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Upcoming Events
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Sports N'at
Tuesday, October 27, 2015
Carson City Saloon
Join ACHIEVA and Bill Crawford from WDVE on Tuesday, October 27, 2015 from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. at Carson City Saloon, 1401 East Carson Street, South Side, Pittsburgh.
Your donation will help to pay for supports when families don't qualify for other assistance; create and expand services; and fund programs that don't receive other funding. Click here for more information or contact Jamie Rhoades at 412.995.5000 x526 or [email protected].
Annual Awards of Excellence
Monday, December 7, 2015
SheratonStation Square, Pittsburgh
The ACHIEVA Awards of Excellence honors a group of extraordinary and talented individuals, organizations and community groups who go above and beyond on behalf of people with disabailities.
For more information on the 2015 event, please contact Peggie Watson at 412.995.5000 x420 or [email protected].
Run for a Reason!
Dick's Sporting Goods
Pittsburgh Marathon
Who doesn't like a head start? Registration for the 2016 Dick's Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon just opened and this year you can support ACHIEVA while you run!
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Videos
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| | ACHIEVA is not just a job! |
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| | ACHIEVA and BusinessFoward |
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| | Rooted in Rights, Disability Vote |
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Join Our Team!
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ACHIEVA is always looking for committed and capable job candidates. ACHIEVA offers competitive salary and benefits packages.
Click here to learn more or to apply.
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Donate that Clunker
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Do you have an old car that you want to get rid of? You could consider donating it to The Arc of the United States before the end of the year and tak a tax break and help people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) at the same time.
Simply call 1.877.272.2270 or click here for an online form and a representative will make arrangements to pick up or tow the vehicle.
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Sibshops at ACHIEVA
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Sibshops are held the first Saturday of each month from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. and hosted at ACHIEVA, 711 Bingham Street, Pittsburgh 15203.
The cost of attendance is $5 a session to cover lunch and snacks; financial assistance is available.
For more information or to register for a workshop, please contact Rebecca Tyers Brown at [email protected] or 724.288.1365.
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Volune 9 Issue: # 31 |
September 3, 2015
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Affordable Care Act Survives Challenge
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From The Arc of the United States
This summer, The Arc celebrated the 6-3 King v. Burwell decision, when the U.S. Supreme Court held that federal tax subsidies are being provided lawfully in those states that have decided not to run marketplace exchanges for insurance coverage. This is a huge win for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and people with disabilities throughout the country.
This legal challenge could have weakened the law overall, threatening all the protections that people with disabilities gained in this landmark law. The ACA is important to people with disabilities. It expanded coverage and reformed insurance practices to end discrimination agains people with disabilities and enhance access to health care. The private health insurance marketplaces allow individuals or small businesses to shop for coverage and potentially receive subsidies to help offset the cost of insurance. The subsidies are key to ensuring affordable coverage. The health insurance reforms, the protections from high premium increases or out-of-pocket costs and the coverage of "essential health benefits", including mental health care and rehabilitative/habilitative services and devices, help ensure that people with disabilities have affordable health care that meets their needs.
After the end of the second enrollment period earlier this spring, about 22 million people had enrolled in plans through the health insurance marketplaces or had newly enrolled in Medicaid. The majority of those enrolled in the marketplace had premium tax credits and or cost sharing reductions to help make the health insurance affordable. Too many people remain uninsured and unaware there is help to make the insurance more affordable.
Important dates to remember:
- November 1, 2015 - Open Enrollment starts - the first day you can enroll in a 2016 Marketplace plan
- January 1, 2016 - First date 2016 coverage can start
- January 31, 2016 - 2016 Open Enrollment ends
Remember, if you already have health insurance through the Marketplace, you must re-enroll every year or you will be automatically re-enrolled without the option to change your existing plan. It is also important to report any changes to your income to the Marketplace.
If you don't enroll in a 2016 plan by January 31, 2016, you can't enroll in a health insurance plan for 2016 unless you qualify for a special enrollment period. To learn more about special enrollment periods, visit healthcare.gov.
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2015 Lifesharing Conference
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ACHIEVA is a proud sponsor of Pennsylvania's Lifesharing Coalition 2015 Lifesharing Conference. The conference is scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, October 19 and 20, 2015 at the Ramada Conference Hotel, 1450 S. Stherton Street, State College PA 16801.
Click here for the brochure and additional information.
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Webinar
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Building Safe and Healthy Relationships
Wednesday, October 7, 2015
7 - 8:30 EDT
Presenter: Beverly Franz, PhD; Project Director Criminal Justice and Sexual Health Initiatives, Institute on Disabilities at Temple University
Understanding social relationships is complicated! This webinar will explore:
Types of friendships
Evolution of friendships
Tools and safety tips to help your child navigate the social world
"Red flags" for potentially unhealthy or dangerous relationship
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Couple Expands Family
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From Huffington Post
Adam Owens and Karen Owens always wanted children, but they never thought they'd have a big family. However, after the tragic loss of their son, Gavin, their outlook changed dramatically. The Pennsylvania couple had their first child, a daughter named Madison, in 2005. Then they conceived Gavin, who was born 10 weeks premature. "Once he came home, we realized that something was really not right," Karen said.
"When he was a year old, he was in multi-organ failure. We finally got our diagnosis of mitochondrial disease and by that time he was really so far gone that there wasn't much they could do for him. He passed away in November of 2009. He was about three and a half years old."
"We kind of walked out of the hospital knowing that this wasn't the end of our story," Adam added. The couple began looking into child adoption within the community foster care system. Then they saw a young girl with special needs and, as Karen said, "it just clicked."
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Voting Update
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From The Public Interest Law Center
Pennsylvania took an important first step in providing some eligible voters the opportunity to register to vote online instead of mailing in archaic paper forms. This new online option through register.votesPA.com is a good first step in bringing Pennsylvania's voting system into the 21st century and it brings our state closer to the 22 other states that already offer online registration. As members of a broad-based,statewide coalition of voting rights advocates, we collaborated directly with the Wolf Administration as it considered administrative options for launching this online voter registration. Specifically we analyzed the existing legal authority for online voter registration, provided information about legislation in other states, analyzed pending legislation that would expand online registration options, and participated in meetings with the Administration to urge prompt action. While we laud the Administration for this step, the new system is only a beginning. Because of statutory limitations and outdated state technological systems, only people who have had identification cards issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation are eligible to use the new option. People without such identification must continue to mail in paper forms. And, the launch of the new system does not coincide with any specificoutreach to communities that do not have ready access to the internet. We will continue to press the Administration and the legislature to open online registration to every eligible voter. We are also focusing on making sure Pennsylvania updates its entire voting system, including implementing no-excuse absentee balloting, early voting, same-day registration and coming into full compliance with the National Voter Registration Act (which requires state agencies to help eligible citizens register to vote). We appreciate your continued support and interest in this important work. Together, we will remove all barriers to the polls and ensure that every eligible citizen has a voice in our democracy.
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ABLE National Resource Center Survey
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From The Arc of the United States
The ABLE National Resource Center is conducting a survey to gather a better understanding of the level of enthusiasm behind creating ABLE accounts and how potential beneficiaries may utilize these accounts for purposes of maintaining and increasing their health, independence and quality of life.
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Policy Highlights Social Security & SSI
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This edition of National Policy Matters explores how these systems operate, the vital support they provide and current policy proposals that may impact people with I/DD and their families.
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Take a Break in the Dirt!
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From Home Grows
Hope Grows is accepting applications for families of children with disabilities and volunteers for the new seasonal program called Take a Break in the Dirt. A seasonal volunteer run adaptive gardening program to engage children with disabilities, ages 5-17 in gardening and nature related activities while their family (caregiver) takes a well-earned break.
The fall season program will be held at the Page Street Community Garden in the Manchester neighborhood of Pittsburgh starting September 15th and running for 6 weeks.
The program is divided into two age groups:
Group 1: ages 5-12 gathering on Tuesday afternoons
September 15 - October 20
Group 2: ages 13-17 gathering on Thursday afternoons
September 17 - October 22
Pre-registration and application process is required.
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Pennsylvania Assistive Technology Foundation (PATF)
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Their mission is to provide education and financing opportunities to people with disabilities and older Pennsylvanians to help them acquire assistive technology that improves the quality of their lives. Loans that change lives.
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Dad's Letter to His Daughter on Her Wedding Day
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From Good Housekeeping
For most parents of a child with Down syndrome, life's possibilities can pose a lot of unknowns and worries. But Paul and Kerry Daugherty always believedtheir daughter, Jillian, would one day fall in love and even marry. And she did.
On June 27, after a decade of dating, the 25-year-old college graduate and her fiance, Ryan Mavriplis, said "I do" in an outdoor ceremony in front of 160 guests.
For the occasion, her father wrote a beautiful letter to her on The Mighty that he hopes gives hope to other families facing a Down Syndrome diagnosis.
Dear Jillian,...You are upstairs now, making final preparations with your mom and bridesmaids. Your hair is coiled perfectly above your slender neck. Your bejeweled dress - "my bling," you called it - attracts every glimmer of late afternoon sunshine pouring through the window. Your makeup - that red lipstick! - somehow improves upon a beauty that has grown since the day you were born. Your smile is blooming and everlasting. I am outside, beneath the window, staring up. We live for moments such as these, when hopes and dreams intersect at a sweet spot in time. When everything we've always imagined arrives and assumes a perfect clarity. Bliss is possible. I know this now, standing beneath that window.
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Upcoming Future Planning for Special Needs Sessions
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From ACHIEVA Family Trust
Please join us for our upcoming sessions on a variety of topics related to future planning for special needs. The sessions will be held on Fridays at ACHIEVA, 711 Bingham Street, Pittsburgh 15203 from 9 - 11 a.m. A light breakfast will be provided, but space is limited.
The first session is Housing, Employment and Community Inclusion and scheduled for Friday, October 9, 2015. The panelists include:
- Michelle Stockunas, ACHIEVA's Project Manager of A Home of My Own
- Patrick Joyce, ACHIEVA Supported Employment Specialist
- Jeremy Gilchrist, Recruiter Transitioning Individuals with Disability from the University of Pittsburgh
- Chris Costa, Consultant with ACTION-Housing, Inc.
Remaining sessions:
Friday, November 13, 2015 - Guardianship and Powers of Attorney
Friday, January 15, 2016 - Special Needs Trusts and ABLE Act Accounts
Friday, February 12, 2016 - SSI, SSDI and representative Payees
Friday, March 11, 2016 - Medicaid, MAWD and Waivers
Friday, April 8, 2016 - Medicare
Click here for the flyer on topic information and guest speakers. For questions or to RSVP, contact Rebecca Tyers Brown at 412.995.5000 x589 or email [email protected].
Please click here for the Future Planning Project Newsletter with information on Special Needs Personal Planning Guide; Attorney Recognition.
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ADA 25 Celebrations
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October 22 - 29, 2015 - Pittsburgh's 3rd annual ReelAbilities Film Festival features films from around the world portraying the experiences of people with disabilities.
October 27, 2015 - Dick Thornburgh Forum for Law and Public Policy, University of Pittsburgh, University Club (Ballroom A). Mark Johnson, Chair of the Legacy Project and Director of Disability Advocacy at Shepherd Center in Atlanta is the guest lecturer. Click here for more information.
Click here for more information on ADA Celebrations.
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ACHIEVA's Disability Talks on KQV Radio
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In case you missed the first airing of ACHIEVA's Disability Talks on KQV Radio on August 17, 2015, click here for the link.Special Guests included: Julian Gray, Julian Gray Associates Lolly Kayser, ACHIEVA Family Trust Family Member Lisa Dougan, Esq., ACHIEVA Family Trust Rebecca Tyers-Brown, ACHIEVA Family Trust Maria Smith, ACHIEVA Family Trust The next show will air on Tuesday, September 15, 2015 at 7:30 p.m.
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Privacy is important to us; therefore, ACHIEVA does not sell, rent or give your name or address to anyone. At any point, you can select the link at the bottom of every email to unsubscribe. Thanks again for registering. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to contact us.
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