Happy New Year and welcome to 2023. After taking a little time off, we are rejuvenated and ready for a busy year.

Justine is now our official newsletter editor. She hopes to bring in new perspectives and new authors. She is also working to promote our Instagram and Facebook pages. Please like or follow us and stay tuned for new and interesting content.

We are updating our website. Our hope is to make it very easy to navigate, we will be adding a calendar and re-organizing our content and resources.

We are going to bring back our Supper Social Club in March at a new restaurant. I am working on finding a new restaurant to host this event. If you have any thoughts, please email me.

We also hope to expand the wallet card project and add a digital version of the wallet card.

We have several educational trainings planned already and look forward to doing more training within the community.

I hope you enjoy our newsletter and I look forward to a great 2023.

-Debbie

“Instead of constantly adapting to change, why not change to be adaptive?” – Fred Emery, Australian Psychologist

For the first time in 15 years, I finally got a new car. This was the first time I purchased a car as someone living with a disability, and it was really an eye-opener to the entire process. Up until the end of last year, I was driving the car I had before my disability, because after my injury, I had learned how to get in and out of that car from my wheelchair; I learned how to break down my wheelchair and put it in that car myself; and I learned how to drive using hand controls in that same car. The process of installing hand controls into a car is expensive and time consuming. I had to take 6 weeks of driving lessons in order to learn how to use the hand controls, and then spend thousands of dollars to have the hand controls installed in that car. Luckily, at the time, I was assisted by the Florida Brain and Spine Program to help out with the coordination and with the cost.

Now, 5 years later, it was time to get a new car. I went to the dealership, just to see which car was the easiest to get in and out of. After intensive physical therapy throughout these years, I am now able to walk using a walker or a cane, so the wheelchair is no longer an issue for me to get in and out of a car. However, I still need to use hand controls to drive. So, I wasn’t able to actually test drive the car, once I found one that was easy for me to get in and out of, because no new cars at the dealers come equipped with hand controls. That was the first hurdle to overcome. I could get in the car, I could sit behind the wheel, but I couldn’t actually drive it.

Once I decided on the new car, and we made the deal, the dealership was kind enough to deliver the car to our home, knowing I was unable to actually drive it yet. And…there it sat, in my driveway for over a week while I coordinated having hand controls installed in the car. Probably one of the more frustrating things I’ve dealt with since my spinal cord injury. Purchasing a new car and not being able to drive it. This was the second hurdle I had to overcome in this process.

Luckily, I was able to coordinate with In Motion Mobility, an appointment to bring my new car in, to have hand controls installed. The cost of the hand controls is over $2,000. The third hurdle to overcome in this car buying process. So, not only have I spent all of this money on a new car, now I have to spend even more money to have it retrofitted, so I can actually drive it. My husband drove my new car to In Motion Mobility for me and, once we got the car there, the process went smoothly. They were wonderful and retrofitted my car with the new hand controls and, after a test drive, I was finally….finally able to drive my new car.

I bring all of this up to hopefully highlight the obstacles we, as people living with disabilities, face every single day. Not just the obstacles, or the excess costs, but the sheer frustration of having to retrofit our lives just so that we can be independent. It’s a struggle that will hopefully get better and better when there is more awareness and more issues, such as this one, are brought to light. On that note, Hyundai and other car manufacturers are now offering a $1,000 rebate to those of us who install new, adaptive equipment in any new vehicle. It’s a start, in my opinion. I’ve completed and sent in the form. I’ll be sure to keep you posted on what happens next.

The final hurdle to overcome in this process will be returning the car in three years, as it is a lease vehicle. Minor modifications had to be made to the steering column to accommodate my hand controls. It is said that there will be a fee when I return the car because of these modifications. I’ll be sure to keep you posted on what happens with that as well.

We hear a lot about immigration especially in our community. We don’t hear about the hidden nightmare of sexual violence on and at the borders where immigrants come. Undocumented women making their way to our borders report sexual assault both during their journey and upon arriving at the border.

Most of the attackers are never prosecuted or even identified. Most women do not even report the abuse often because their attackers threaten to expose their immigration status or worse threaten their lives.

Those who go to the authorities may not know their attackers name or be able to identify where the attack took place. Smugglers make sure that they do not know their whereabouts so if they are detained, they won’t be able to assist in capturing the smugglers.

Here is one story from the New York Times that did interviews with dozens of women.

“Melvin, a 36-year-old mother of three, had just completed the journey from Guatemala, crossing the Rio Grande on a raft before being led to a house on the Texas border. For weeks she was held in a locked room, the men she had paid to get her safely to the United States drugged her and refused to let her bathe. She said they raped her so many times that they didn’t see her as human anymore.”

The stories are many. Women making their way into American border towns have been beaten, impregnated by strangers, coerced into prostitution, bound, and shackled.

Unfortunately, those attacks don’t end at the border. Many women have reported being assaulted in immigration detention facilities and over a recent 4-year period, immigration attorneys report receiving over 4500 complaints of sexual abuse. (New York Times)

The women are powerless by any measure. Most work in stores, restaurants or factories, if they can work at all and barely make a living. Their English is usually limited, and many do not even tell their family what has happened to them.



This is a time to speak up and out for these women. I have written many times about the Me-Too movement, and I believe just like victims with disabilities, undocumented immigrant women live in the shadows of that movement as well. It is time to work together to bring this issue into the light. 

Helping People with Disabilities Communicate with First Responders.

This project has several components:

1- We make customized wallet cards for people living with intellectual/developmental disabilities and Autism.

2-     We make customized caregiver wallet cards for caregivers of people living with disabilities.

3-     We have an online training program for law enforcement.

4-     We have a program for schools, parks programs, or community organizations.

Please click the link below to learn more about this project and to order your own customized wallet card or caregiver card.

If you have any questions, please email Debbie at [email protected].

Ticket to work and WIPA what that means?

Many working aged individuals with disabilities (ages 18-64) are not working. The reasons vary, but for some it’s a fear of “If I start working, will my benefits be taken away from me?” The truth is: No. People with disabilities can work without losing their financial security or health care benefits. There are many programs available that make it possible to still collect benefits while working. Here is a brief overview of a few programs available.

Ticket to Work

Ticket to Work is a program that assists individuals, ages 18 to 64, currently receiving Social Security disability benefits who want to work. Through Ticket to Work, people can receive assistance with finding employment, getting job training, and receiving other support services.

Through the Ticket to Work program, individuals are referred to an Employment Network or Vocational Rehabilitation agency, which are agencies that will accept the “ticket” and assist the person with the job search and training.

Work Incentives Planning and Assistance? What WIPA can do for you?

WIPA projects are community-based organizations that receive grants from SSA to provide all Social Security and SSI disability beneficiaries (including transition-to-work aged youth) with free access to work incentives planning and assistance. Each WIPA project has counselors called Community Work Incentives Coordinators (CWIC) who:

Provide work incentives planning and assistance to our beneficiaries with disabilities to assist them in achieving financial independence;

Conduct outreach efforts to those beneficiaries (and their families) who are potentially eligible to participate in Federal or state employment support programs; and

Work in cooperation with Federal, state, private agencies and nonprofit organizations that serve beneficiaries with disabilities.

The goal of the program is to teach about the work incentives from SSA, enhance self-sufficiency, ensure informed choices, and get rid of fear.



Working with a WIPA can help you:

• Understand the rules of specific Work Incentives and how they apply to you/benefit analysis and advisement.
• Decide whether the Ticket to Work program is right for you
• Understand the potential benefits of employment as a person who receives disability benefits from Social Security while dispelling the myths about working
• Analyze how work and earnings may impact your Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), health care, and other public benefits
• Understand the services provided by a State Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) agency or an Employment Network (EN), and how they might fit best with your needs
• Problem solving and advocacy
• Benefits support and planning/benefits management
• Information and referral

Once you begin working, WIPA projects can also provide information and support to help you make a successful transition to work and financial independence. Working with a WIPA project is often a first step for beneficiaries who want to go to work. 



WIPA project from South Florida is serving SSA beneficiaries from Broward, Miami Dade, Monroe, Charlotte, Lee, Hendry and Collier counties.

Contact your local WIPA project at the CIL of the Keys 305 453 3491 

Access The Vote Florida (ATVFL) is a state chapter of AAPD’s REVUP Campaign. REV UP stands for: Register! Educate! Vote! Use your Power!

The chapter is a statewide coalition of organizations and self-advocates that are working to raise awareness about issues that impact persons with disabilities, encourage people with disabilities to participate in the voting process, and educate elected officials on issues important to persons with disabilities.

Email Olivia at [email protected] to get on our mailing list.

We hope to start our Supper Social Club again in March 2023. We are looking for a new restaurant and date for the event. Stay tuned for more details next month.



If you have any suggestions, please email Debbie at [email protected].

City of Coral Gables Events

If you have any questions, please email the city at [email protected].

DEI Clubhouse Hours (adults)

Mondays, 3 – 7 p.m. at the DEI Clubhouse, No registration. No Fees.

DEI Clubhouse, 3940 Granada Blvd., Coral Gables, FL 33134

Unprogrammed social time to hangout.

My Squad (adults)

Last Wednesday of each month, 6 – 9 p.m.

DEI Clubhouse, 3940 Granada Blvd., Coral Gables, FL 33134

Ticketed Monthly $5 each

January 25: Pizza, tie-dye curtains for the Clubhouse windows, and flashlight egg hunt.

February 22: Pizza, outdoor movie sing and dance along to Grease. 

March 29: Pizza, abstract art, and karaoke.

Teen Scene (ages 13-17)

Last Thursday of Each Month, 5 – 8 p.m. (companions are welcome to eat and join all activities).

DEI Clubhouse, 3940 Granada Blvd., Coral Gables, FL 33134

Registered seasonally $50 per season

January 26: Eat pizza for dinner, use a flashlight to collect eggs hidden in the park, then make bath bombs to keep.

February 23: Eat pizza for dinner, go fishing off the dock, then make colorful window art for the clubhouse.

March 30: Eat pizza for dinner, make crafts, and play boccia inside after it gets dark.

Camp WILD (ages 12-17)

March 20-24, 2023, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m., at the DEI Clubhouse

**This program is run by DEI staff, and open to teens with or without disabilities.

Registration (Residents: $174) and (Non-Residents: $217)

Litigation Update:

Disability Independence Group’s Litigation Department closed in 2022.

If you have a disability legal question, you can contact Professor Matthew Dietz at the Disability Advocacy and Inclusion Law (DIAL) Clinic at Nova Southeastern University Law School. His email is [email protected].

If you have a disability education issue, such as an IEP or Exceptional Student Education, you can contact Stephanie Langer at Langer Law, PA. Her email is [email protected].

988 is now active across the United States.

988 has been designated as the new three-digit dialing code that will route callers to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (now known as the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) and is now active across the United States.

When people call, text, or chat 988, they will be connected to trained counselors that are part of the existing Lifeline network. These trained counselors will listen, understand how their problems are affecting them, provide support, and connect them to resources if necessary.

This new, shorter phone number will make it easier for people to remember and access mental health crisis services.

(Please note, the previous 1-800-273-TALK (8255) number will continue to function indefinitely.)

Click below to learn more about 988.

LEARN MORE

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