Life and Independence for Today

A Lift in the Right Direction

Spring / Summer 2000 Issue

LIFT Applies for Home Modifications Grant

By Tom Wenner, Accessibility Counselor

On May 24, 2000, at the Area Transportation Authority Facility in Johnsonburg, a meeting was held to discuss establishing the Pennsylvania Access Grant Program in Cameron. Elk, Jefferson, McKean and Potter Counties. This program, funded by Pennsylvania's Departments of Community and Economic Development (DCED) and Public Welfare, will provide funds for home modifications for low-to-moderate-income people with disabilities. Those attending included PA State Representative Dan Surra, county commissioners, representatives from local agencies on aging, Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, MH/MR, Community Action, and other individuals and organizations dealing with the issue. DCED's Aldona Kartorie, Accounts Manager of the Pennsylvania Access Grant Program, attended the meeting and gave technical assistance to the group. The goal of the meeting was to explore the possibility of submiting a joint proposal to DCED and executing a cooperative program with the counties. It is hoped that DCED will look favorably on this innovative approach and will make the program available for most of LIFT's service area. Cameron, Elk, Potter and McKean counties have formed an advisory committee to develop and application and to administer the grant. (Clearfield and Jefferson Counties submitted a separate application.) The application was submitted on August 11, 2000 and we are hopeful that the request will be funded which will help people with disabilities with home modifications. There will be more news on this exciting opportunity as the program develops. Look for an update in the next newsletter

From The Editor

Due to technical difficulties and the extensive list of activities that LIFT has participated in the last few months, I was unable to get the Spring issue of this newsletter mailed out to you. I apologize for this. I want to take this opportunity to share with you the fantastic events that the staff at LIFT have been going to.

Please keep in mind that we are always willing to participate in any disability awareness activity, provider fairs, etc. you may be involved with. We can provide sensitivity trainings, presentations of LIFT services and demonstrations of assistive technology that is available. Just give us a call and we will work out the details!

April

April 29, 2000

The Allegheny Mountain Rollin' Thunder (AMRT) wheelchair basketball team was invited to a disability awareness event/fundraiser for a fraternity at Lock Haven University. Although this university is out of LIFT's service area, it was a very worthwhile event. The AMRT played college students and their coaches to make for two great games! In one game during half time, it was suggested to change the scores giving the opponent a 24 point lead over AMRT. AMRT still won but everyone had a lot of fun!

May

May was the busiest month!

May 5, 2000

On May 5, the LIFT staff attended the Cameron County Children's Fair in Emporium. It was held from 1:30 to 5:30 p.m.; many children participated. We simulated disabilities and gave out much literature. For our game, we had the children pick a duck out of a swimming pool - but the catch was - they had to use a reacher to do this. If they accommplished this, they received a prize. It went over very well. The children learned about disabilities and the parents learned about LIFT and the services we provide.

May 6, 2000

The Cameron County Arts Society Committee in Emporium held a wheelchair basketball game/fundraiser with the AMRT and LIFT staff at the Emporium High School. At 7:00 p.m. the doors closed and the thunder rolled. AMRT players competed against the boys and girls varsity basketball teams in two awesome games! The varsity teams did very well considering this was their first time using a wheelchair playing basketball. The fundraiser went over so well that the Arts Festival invited AMRT again for another try!

May 7-13, 2000

PA Barrier Awareness Week!

As a result of advocacy efforts of Jack Neale, (former Advocacy Specialist), Governor Tom Ridge proclaimed the week of May 7-13, 2000 PA Barrier Awareness Week. As a kick off to this week, Tracey Cummings and Kelly Valdez (new Advocacy Specialist), donated several inches of their hair to Locks of Love. Locks of Love takes this hair and makes wigs for children with cancer. There was a very nice article on the front page of the Cameron County Echo about this event. If you would like more information on Locks of Love, you can check out their web page at www.locksoflove.com or call Tracey or Kelly at the LIFT office.

May 11, 2000

The Cameron County Consumer Advocacy Group had two separate events on this date. First in the morning, they held a bake sale to raise money for their group to go on some recreational outings such as bowling. Later in the afternoon, they organized a disability simulation with several Emporium teens, Commissioners Tony Mascato and George Singer, and Mike Galluzzi, the Director of the Cameron County Health Care Center. All participants simulated deafness, blindness and using a wheelchair. This event attracted a lot of interest and provided much awareness, not only for the participants, but also for the people of Emporium who saw them and had asked several questions.

May 12, 2000

To finish up the PA Barrier Awareness Week, on Friday LIFT and the AMRT did a wheelchair basketball game/awareness event for the students and faculty of the DuBois High School. There were over 1,300 students who attended this assembly! The first game, which was played against the students, was a very eye opening experience for them. In between games, Bob Mecca, LIFT's Executive Director, gave a presentation on the services we have including the Lending Library. Finally, AMRT competed against the faculty. After the event was over, several students stayed to ask questions. A special thanks to Mary Withrow who was our contact person in establishing this great event! It was fantastic to reach such a captive audience!

All in all, PA Barrier Awareness Week was very successful for LIFT! We reached some communities that we have not done these programs in the past. We look forward to many more of these events soon!

May 18, 2000

LIFT was invited to the Senior Citizen Expo 2000 that was sponsored by Senator William Slocum. This event was held at the DuBois PennState Campus Gymnasium from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. serving the residents of Clearfield, Elk, and Jefferson Counties. We handed out much literature and senior citizens gained knowledge of the services provided by LIFT.

May 23, 2000 Finally, on the 23rd, four of the LIFT staff attended the Provider Fair which was hosted by Clearfield-Jefferson Mental Health/Mental Retardation Program at the Ramada Inn in DuBois. Here we displayed low tech assistive technology from the Lending Library, such as a money reader for someone who is blind, and lots of information on other services that we provide. Consumers and their families were invited to attend the Provider Fair to learn more about the services that are available to them. Thanks to Pauline Kelso and the rest of the staff of Clfd.-Jeff. MH/MR Program for our invitation to this great event

June

June 21, 2000

June 21 to June 24, 2000 was the annual Laurel Festival in Brookville. For the past five years, LIFT staff/board and the AMRT wheelchair basketball team do a wheelchair basketball game against local community teams. This year, the teams included WDBA radio station and a community team consisting of high school boys and girls. We held two full games - one per team - followed by the All*Star game. Each player received a LIFT T-shirt and pen and each All*Star player received an All*Star Player Award. The community watched the game from the sidewalks (the event took place right on Main Street) and seemed to have a great time - the players did too! This was a very good outreach event for LIFT. We are always looking to do this type of event, whether it is in conjunction with LIFT and/or with just the AMRT team.

July

July 1, 2000

On Saturday, July 1, Kelly Valdez and the Cameron County Consumer Advocacy Group Members participated in the annual Arts Festival in Emporium. What a well organized event this was! The group tie-dyed T-shirts in advance to sell at their table as well as provided the materials to area children to tie-dye their own shirts. They handed out literature about their group and other LIFT services. Special thanks to Rubert, Gibbon and Spider Company in California who donated the dye kits, Olivett's Market in Emporium, for the donation of the other supplies needed, as well as the Emporium Arms for the use of their facility to tie-dye the T-shirts. There were approximately 30+ people who stopped by the table in this wonderful event. Money earned from this event went to the group members for recreational outings such as bowling.

July 3, 2000

Similar to the Laurel Festival in Brookville, LIFT staff/board and the AMRT held a wheelchair basketball disability awareness program in conjunction with the Punxsutawney Groundhog Festival at 7 p.m. at the Recreation Center. The teams this year included members of the Sportmen's Club and the Punxsutawney Firemen. We held two full games followed by the All*Star game. Each player received a LIFT T-shirt and pen and each All*Star player received an All*Star Player Award. Most of the players competed against the AMRT last year at the festival and had a pretty good understanding of how to manuever the wheelchair, etc. Though both teams still lost, everyone had a great time!

Rolling Justice 2000

July 10-11-12, 2000

Rolling Justice 2000 was our biggest event in July! This was a march across Pennsylvania ending up at the Republican National Convention on July 29. It was to call attention to the need for affordable, accessible transportation usable by all Pennsylvania residents with disabilities. Kelly Valdez just started as LIFT's Advocacy Specialist and jumped right into making this such a huge event in our area! She established activities in each of the three towns that the march was held in our area - Brookville, Clearfield and DuBois. She had media coverage as well as consumers, their families, service providers and State Rep. Dan Surra attended. Kelly then followed down to Reading for that area's march. Finally, she and some advocates from our area made their way down to Philadelphia for the grand finale! Kelly took lots of pictures; if you are interested in seeing them, just give her a call.

July 16, 2000

The Allegheny Mountain Rollin' Thunder wheelchair basketball team held a chicken barbeque fundraiser with the help of the St. Marys Elks Club. Volunteers from the Elks Club helped the team with all the preparation of the feast as well as the day's events. The team raised over $600 which included the 50/50 raffle they had that day as well. A very special thank you to Andy Kopp, President of the Elks Club, and ALL the volunteers who helped out that afternoon! The proceeds from the barbeque helped sponsor the team's trip to allievate some of the costs that the team had when they went to an international basketball tournament in Toronto, Canada in August. (See article that follows)

August

August 4 through 8, 2000

The AMRT wheelchair basketball team attended an international wheelchair basketball tournament in Toronto, Canada. They played in five games - winning two and losing three. They competed against teams from all over the world including, Australia and Canada. The players learned from each team and brought back the excitement and experience for this year's Keystone Conference games. As an insert to this newsletter, we have provided you with the 2000-2001 schedule for the AMRT. Come and see this very competitive sport in action at their home games in St. Marys!

August 5, 2000

August 5th was Kid's Day at Bendigo State Park in Johnsonburg. Kelly Valdez and Steve DePrater (Advocate and Board Member) participated in disability simulations for the 95 children that showed up this afternoon to join in all the activities. The kids simulated several types of disabilites including, using a wheelchair, deafness, blindness and using leg weights to simulate a person who had a stroke. This was a wonderful awareness event - it taught the children what people with disabilities must face each and every day.

August 19, 2000

LIFT staff, board members, consumers and family attended the yearly LIFT picnic at Bendigo State Park in Johnsonburg. Although there were not as many present as last year, everyone had a good time - just enjoying each other's company. The LIFT picnic will be held annually on the first Saturday of August each year at Bendigo State Park. So keep your dates open! Next year, look forward to an addition to the picnic - activities and games will be planned.

September

Upcoming events include . . . .

September 8-10, 2000

The AMRT wheelchair basketball team will be having a booth at the 2000 St. Marys Hometown Festival. They are currently selling gun raffle tickets which will be available at their booth as well as pull tabs and LIFT cookbooks. The money raised will help with the costs of the gym fees, referees, etc. when they have their home games. Stop by and see the team!

September 15, 2000

The LIFT Board of Directors is organizing its first annual Charity Golf Classic golf tournament at the Emporium Country Club on Friday, September 15th. Tee-off times are available for 8:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. The entry fee of $50 for members of the Emporium Country Club and $75 for non-members includes green fees, golf cart, door prizes, refreshments on course and a rack-of-ribs dinner by Chef Bob DeGregoria and his staff at the Wedgewood Restaurant immediately following each flight. Remember, all proceeds raised in this fundraiser will be given to LIFT. The goal is to raise $5,000. Call the office if you are interested in playing or volunteering for the day at 800.341.5438.

September 28, 2000

Mr. Nick Hammer of Full Circle invited LIFT staff to hold a disability simulation with the teenagers that he has at his group home in Reynoldsville. We are currently establishing activities for the teenagers to complete at a farm they have outside Reynoldsville. This is a great opportunity to reach approximately 35 teens teaching them about disabilities and helping them realize how important accessibility features are; for example, the restroom door must be at least 36" wide for a wheelchair to fit through it. If the door is not 36" wide - how else will you get into the restroom? The teenagers will complete the disability that they are assigned (They cannot pick a certain type of disability since in real life you cannot choose what disability you may have!) and then we will have an open discussion on what barriers they encountered, how they felt completing the activities, etc.

GAP IN REVIEW

The Grassroots Advocacy Project (GAP) is funded through PA Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities. The GAP is a consumer controlled, cross-disability, statewide advocacy effort to remove attitudinal and physical barriers to people with disabilities. This is an update of the GAP over the last few months. In addition to the items listed below, the eight regional consumer advocacy groups have continued to work on the two regional advocacy plans: 1.) reducing the cost of public transportation for person with disabilities and 2.) the incorporation of ADA compliance in local building codes.

Due to the resignation of Jack Neale, effective May 30, 2000, Ms. Kelly Valdez was hired as the Advocacy Specialist. Also, GAP is now Systems Change Initiative.

BRADFORD:

This group has been working with a local city official to get curb cuts repaired and installed. In addition, they will be giving a Certificate of Recognition to a local Dairy Queen in the month of September, since the establishment has made the changes recommended by Tom Wenner, LIFT's Accessiblity Counselor.

BROOKVILLE/DUBOIS:

The Brookville/DuBois group is currently working with a local Sight Loss Support Group to obtain audible traffic signals for a dangerous intersection in DuBois, where several people have been injured in the past year. City Council has applied for funding and is currently seeking bids for the project. A change in the time of the meeting (now 1:00 p.m.) has been made to accommodate the college schedule of one of the members. A possible change of meeting place is also being discussed at some of the monthly meetings.

CAMERON:

The Cameron County group has continued seeing success with accessibility improvements to area sidewalks. This group presented two Certificates of Recognitioin during PA Barrier Awareness Week - May 7-13, 2000 - and held a disability simulation which was attended by two County Commissioners, the Administrator of the Cameron County Health Care Center, and approximately a dozen or so area students.

CLEARFIELD:

Clearfield area group members have taken on four new goals, all of which are places of public accommodation. One goal involves accessibility of a local dentist's office claiming "Historical Site" status. One of the group members has filed a 504 complaint against a local post office, and is going to file a second 504 complaint because a response has not been received from the first complaint. The group will be awarding a local Burger King a Certificate of Recognition in the near future.

ELK:

The group in Elk County has been working on increasing attendance. There are plans to send letters of invitation to local human service organizations. This group also participated in Kids Day at Bendigo State Park (see page 8 for details) with a disability simulation. They are also making plans for a day of activities with the Army Corp of Engineers and park rangers in the Fall.

PUNXSUTAWNEY:

The group in Punxsutawney has been pondering the idea of publishing a "Place of Business Accessibility Rating" on the Internet. It is believed that doing this would create incentive for local businesses to become more accessible. Also, this group changed its meeting place a couple months ago to Punxsutawney Phil's Cakes and Steaks Restaurant in hopes of increasing attendance.

POTTER:

This group is working to improve the attendance at the monthly meetings. Some interest has been shown from the town of Roulette, but transportation is a problem. This county, which is the extreme northeast corner of the LIFT's service area, is in need of focused attention. Attendance of local support groups by Kelly Valdez, and the dissemination of group literature around the county to service providers and in public places should help to boost group membership.

SMETHPORT:

The Smethport group is hoping to increase attendance with advertisements of their meetings using the local newspaper, radio, and television. A change of location and time may be necessary in order to attract those who work during the day.

BREAKING NEWS!!!!!

By: Kelly Valdez, Advocacy Specialist

On Thursday, August 10, the State Transportation Commission approved the Transportation Advisory Committee's (TAC) study by Gannet & Flemming on the "availability of transportation services for persons with disabilities in rural Pennsylvania" during their regularly scheduled meeting.

PennDOT Secretary Bradley Mallory surprised many by moving the study presentation up from the end of the agenda and by allowing a brief time for public comment from the handful of people from the disability community in attendance, contrary to common practice. Again and again, the commission heard of prohibitively costly trips to restaurants, shopping centers, doctor and dentist's offices, church and work. Each speaker made it clear that affordable, accessible transportation has not been available to those with disabilities, and that it is a necessity, not a luxury, especially in rural Pennsylvania.

It was truly gratifying when Secretary Mallory called for a motion on the study, and one of the Commissioners said that he "would be proud, as the grandfather of a 15 year old boy with Cerebral Palsy, to make the motion."

It was almost too good to be true! The motion was quickly seconded and carried, and the Commissioners were directed to begin the immediate implementation of the pilot program, as recommended by the study.

So...now what? Well, here's where it gets a little fuzzy. The pilot that is recommended by the study will encompass Clearfield, Elk, Jefferson, Schuykill, Cumberland, York, Greene, and Washington counties, that much we are sure of. So, when can we afford to take the bus? The study also recommends that it should take no more than 3-4 months to get the pilot program up and running. The Commissioners felt that this timeline was doable, and make a commitment to meet it. Realistically, I would not expect to see things happening until early 2001.

As more news filters down to LIFT, I will keep everyone informed through this newsletter, memos, and the advocacy groups. But remember, this pilot is a temporary program - it is designed to last a minimum of 24 months, and permanent adoption of this service is not a given. We need to make sure that, once it is in effect, this service is utilized by as many consumers as possible. We must let PennDOT know, by making good use of this service, that this program should be expanded statewide and become permanent, like the lottery subsidy for the senior citizens.

PurchasingAssistive Technology Devices

By: Merri Burkhouse, I&R Specialist

When you make the decision to purchase a needed piece of assistive technology equipment, you may be faced with many choices that can be both confusing and frustrating. The issues of "which device best suits my needs" and "how am I going to pay for this" are the two most common questions. Here are some tips that may assist you when making your decision.

1.) Talk to other consumers. Sometimes the best advice can come from someone who has used the particular piece of equipment and has first-hand knowledge of it.

2.) Take advantage of the equipment available through the Assistive Technology Lending Library. This allows you to try different types without obligation to keep the equipment.

3.) Educate yourself. Contact manufacturers or retail stores, compare costs, features, warranty information, and their service agreements.

4.) Explore your funding options. These should include Medicare, Medicaid, private insurance, grants, foundations, etc. Your area CIL can assist you with information regarding funding.

5.) If you are denied, appeal the decision. If you are not sure of the procedure to follow, contact your local CIL.

Some important questions to ask yourself before you purchase the equipment are:

1.) Will this piece of equipment suit all of my needs?

2.) Is this equipment going to still fit my needs in years to come?

3.) Is the price justifiable for the length of time I will be using it?

4.) How much assistance would I need to successfully use the piece of equipment and will someone be available to provide the needed assistance?

If you need assistive devices or help in obtaining and funding of them, you may contact me at 800.341.5438.

Home Delivery Service
Available Through
Shop N' Save in St. Marys & DuBois

Shop N' Save would like to introduce to the St. Marys and DuBois communities its HOME DELIVERY for people with disabilities, elderly and shut-ins.

Orders would be taken on Monday. The stores will place the call to each customer, with a minimum order of $10.00. Deliveries are made on Wednesday. The driver will collect payment for each order, payment will be in cash, check or food stamps. They will make every effort to deliver orders between 8:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.

Currently, St. Marys only delivers to Elk Towers and Elco Glen. The DuBois Shop N' Save only delivers to Gateway Towers, St. Michael's Towers and the Grey Building. If you are interested in this service, please contact the Grocery Managers: Geno Gilbert in St. Marys at 781.3116 or Gary Akers in DuBois at 375.0334.

Another Beginner Class Available in American Sign Language Class

SIGN UP NOW!

By: Jill Rhoades, Independent Living Coordinator

Life and Independence for Today (LIFT) has recently held a basic course in American Sign Language. The class consisted of 20 people from the public and 6 staff members at LIFT; we met for 3 hours every Monday for 15 weeks. At the end of the 15-week course everyone received a certificate of completion.

The course went so well and was so much fun that LIFT has decided to offer another basic course in American Sign Language. To those of you who are interested and were not able to take the last class, LIFT will be holding another basic course in American Sign Language in the Fall. If you, or anyone you know, is interested in learning more about the basic course in American Sign Language that we will offer in the Fall, you may contact me at LIFT. The number is 814.781.3050 or 800.341.LIFT (5438). I hope to hear from you soon.

My Experience with a Total Hip Joint Replacement

By: Tracey Cummings, Senior Independent Living Coordinator

A total hip replacement operation for my right hip, which has been fused and immobile since July 1988, was scheduled for June 8, 2000. Since my experiences with opting, scheduling, and preparing for this operation might help others with decisions regarding their own treatment, I will briefly explain them. The story begins in 1988, when my right hip was broken badly in a car accident. For almost the next 10 years, my surgeons advised me, on annual follow-up visits, to not consider replacement as an option, as muscular atrophy and my age, combined with other factors, would prevent this from ever happening. About three years ago, I started to research (mostly over the Internet) and read more about people in similar situations. I met an individual who was the only person I have ever met to correctly identify that my limp was due to a fused hip, rather than a sprained or damaged knee or ankle. I found out that it was about 14 months since his own total hip replacement operation, which he had after his left hip had been fused for about nine years. He urged me to look into a similar operation for myself. With renewed hope, I intensified my research efforts and actually scheduled appointments and talked to various orthopedic surgeons in New York and PA. The rate of advancement for this type of medical technology has been fairly rapid. I decided to pursue my goal with the attitude that I just had to find the right doctor. The various doctors, personnel, and other individuals have all been very helpful to me in my efforts, with referrals, advice, and other supports, and I freely give them each my utmost gratitude. The various referrals and advice led me to Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, PA. Although this will mean several years of pretty intensive physical therapy, the trade-off between that and the rapid degeneration of my back, limited restricted mobility, and other problems, I feel that the surgery was well worth it!

NOTE FROM THE EDITOR . . .

Tracey is doing very well after her operation. She is due back to work the middle of September and is anxiously waiting to see her consumers and service providers. We have missed her!

Opinions expressed in this publication may not be the views of LIFT.

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