January 2005 Publication

Northwest Wisconsin Disability Coalition Seeking Members, Input

The Northwestern Wisconsin Disability Coalition (NWCC) sprung out of a general concern that people with disabilities and their families in northwestern Wisconsin have not had a place to express their needs and work on issues affecting this area.

This new coalition will not take the place of existing advocacy and support groups, but will be a way for groups to work together on common issues affecting people with disabilities and their families in northwestern Wisconsin. This coalition will be closely tied with the statewide Survival Coalition and People Can't Wait, but will meet in NW Wisconsin to work on issues that are important to us.

We have identified issues such as personal care, transportation, and waiting lists to start. We are contacting people with a variety of disabilities asking if they would like to join the coalition. We will be providing technical assistance, networking, training, and information and support.

To find out more about the Northwestern Wisconsin Disability Coalition, contact Scott or Dee at NCIL, 392-9118 v/ttyor 1-800-924-1220 v/tty. E-mail Scott at: ncilscott@superior-nfp.org or Dee at: ncildee@superior-nfp.org.

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North Country Seeking Volunteers for Study of Depression

This study will explore depression, women and disability. It will test a depression self-management program designed for women with physical disabilities. It's being conducted by the Center for Research on Women with Disabilities, Baylor college of Medicine in Houston and is funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research of the U.S. Department of Education (NIDRR). Participants who complete the study will be offered a small payment.

If you are interested in participating, contact Gloria at North Country, 715-392-9118 or 1-800-924-1220. North Country is one of 10 U.S. Centers for Independent Living participating in this study.

Thank You

Tom Horst of Superior and Mark Novotny of Ogema will be leaving the NCIL Board of Directors this month. Your fellow board members and staff thank both of you for your many years of dedicated service toward helping people with disabilities become empowered.

 

NCIL to Present Second Technology Fair

Mark your calendar and plan to attend our second Assistive Technology Fair on Thursday, April 28. This fair will be held in Turtle lake, Wisconsin from noon to 6 p.m. at the Turtle Lake Casino. We encourage all people with disabilities , their friends, family and community members to stop in, view, and try out the technology that can help maintain or improve independence.

A limited number of stipends will be mailed following the event to people with disabilities who attend the fair. In order to receive a stipend, you need to:

• Be a person with a disability.
• Complete a registration and answer a short pre-assessment at the fair.
• Complete a short post-assessment and verify mailing address before leaving.

You are encouraged to pre-register. However, registration will also be available at the door. Registration forms are available by calling Jeri at 715-392-9118 v/tty, ext. 11 or 1-800-924-1220 v/tty.

This Assistive Technology and Resource Fair will have information available to veterans on benefits and programs specifically for them. The Wisconsin Paralyzed Veterans of America, the Wisconsin Dept. of Veterans Affairs and local county veterans representatives and representatives from the VA Medical Center will be on hand.

This Technology fair is presented by North Country Independent Living and is supported in part by a grant from the Paralyzed Veterans of America Educational and Training Foundation and by the St. Croix Tribal Center.

This fair is open to everyone and is free of charge. Personal attendants and sign language interpreters will be available.

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One Dozen Roses for $9.99

For each $2 donation, you'll receive one coupon to purchase one-dozen roses for $9.99 plus tax to be redeemed at any of the Engwall locations in Superior or Hermantown and Mount Royal in Duluth, anytime during June.

All you have to do is complete and mail the order form, include a check or money order for your $2 donation to the address listed below, and we will send you your coupon to be used in June. One hundred percent of your $2 donation will be used to further North Country's mission to empower people with disabilities.

Please complete the order form below or send a check or money order, along with your complete address to:

North Country Independent Living
ATTN: Roses Fundraiser
2231 Catlin Ave. Suite 16
Superior, WI 54880

Please send me______coupons. A check for $______has been included with this order form.
___Mail my coupon today
___Mail my coupon in May
(Please Print)
Name___________________________
Address__________________________
City/State/Zip_____________________
Phone Number (Optional)_____________
I understand that if I lose my coupon, that North Country will be unable to replace it.
Signature___________________________
Date______________________
Please contact Jeri at 715-392-9118 v/tty or 800-924-1220 v/tty if you need assistance with this form.

Calendar of Events

Support Groups

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Ashland MS Support Group meets the third Wednesday of the month at Memorial Medical Center from 2-3 p.m. Call Peggy at 682-6506 for additional information.
Ashland Area Brain Injury/Stroke Support Group meets the third Wednesday of the month from 1-2 p.m in the Gull Island Room at Memorial Medical Center. For more information, Call Stewart at NCIL, 682-5676 v/tty or 1-800-499-5676 v/tty.
Chronic Pain Support Group meets the first and third Wednesday at 1 p.m. at the Goslin Court main building on Summit Street in Spooner. Call Gail at NCIL for more information.

TABOR Alert

What TABOR would do is take decision-making on such issues as Medicaid out of the hands of our lawmakers and let a formula decide. If there is no growth in the CPI, there would be no growth in state spending. If approved, TABOR could devastate services for people with disabilities.

Contact Senator Jauch, or Assemblymen Gary Sherman or Frank Boyle and tell them that you oppose TABOR. Also, plan to attend the rally for Medicaid in Madison on May 11. More info will follow in our April issue. Visit www.dawninfo.org for more information on TABOR and the upcoming rally.

Program Provides Free Videos

Susan Stanke

The Captioned Media Program provides free videos , DVD' CD-ROMS to people who are deaf or hard of hearing, their parents, teachers and others. To use this service, you need to set up an account by providing contact information and some personal information about your disability. Professionals working with individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing can also sign up. You can order videos on line (www.cfv.org) or by using an order form or by fax or over the phone. A prepaid mailing label for returning the videos is provided by the Captioned Media Program.

Videos on a wide variety of topics are available. You can get videos on learning how to use a computer, sign language, deaf culture, history, travel, classic movies and more. Call the National Association of the Deaf, 1-800-237-6819 or visit on line:
Www.cfv.org.

What is There to Know About Phones?

Telephones come in all different shapes and sizes. You've probably seen advertisements for cordless phones, old fashioned phones, and even phones shaped like a football, but none of these phones, no matter their shape or size, seem to help you understand what is being said.

There is assistive technology for telecommunication available that can help. North Country can help you find them.

North Country Independent Living provides information to consumers and service providers on available technology and funding sources for telecommunication equipment. We also have a loan closet that is filled with equipment that you can try out before you purchase.

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The staff at North Country has on going training on the systems and devices that are available. Paid for in part by a grant from the Universal Service Fund, North Country staff will meet with consumers and service providers to share information and provide individual assistive technology assessments for telecommunication devices to people in our eight county service area.

Service providers can call to request a free Technology Awareness Training for their staff, and consumers may request a technology assessment by calling 715-392-9118 v/tty in Superior or 715-682-5676 v/tty in Ashland. You may also reach us by calling one of our toll-free numbers. In Superior, call 800-924-1220 v/tty and in Ashland, call 800-499-5676 v/tty.

Finding the Technology
You Need

John Nousaine, Dir.

Exposure: Our most useful tool in this endeavor is our loan closet. We have over 400 things for you to try out: phones that amplify, phones that make the lamp light up when it rings, and amplifiers so you can hear the T.V. over a headset, hand controls for cars (airplanes too), voice activated computers, different kinds of keyboards and mouse’s and all kinds of kitchen aids and bathroom aids and much more.

Experimentation: Now you have to try out the different types of A.T. to see if any will work in your environment. We’ll let you use the items free for two weeks and we’ll help you hook it all up. (Cont. on page 5).

Nothing’s worse than buying something from the catalog only to find that it doesn’t work in your environment. For example, someone can hear the amplified phone but the buttons are so small they can’t see to dial.

Acquisition: So you’ve figured out what you want, but don’t have the money to buy it. We can help you explore a variety of funding sources. Sometimes the Community Options Program (COP) or the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) can help. The Telecommunications Equipment Purchase Program is great for purchasing amplified phones or other phone-related equipment. North Country can help you apply for this voucher. Another program is WisLoan, a low interest loan program that helps people with disabilities pay for A.T. or home modifications. Telework is a program that helps consumers purchase technology for home based employment.

Funding and maintaining this effort is extremely challenging. The backbone of our technology efforts has been the WisTech program. In 2004 we were lucky enough to realize a reauthorization of the Federal Technology Act which was due to sunset after years of dwindling funds. Many thanks to our federal legislators Herb Kohl, Russ Feingold and Dave Obey for their support of technology efforts in Wisconsin. Senator Kohl also sponsored a technology and employment initiative. Our state legislators, Bob Jauch, Frank Boyle, Gary Sherman, Mary Hubler, and Russ Decker have supported assistive technology efforts over the years.

Because of the tremendous popularity of Wisconsin’s Independent Living Centers technology programs, the Wisconsin Coalition of Independent Living Centers is proposing to make Assistive Technology a core service of each center.

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Internet Resources

Partnership for Prescription Assistance
www.pparx.org.

Technology Corner

You may also want to list your item with or purchase an item from Used Equipment Market Place,

http://www.wati.org/buys/marketplace.html or Used Equipment Referral Service (UERS), http://www.uiowa.edu/infotech/UERS.HTM.

Updating Our Mailing List

If your address has changed recently, please contact us so that we can continue sending you North Country News. If you would like to be added to our mail list, or if you are would like to be dropped or are getting multiple copies, please contact us. Call Jeri, at 392-9118 or 1-800-924-1220.