AWARD RECIPIENTS
Honored at 2007 State IL Conference

 

Legislator of Excellence Award Winner

The 8th annual statewide independent living conference took place in Austin on March 5 and 6. A highlight of the event was an awards banquet recognizing a Texas legislator, an independent living center, and a successful Consumer.

The Legislator of Excellence award was bestowed upon Senator Eddie Lucio, Jr., who represents District 27 in south Texas. The senator is serving his sixth term in the Senate and was previously a member of the Texas House of Representatives for two terms. During the 79th Legislative Session, Sen. Lucio passed legislation to educate new parents regarding the dangers of shaking a baby, to continue improving the lives of people in the state’s colonias, to help Texas children and adults reach desirable weights and learn better nutrition, and to give Texas juries the option of life without parole in capital cases. This Session, Sen. Lucio authored a rider to procure state funding for the establishment of two new centers for independent living in currently unserved areas. Senator Lucio has received the Government Advocate Award from the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. He has been named “Senator of the Year” and “Best of the Texas Senate” by the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas, and received the “Senator John Traeger Award for Legislator of the Year” by the Texas Public Employee Association. Senator Lucio and his wife Herminia (Minnie) live in Brownsville, where he is president and CEO of Rio Shelters, Inc., a marketing/advertising agency he has operated since 1985.

 

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Center of the Year

LIFE/RUN in Lubbock was recognized by the SILC as the 2007 Center of the Year. Founded in 1988, this CIL is known for being resourceful and inno-vative. In addition to providing the required core services of information and referral, advocacy, peer counseling, and independent living skills training, LIFE/RUN has implemented several other projects and programs. The CIL leadership shows a willingness to “go where the need is” and to fill identified gaps in the service delivery system for its Consumers. Among the extended services that LIFE/RUN provides are: – Social Security payee services, – administration of tenant-based, rental assistance vouchers for people moving out of nursing homes or Consumers living in rural towns within Lubbock County, – sign language interpreter referral assistance, – Dignity You Wear, a project with Stein mart which allows 100 Consumers annually to purchase appropriate work attire, – in conjunction with the Department of Aging and Disability Services, contracts to assist individuals, who wish to move from long-term care facilities into the community and to receive start-up funds for household expenses and deposits, and a two-year grant to offer Follow Up services for newly relocated Consumers. Presently, LIFE/RUN is focusing on the development of and emerging youth program targeted to young people with various disabilities.

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Consumer of theYear

Although this young man of twenty has spinal muscular atrophy and cannot walk, sit up or lift his head without help, he has already achieved more than many do in a lifetime. In addition to being a prestigious Gates Millennium Scholar at the University of Texas, Pan American, he is an award-winning artist, a poet, a motivational speaker and a weekly columnist for The Monitor, McAllen’s daily newspaper. Victor’s accomplishments are even more amazing considering a childhood in which SMA was only one of the major challenges he faced. From age nine until fifteen, he was mistakenly placed at Comfort House-a hospice facility in McAllen, where he lived with terminally ill children and their families, and shared in the grief for the loss of approximately 500 of his housemates. When he arrived at Comfort House, Victor did not know how to read, write or speak English. He received homebound instruction but did not enter a classroom until he was 13. Following his sophomore year he was the first-ever wheelchair delegate to attend the prestigious weeklong Lorenzo de Zavala Youth Legislative Session sponsored by the National Hispanic Institute, where His 225 fellow delegates elected him as governor. Today, Victor has his own apartment on the UTPA campus and carries a full load of classes, maintaining to date a 4.0 average.

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The Latest
In Assistive Technology

NonVisual Desktop Access (NVDA) is a free and open-source screen reader for the Windows Operating System, enabling blind and visually impaired people to use practically any computer. Started in April 2006, it has grown to become quite usable as a day-to-day screen reader, enabling the user to do most computer tasks. NVDA allows the user to access and interact with all parts of the Windows operating system. The user may browse the web (with Internet Explorer), read and write documents with programs such as Wordpad or Microsoft Word, send and receive email with Outlook Express, produce basic spreadsheets in Microsoft Excel, and perform general computer management tasks. To find more information about NVDA please visit www.nvda-project.org.

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Senator Lucio
Receives Outstanding Legislator Award

Senator Eddie Lucio, Jr.

For his support of expanding opportunities for independent living to disabled individuals, the Texas State Independent Council (SILC) honored Sen. Eddie Lucio, Jr. with the Outstanding Legislator Award in Austin on Monday, March 5.

Sen. Lucio, who was also singled out for his voting record in support of disabled people, said, “I am extremely flattered to be selected as the recipient of this award. I know there are some incredible Texans here tonight and I am honored to be in your presence.”

“We selected Sen. Lucio because he has been so concerned about human needs and health issues, and he knows from his own personal experience what recovering from a disability is all about. (Sen. Lucio was dragged by a bus he tried to board when he was in kindergarten. He was in a cast for months and began crawling to re-learn how to walk.),” said McAllen resident Morgan Talbot, vice chair of the Texas State Independent Living Council. “It is from his background that he understands the need for helping people with disabilities and he has been very supportive.”

SILC advocates for the 21 statewide centers that facilitate programs providing the support, tools and encouragement necessary to enable people with disabilities to live on their own in the community, rather than in nursing homes or assisted living facilities. The agency also promotes expansion of these independent living centers to other areas of the state. In the Rio Grande Valley, the Valley Association for Independent Living (VAIL) served 732 people in 2005 and 811 in 2006. VAIL headquarters is in McAllen with an office also in Harlingen.

“Independent living services are extremely important, not only for the individuals they directly serve, but for society as a whole,” explained the Senator. “The work the Council performs benefits not only the clients, but their families, communities, employers and friends as well.”

“I support independent living efforts because if it means getting some recipients back to work and giving others the ability to hug their kids again, these services make a difference,” added Sen. Lucio. “The admirable achievements of Victor Alvarez, who was named Consumer of the Year, can be partially attributed to the efforts of SILC and VAIL, but especially to his determination to succeed by utilizing the resources they make available to him.”

For more information, the Texas State Independent Living Council maintains a website (www.texsilc.org).

Note. Ms. Kate Volti, policy analyst, handles this issue for Sen. Lucio and can be reached at (512) 463-0127.

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The Best Way
To Prevent Blindness

The Blindness Education, Screening and Treatment (BEST) Program operated by the Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services assists uninsured adult Texans with the payment for urgently needed eye-medical treatment. The intent of the BEST Program is to prevent blindness, and the program serves qualified individuals with Diabetic retinopathy, Glaucoma, Detached retina, or any other eye disease determined to be an urgent medical necessity by the applicant’s eye doctor and the State Medical Consultant of the Division for Blind Services, (DBS). Individuals seeking BEST Treatment Program services must apply through their physician or optometrist. In the 2006 program year, 9,361 Texans benefited from services through the BEST Program. Voluntary donations contributed by Texans renewing their drivers’ licenses fund the program. When these funds are exhausted, DBS develops a waiting list and assists individuals in order by the earliest referral date as resources become available. Questions about the BEST program can be answered by contacting the toll-free number at 1-800-628-5115 or by e-mailing: DBSinfo@dars.state.tx.us. The BEST Program also sponsors vision screenings. For information on scheduled screenings, contact Jim Hubbard with Prevent Blindness Texas at (713) 526-2559.

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SILCBriefs

Kudos To Texas
Texas is one of seventeen states that did not have to respond to a letter from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, (CMS), regarding “Money Follows the Person” “Rebalancing Benchmarks.” During the most recent data collection period, the Lone Star State spent 54.2% on institutional long-term care and 45.8% on community-based long-term care. The goal of disability rights advocates throughout the nation is a 50/50 match. Thus far, no state has reached that goal, but Texas has made giant strides in the right direction.

Techsoup.com Serves Up Tasty Deals For Nonprofits
TechSoup provides a range of technology services for nonprofits, including news and articles, discussion forums, and discounted and donated technology products. To take advantage of TechSoup’s services, go to www.techsoup.com and become a member agency. Registered organizations are eligible to receive donated equipment and software and to purchase such items at a much-reduced rate. Members also receive a free e-newsletter and consultation in order to get the most out of existing technology or equipment and software they are planning to acquire.

U.N. Signs Pact On Disability Rights
In what the U.N. human rights chief called “an unprecedented show of support”, eighty countries signed a U.N. convention enshrining the rights of the world’s 650 million people with disabilities, the planet’s largest minority group. The Convention is a blueprint to end discrimination and exclusion based on disability in education, jobs, and everyday life and requires countries to guarantee citizens with disabilities freedom from exploitation and abuse. On its adoption by the General Assembly, the Convention became the first human rights treaty of the 21st century, and the fastest negotiated international human rights instrument in history.

Disabilityinfo.gov Launches Added Features
DisabilityInfo.gov has a new Press Room that contains research and statistics, news releases, drop-in articles, and news briefs for placement on organizational websites or in print publications.These drop-in articles are tailored to specificaudiences and topics such as job accommodations, young people with disabilities, veterans and military families and businesses interested in hiring employees with disabilities. A new state map feature is also being developed for the site, which will allow visitors to more easily locate resources and information in the communities where they live and work..

 

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SILCSpiel - Summer 2007
©2007,Texas State Independent Living Council