 or janet@wellfleetpreservationhall.org

Hosted by:  Cultural Center of Cape Cod, Cotuit Center for the Arts, Cape Cod Conservatory, Wellfleet Preservation Hall and Cape Cod 5 Foundation

There are many exciting learning opportunities for One Care plans and providers. The *NEW* One Care Learning website is the portal to learning about, and attending these events.  Go to the One Care Learning website:
 http://www.mass.gov/masshealth/onecare/learning

Please make sure to register for the upcoming In Person Conference as availability is limited:  "Putting the Person in the Center: Care for People with Disabilities" in Boxborough, MA on October 23rd.  View flyer.

Upcoming events also include:

• Live Webinar, October 17, 2013: "Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Compliance"
• Live Webinar, November 14, 2013: "Cultural Competence"

Register for any of the above events or view recordings of previously held webinars anytime by visiting the One Care Learning website. Two recordings are currently posted - "Introduction to One Care" recorded on May 23, 2013, and "Contemporary Models of Disabilities: Beyond the Medical Model" recorded on June 13, 2013.

For more information about training requirements, contact the One Care plan(s) with which you are associated.

Two days of intensive, interactive and practice-dominated sessions designed to teach suicide first-aid to help a person at risk stay safe and seek further help as needed.  The training is suitable for mental health and medical professionals, teachers, youth workers, police and correctional staff, clergy, and community volunteers.

The training will be held October 31st and November 1st from 8:15 AM - 4:00 PM at the Community Health Center of Cape Cod, 107 Commercial St., Mashpee.  Cost is $125 per person (actual cost of $250 has been subsidized by the C&I Suicide Prevention Coalition, the MA Dept. of Public Health and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.  Lunch and refreshments included.  13 Continuing Education Credits available for SW and LMHC.

Registration deadline is October 24th.  Email or call for application at YSPP@chcofcapecod.org or 774/392-5420.

The Friends of the Barnstable Council on Aging Host Costume Ball with auction to raise funds to help Barnstable seniors in need.

Join us for an enchanted evening of entertainment, silent and live auction, and hors d'oeuvres. The Friends of the Barnstable Council on Aging Host a Costume Ball, Friday October 25th at the Hyannis Golf course, 1298 Iyannough Road in Hyannis. The event will start at 6 PM, doors will open at 5:30. Tickets are $35, seniors are discounted at $30 with costumes optional. Live and hilarious musical entertainment from local icon Smitty, ensuring a truly entertaining evening for all, while raising money for a very deserving cause.

Please join us in our efforts, tickets are available at the Barnstable Senior Center located at 825 Falmouth Road or by calling 508.862.4750.

Cape Cod Volunteers announces a two-part workshop to train nonprofits on how to run more effective volunteer programs. The workshops will be held October 28 and November 4 from 10:00 to 2:00 (lunch and materials included) at the Mashpee Public Library, 64 Steeple Street, Mashpee.

The cost of the two-workshop series is $80 for CCV member organizations and $100 for non-member organizations for up to 3 representatives, and includes up to 4 hours of consulting time.  Read more ...

Visit www.ccvolunteers.org to register online,orcontact CCV at (508) 362-0242 or info@ccvolunteers.org.  A limited number of scholarships are available. Space is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Do friends and family tell you that you're a good listener? Are you looking for a volunteer opportunity where you can really make a difference? Then volunteering for The Samaritans on Cape Cod and the Islands could be a great fit for you!

Our volunteers are not counselors or therapists, so no experience is required in order to volunteer with us.  All you need is the capacity to care and we'll help with the rest.  Volunteers are trained in non-judgmental active listening so as to best assist our callers who are lonely, depressed, and isolated.  Our next volunteer training session is scheduled for October 28th, 29th, 30th, November 4th, and 5th from 5:45pm-8:45pm at our office in Falmouth.

If you'd like to learn more about attending our upcoming volunteer training and how you can help make a difference, please call 508-548-7999 or visit our website at www.CapeSamaritans.org.

You are invited to reserve a table to display information about the services you provide to the community during the next Family Fun Night on Friday, November 1st, 4 PM - 7 PM in the gym at the Hyannis Youth & Community Center.

The program is a free event to families and young people to come out and enjoy a night together watching appropriate entertainment as well as checking out the table displays by service agencies on Cape Cod of all types.

For more information contact Sally-Ann Imes at Sally-Ann.Imes@town.barnstable.ma.us or 508/790-6345 x109

Register now for Ombudsman Program Training in November.

Elder Services of Cape Cod and the Islands is seeking long-term care ombudsman throughout the Cape and the Islands.  Volunteers in the Ombudsman Program service as advocates for residents of nursing and rest homes and their families.  State certification training is required and provided by the Executive Office of Elder Affairs.  Interested parties must be interviewed and undergo a CORI before participating. 

The next training will be held in the Elder Services of Cape Cod and the Islands' South Dennis office on November 18, 19 and 20, 2013.  For more information about the program or to volunteer call Cheryl Gayle at 508/394-4630 ext. 501 or email cheryl.gayle@escci.org

The purpose of the project is to improve access to information and the coordination and delivery of home based long term services and supports for residents of Cape Cod aged 18 and over who have chronic health conditions and disabilities, regardless of income.  The Navigator Pilot does not duplicate existing programs and services and is FREE.  To be connected to a Navigator call 508/957-7629.  Click to download program flyers for the community and for professionals.

The Barnstable County Department of Human Services website find.bchumanservices.net features on-line directories of health and human service resources. The Directories are a compilation of local resources organized around areas of critical need such as food, housing,  energy/fuel assistance, and services for seniors and people with disabilities. Find.bchumanservices.net is a valuable resource now available to Barnstable County residents and human service organizations. This new on-line tool is an effective and efficient way to make local information available on a 'simple to search' website. For more information view press release in its entirety.

If you believe your organization should be included in any of the new Directories or have any other feedback on how to improve the on-line directories, call the Department of Human Services at 508/375-6628.

• Do you provide health or human services on Cape Cod or the Islands?
• Does the public know what services you provide?
• Do people know how to access your services?
• Do you need assistance in finding services for your clients?  

The Veterans Crisis Line (1-800-273-8255, Press 1) is available 24/7/365 to provide confidential counseling and referrals for Veterans and their families.  This is an integrated national outreach effort to increase awareness and use of the Veterans Crisis Line, support and promote broader VA suicide prevention efforts, and promote help-seeking behaviors among Veterans at risk of suicide and other mental health problems.  For more information about the Veterans Crisis Line please click here.

Over 800,000 people worldwide end their lives annually.  Seven to ten people -- parents, children, siblings, aunts, uncles, grandparents, grandchildren and close friends -- deeply feel the devastation of each loss.  That means that approximately 5 million "survivors" are left behind every year.  

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