New Horizons helps special needs adults in the San Fernando Valley

by Dana Bartholomew from The Los Angeles Daily News:
LAKE VIEW TERRACE >> When Marilyn Weiss wants to head out on a date with her boyfriend, she’s hit on a hot ticket for getting around Los Angeles: the bus.
This year, the developmentally disabled woman took advantage of a new travel training program at New Horizons that has helped widen her urban world — to the movies, to the mall and as far away as historic Pasadena.
“I like it,” said Weiss, 59, of North Hills, beaming. “Because I can take the bus by myself. Makes me feel happy. Him, too.
“Without New Horizons, I’d be bored. I’d be nothing. I’d stay home.”

New Horizons, the San Fernando Valley’s oldest social service agency to help special needs adults, celebrated 60 years of service Saturday with a seventh annual 5K Run/Walk on the Horizon.
Where smiling greeters waved to visitors along a road leading into the Hansen Dam Aquatics Center in Lake View Terrace.
Where up to 300 hoofers circled the fog-shrouded waters to support the North Hills-based agency that empowers special needs residents through training for independent travel, education, recreation, work and housing.

And where family members could recall a not-so-distant time when such disabled residents were shunned to the shadows of their communities.
“Way back in the Dark Ages, we were told to get rid of these kids, put ‘em in the house,” said Susan Gross, a member of Friends of New Horizons, whose daughter Cindy has found a measure of freedom through the agency for three decades. “We’re not going to do it, because they’re our children.
“My daughter’s a fighter.”

Parents with developmentally disabled children fight new regulations

by Anna Meiler from News Channel 2 WKTV Utica:

UTICA, N.Y. (WKTV) -- For many parents, their kids grow up, leave home and start their own lives. But, for parents with developmentally disabled children, their job never ends.

New regulations are forcing aging moms and dads to ask a painful question. Patricia Vilello wonders what will happen to her 38-year-old son with Down Syndrome if she isn't there to care for him.

"As a parent it causes a lot of sleepless nights," said Vilello.

Tommy used to be on a residential placement list through the ARC, but the state created a priority list six months ago that overrides it, which means Tommy could wait longer for a group home.

"The state does not want to open any more certified group homes. They're telling the parents to be creative, have your family and friends involved with taking care of them after we're gone. It's a 24/7 job. People aren't going to turn their lives upside down," said Villelo.

Cuts are also threatening structural workshops that Tommy attends three days a week at the ARC.

"It gives him a job, a place to go every day, mingle with peers, earn some money of his own. Everyone needs that to feel worthy," said Villelo.

a place that four women with disabilities can call their home

by Phil Garber from the Mount Olive Chronicle:

MOUNT OLIVE TWP.  – Four women with developmentally disabilites from the area will soon have a new home thanks to the parents of a young woman with Down syndrome and a statewide advocacy organization.

And while the new home is no doubt a God-send to the four women, an estimated 8,000 other people with disabilities who cannot live independently remain on a waiting list for group housing that is expected to last for another 15 years.

The newest group home in Harmony Township is under the auspices of Advancing Opportunities, formerly known as Cerebral Palsy of New Jersey, with its northern office in Budd Lake.  It is the organization’s sixth group home in the region, serving  41 residents. The first home opened in Randolph  in  August 2002 while others have opened in Roxbury, Parsippany, Emerson and Demarest.

The latest home was named in honor of Melissa Gentle, a 37-year-old woman with Down syndrome.  An open house to celebrate the completion of the home was held on Tuesday, Oct. 22.

Valerie Weber, residential coordinator at the Advancing Opportunities Budd Lake office, said the opening comes four years after Gentle’s parents first began seeking support for a new group home for their daughter.

The residents range in age from 28 to 60 and have varying degrees of disabilities, though none require constant one to  one support.

Jenny Hatch gets new attorney

from WAVY 10:
Jenny Hatch, a young woman with Down Syndrome, has gotten a new attorney in hopes of moving out of a group home.
Hatch, 28, has been in and out of courts for months. Her mother fought to keep Jenny in a group home, but Jenny has repeatedly said she wants to live with her friends, Kelly Morris and Jim Talbert, who say they will gladly take her in.
The implications of Jenny's case are gaining statewide attention. The State of Virginia was recently sued by the U.S. Department of Justice for putting too many people like Jenny into group homes, instead of single family homes like Morris and Talbert's.
This week, Jenny was appointed an attorney provided the by the Quality Trust for Individuals with Disabilities, who will co-counsel Jenny's case with Robert Brown.
Legal Director Jonathan Martinis specializes in cases like Jenny's and says he will fight for her freedom starting with the guardianship trial in May.

• Jenny destined for group home, for now
• Jenny's guardianship battle to commence
• Attorneys meet in Jenny's case

What Will Sequestration Mean for People with Disabilities?

from the National Council on Disability:

A series of automatic, across-the-board cuts to federal government spending totaling $1.2 trillion over the course of 10 years are set to take effect this Friday, March 1. Dubbed “sequestration” these cuts, if implemented, will be split between defense and domestic discretionary spending. 

The National Council on Disability (NCD) urges the Executive Branch and Congress to find a responsible alternative to sequestration to prevent potential harm to Americans with disabilities and their families.

Background

Originally passed as part of the Budget Control Act of 2011 on the heels of the debt ceiling compromise, the sequester was intended to pressure the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (the “Supercommittee”) to agree on a budget of $1.5 trillion by way of spending cuts and revenue increases over the next decade.

Congress stopped mandatory budget cuts from taking effect by passing the American Taxpayer Relief Act January 2 when the deadline was pushed back to March 1, 2013.  If Congress fails to agree on a budget to reduce the federal deficit by then $85 billion in spending cuts – split evenly between domestic and defense discretionary programs – will go into effect.

For Americans with disabilities, this means everything from special education to transportation, to housing and health care programs will “feel the pinch” due to the precarious collision of across-the-board cuts and unforeseen circumstances. 

Spending reductions break down into three broad categories:

1. Defense spending. Amounts to half the sequester cuts.
2. Non-defense. Includes housing, education, and employment programs.
3. Medicare. Limited to a 2% cut in payments to Medicare providers, specifically hospitals and doctors.

Mandatory programs

• Assistance to individuals with low-incomes and their families like Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF, or welfare), the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP, or food stamps), unemployment benefits and provider payments made through Medicare will not be cut, although staff time and resources are likely to be compromised. 

Medicare

• While other non-defense programs are facing a 8.4 percent cut, Medicare cuts are limited to 2 percent per fiscal year. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that in 2013 a 2 percent cut totals $123 billion dollars.

Social Security

Call-In Day Wednesday, December 19th!

Call-In Day Wednesday, December 19th!

 

from the NDSC:

The negotiations that are currently taking place between President Obama and Speaker of the House Boehner are critical to the future of individuals with Down syndrome and other disabilities. We rely on important programs, from education to supports to live in the community, that are directly affected by these negotiations. These programs are at risk.

  

The Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities, a national consortium of over 100 disability organizations, is holding a call-in day on Wednesday, December 19th. NDSC is an active member of this Consortium. Please take a few minutes and call your Senators and Congressional Representatives with the message below.

"I want to make sure you know the importance of programs such as special education, early intervention and preschool services, employment supports, health insurance, community living supports, and housing for children and adults with Down syndrome and other disabilities. Many of these programs are funded by Medicaid and Medicare, and other sources that are at risk during the "fiscal cliff" negotiations. Please make sure that funding is protected and programs remain strong in the coming deficit reduction debate.

I urge you to preserve critical funding for the life-changing programs that support families with disabilities, and ask that you respond to my message when it's received."

It is easy to find your elected representatives by visiting this website: http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml

Parents and self-advocates showed their strength at the NDSC's Day on the Hill in July, 2012. Let's keep that going!

Fewer services for patients with Down syndrome who are affected by Alzheimer's

  by Susan Abram from Pasadena Star News: She had learned to care for herself, to work and count her money so she could buy food, set the table, tell time and use a phone to dial 911. Now 60 years old, Denise Steinberg is forgetting the little things. She puts her blouse on backwards or her pants on inside out. Her attention span has dwindled. She is acting out toward her roommates. "I'm seeing the signs more and more, and I'm freaking out because where is she going to go?" asks Terri Budow, Denise's younger sister. "I love her and I want her to be around people who care and who love her, too." Steinberg was born with a developmental disability at time when she and people like her expected to live only until they were 30 years old. Now, she is part of an unexpected trend: Those with Down syndrome or other development disabilities are living longer, but in some cases, not necessarily better. More than 90 percent of those with Down syndrome develop Alzheimer's disease by the time they are in their late 40s. "This is something the community has never had to deal with before," said Roschell Ashley, director for residential services for New Horizons. The nonprofit New Horizons formed in the San Fernando Valley in 1954 to help those with developmental disabilities learn life skills, find employment and receive housing. But a new need has emerged. As their clients age, New Horizons saw that its group homes were not adequate

for elder clients with Alzheimer's and dementia. Of the nearly 700 clients the agency serves, more than half are 40 years or older. So in 2008, the agency began plans for a six-bedroom group home just for those with Down syndrome who develop Alzheimer's, one of only a handful in California and nationwide.

impact of Minnesota government shutdown

from Politico.com:

Angry Minnesota residents were fuming Friday over the state government shutdown — delaying the issuance of marriage licenses, evicting campers from state parks and furloughing about 23,000 nonessential government employees.

“My son has Down syndrome, and he will lose his state-funded job at Functional Industries, which is out in Buffalo, Minn. We were sent a letter from his state-funded house but as of now, he will still be able to live there. Totally innocent victim,” said Carolyn Bauer, of Albertville, Minn.