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.”

March is Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month

by Alan Bullock from The Jefferson Post:
March is “Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month” and Jessica Roland, Patricia Calloway and Shari Rognstad are just a few of those in Ashe County who are raising awareness and making a difference in the lives of those living with developmental disabilities.

“Ashe County, like every other county, has a need for services for people with disabilities,” Rognstad, executive director for Summit Support Services of Ashe, Inc., said.

“Ability to Work”

The N.C. Council on Developmental Disabilities (NCCDD) and other related organizations celebrate “Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month” each March ever since former President Ronald Reagan signed the first proclamation in 1987.

According to the National Institutes of Health, developmental disabilities are defined as long-term problems that affect physical and/or mental functions. Autism, Down Syndrome and certain learning disorders are a few examples.

“During ‘Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month’, we encourage people to learn more about the 172,000 people in N.C. who have developmental disabilities and to recognize that all of us have talents and abilities that we can offer in our workplaces and communities that make this a better place to live,” Chair of the NCCDD Ron Reeve said.

This year’s theme is “Ability at Work.”

Fair Wages for Workers with Disabilities Act

from the National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities:

Representatives Cliff Stearns (R-FL) and Tim Bishop (D-NY)  has introduced HR 3086 to phase out subminimum wages for people with disabilities.  Below is Stearns’ press release.   It is great to have bi-partisan sponsorship.  Whether or not the bill is likely to be enacted, it draws attention to the issue.

STEARNS OFFERS FAIR WAGES FOR WORKERS WITH DISABILITIES ACT

Oct 4, 2011

BILL WOULD ALTER LAW ALLOWING EMPLOYERS TO PAY THE DISABLED LESS THAN THE MINIMUM WAGE

WASHINGTON, Oct. 4, 2011 – “Although the disabled have made significant progress in achieving the American dream, they still face unfairness in the workplace under a provision that allows employers to pay workers with disabilities less than the federal minimum wage,” said Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL).  “Protections for disabled workers were excluded in the Fair Labor Standards Act in the mistaken belief that they were not as productive as other workers.  Workers with disabilities contribute to our economy and to our society, and they deserve equal pay for equal work.”

Stearns today offered the Fair Wages for Workers with Disabilities Act along with Rep. Tim Bishop (D-NY).  This legislation would phase out the provision in the Fair Labor Standards Act that allows sub-minimum wage for disabled workers.  Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind, expressed strong support for the legislation, “We applaud Representatives Stearns and Bishop and we hope that a significant majority of their colleagues possess the courage and creativity to end over seventy years of exploitation of people with disabilities.”