June 6, 2016
Disability Policy Consortium Weekly Update

 ,

The DPC Annual Meeting is this Wednesday.  I hope you are planning on attending.  I look forward to seeing you there.

We have a budget update from Charlie Carr.  We also have a research opportunity for you with a nice stipend. Check it out.

We also have a link to a very good article about the life changing potential of technology for people with disabilities.

Have a good week and a s always, happy  reading.

John Winske
Disability Policy Consortium
Invitation: DPC Annual Meeting

On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Disability Policy Consortium (DPC), I am pleased to invite you to our Annual Meeting.

When:  Wednesday, June 8, 2016, 5:30 P.M. - 8:00 P.M.

Where:  Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, One Enterprise Drive, Quincy, MA  02171

We will have shuttle service available from the North Quincy Station on the Red Line.

Dinner will be served.  

Keynote Remarks by Mr. Andrew Veith, President
Massachusetts State Association of the Deaf and
Co-Organizer Deaf Grassroots Movement Massachusetts

To register or request reasonable accommodations please contact  Amy at AKalogeropoulos@dpcma.org.

Requests for Reasonable Accommodations and registrations must be received by June 1, 2016.
Advocacy Update: State Budget

Thank you all for your advocacy in moving our collective budget priorities forward and making significant gains both in the House and Senate. Now is the time for the final push; we could lose hard-fought gains made in the Senate if the House decides to cut them and the Senate deals them away in the conference. I'm sure you've all seen the urgent pleas to contact your House Ways & Means members personally or by email/phone call and point out that you are a constituent and how much this means to you and the people you work with every day who are also their constituents. Well, if you haven't already, please do it today. Attached is the DPC Conference Committee flyer in word format that can be used as a template so that you can easily cut and paste the language onto your letterhead. Please move quickly as the window of opportunity is slowly closing.

Regards,
Charlie

Charles Carr
Legislative Liaison
Disability Policy Consortium

Disability Policy Consortium Budget
Conference Committee Recommendations

Increase funding for the Alternative Housing Voucher Program (AHVP): line item 7004-9030. The DPC has co-led the Housing Advocacy Leadership Team with BCIL that has been working on this line item for the past 4 years. Key meetings were held with House leadership and appropriate committee members to push for the $2.5 million needed to bring the program up to $7.1 million and fully restore the 800 vouchers it provided in 1996.


House 2 $4,600,000
* House Final $5,100,000
* Net gain in House $500,000

* Senate Ways & Means $6,200,000
* Senate Final $6,200,000
* Net gain over H2 $1,600,000

DPC strongly urges that the Conference Committee support the full Senate Budget amount of $1.6 million given the urgency and extreme shortage of housing for people with disabilities.

 

Reject the Governor's proposal to count SSI benefits toward TAFDC eligibility. The DPC collaborated with the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute to drive home the draconian nature of the proposal that would stop over 6,000 families with members who have disabilities from receiving TAFDC benefits and would force them into homelessness.

 

* House 2 Language included

 

* House Final Language eliminated
* Senate Final Additional protections added

DPC recommends that the Conference Committee keep the additional protections included in the Senate budget.

* Increase funding to the Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing: line item 4125-0100. The DPC collaborated with the Massachusetts State Association of the Deaf in this new campaign to restore funding to MCDHH back to its 2001 level.
House 2 $5,411,403
* House Final $5,411,403
* Net gain in House $0

* Senate Ways & Means $5,661.403
* Senate Final $5,951,403
* Net gain over H2 $540,000

DPC strongly recommends that the Conference Committee support the full Senate Budget amount of $540,000 given that the agency is barely able to meet its statutory requirements and has lost half of its funding over the past 15 years.

Research Opportunity:  Carroll Center and Bentley University  

Bentley University is interested in recruiting people 
to participate in a research study to evaluate the
usability and design of an online career section of a 
corporate client's web site. 

In this study, they are particularly interested in including  people with visual disabilities who use Assistive  Technologies like screen readers or screen magnifiers. 

Each usability study session will last 60 minutes.   All sessions will be conducted on the Bentley  University campus in Waltham, MA. 

Sessions will be scheduled for June 15th or 16th.

Selected participants have the choice of a $100 Amazon  gift card or a $100 check, which will be sent after the  session is completed. 

In order to determine your eligibility for this study, 
Bentley will need to get some background information 
about you to see if you match their client's requirements 
for inclusion in the study. If you are interested,  please complete the following survey .

If you have any questions about this study, please contact Pete McNally at PMcNally@Bentley.edu
Net News: Free Fun Fridays Schedule Available

Attending museums and cultural events can be costly and many of us are surviving on a limited income. Worry no more. This summer every Friday eight different venues will offer free admission. Over ten weeks that is 80 different venues available to you. Surely you can find something to your liking. The schedule is available here.
Calendar:  Training on Housing Laws for People with Disabilities  

When:  Friday, June 10, 10:00 A.M. - 3:00 P.M.

Where: Cambridge Public Library, 449 Broadway, Cambridge, MA  02138

View the flyer and transit options for this event online at  http://bit.ly/DLC-CCPDhousing

10 am - 12:30 pm: Training on Housing Laws

12:30 pm - 1:30 pm: Light Lunch Provided

1:30 pm - 3:00 pm: Input from the Community

** RSVP Required **

This Event Is Free And Open To The Public - Space Is Limited

RSVP & request accommodations by June 3rd to mail@dlc-ma.org or 617-723-8455 x 123

Join us for a training on housing laws in Massachusetts and the rights of tenants with disabilities. A Community Feedback Forum will follow this training. We are looking for your input on the issues you are facing as a person or family member of a person with a disability

OPENING REMARKS:
Michael Muehe, Executive Director, Cambridge Commission for Persons with Disabilities

TRAINING PRESENTERS:
Tom Murphy, Staff Attorney, Disability Law Center
Caitlyn Byers, Staff Attorney - Pike Fellow, Disability Law Center

TRAINING MODERATOR:
Rick Glassman, Director of Advocacy, Disability Law Center

INPUT FROM THE COMMUNITY MODERATOR:
Christine Griffin, Executive Director, Disability Law Center

Out of consideration for people with environmental illness and/or multiple chemical sensitivity, please refrain from using perfume or other scented products.

Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) will be provided.

Hosted by the Disability Law Center and the Cambridge Commission for Persons with Disabilities  
Calendar:  Stavros Housing Speak-Out  
  
When:  Monday, June 13, 2016, 11:00 AM - 12:3 0 P.M.

Where:  Stavros, 227 Berkshire Ave., Springfield, MA 01109

Within Massachusetts many individuals face barriers to housing. The constant increase in housing costs, long waiting list for voucher programs, and the overall limited availability of housing options makes it difficult for people to live the community.

Stavros is asking community members, housing advocates, those currently seeking housing and cross-sector agencies to come together and discuss their concerns with housing. This event strives to meet the following objectives:
  • Allow individuals from cross-disability, and diversified backgrounds tocome together to discuss issues within housing.
  • Allow individuals seeking housing and those struggling with their housing placements to come together and share their housing stories.
  • Participate in group activity that describes your ideal housing placement.  How does it promote healthy living and community integration?
We hope you will join us.  Light refreshments will be served.

For accommodations please contact Jennifer Lee at
413-256-0473 or  jlee@stavros.org.
Calendar: Boston Commission Community Forum

When:  Wednesday, June 15, 2016, 2:00 P.M. - 4:00 P.M.

Where:  BRA Boardroom, 9th floor, Boston City Hall, Boston, MA  02201

This event is hosted by the Mayor's Commission for Persons with Disabilities. Attendees will have the opportunity to help set the City's 2016 - 2017 accessibility agenda, hear updates on our current initiatives, and get their questions about access and inclusion in Boston answered.

If you have questions, concerns, or comments about disability issues, we want to hear from you!
Come out and tell us about your access priorities!
  • Hear updates from Disability Commissioner Kristen McCosh
  • Meet members of Boston's Disability Commission Advisory Board
  • Make your concerns about accessibility known to City Officials
  • Network with Disability Community Friends over Free Refreshments

Please plan to join us this year on Wednesday, June 15th at Boston City Hall.

ASL and CART provided. This is a scent-free event.

To request an accommodation, contact us by June 1st at:
disability@boston.gov or call 617-635-3682 / 617-635-2541 TTY

For more information, visit www.cityofboston.gov/disability.

Please see the flyer linked below for more details - and help us spread the word about this event to the disability community.
In This Issue
DPC Needs your Help!!! 
PayPal link
The DPC uses the PayPal PayFast system for your tax deductible charitable donations. You do not need to have a PayPal account to use this system because credit card payments are also accepted.

Causes Logo
The DPC also uses the Causes program for recurring donations (as well as one time donations).  This is a great way to make a smaller monthly donation.
 
Donate by Mail
Make check or money order payable to:

Disability Policy Consortium
11 Dartmouth Street
Suite 301
Malden, MA 02148
Join Our Mailing List

View our profile on LinkedIn

Find us on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter