Print Friendly VersionMay 2007, Issue 113
ADVOCACY ACTION NEWS
FEDERAL/NATIONAL
WISCONSIN
LOCAL
ADA/FAIR HOUSING
ON THE WEB
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Monthly News Bulletin Published by IndependenceFirst
LOUIS ZISKIND, MENTAL HEALTH ADVOCATE
Louis Ziskind, a social worker whose concerns about the treatment of people with mental illness in the 1950s led him to found an innovative mental-health facility in Los Angeles, died in March of natural causes. He was 98.
When Ziskind founded Gateways in 1953, mental illness was still a taboo topic; those who had it were shunned. The approach of Gateways in treating persons with mental illness offered a sharp contrast to that of state hospitals.
A stay in a state institution was an extremely long and isolating experience. Ziskind envisioned people being treated in their own communities at "community mental health care" centers. Patients would be hospitalized for a short time, their illnesses treated with new drug therapies and short-term psychotherapy.
Patients and their families would receive support in transitioning back to their “regular” lives. They would continue to receive outpatient psychiatric care. Gateways was founded on that vision.
Ziskind's push for a new way of treating people with mental illness was fueled by conversations with his brother and his sister-in-law, both psychiatrists in private practice, and with his many years of practical experience as a social worker assisting persons with mental illness.
Most of the persons with mental illness who could not pay for private care were treated at large state hospitals, often ordered there by the court system. Patients sometimes remained in the facilities longer than necessary because they or their families lacked the resources and support services to return them to the community.
Ziskind promoted the idea of shorter stays in state hospitals, and proposed community mental health centers that would provide treatment while aiding patients in their transition back into the mainstream. His suggestions to the staff of state hospitals were rejected as too costly or unsuitable for state hospital care.
"But mostly I was made to feel that I was stepping outside of my areas of competence," Ziskind said. "Who was I to tell them about definitive treatments, about what their patients needed? And from what school of medicine did I graduate?"
Ziskind "catalyzed the participation of many talented individuals on both professional and volunteer bases to build out his vision," said Ziskind's son, Gregg. "He never cared about money; he was a complete giver."
Source: LA Times article (edited)
FEDERAL/NATIONAL
OOPS, WE MISSED IT! – HISTORIC DISABILITY RIGHTS ANNIVERSARY
Last month (April) marked the 30th anniversary of the historic “504 Sit-Ins,” an action that became the longest sit-in of a federal building to date.
History: The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 was signed after being vetoed two times by President Nixon. In order for the critical Section 504 that prohibited programs receiving federal funds from discriminating against qualified people with disabilities to be implemented, regulations needed to be promulgated by the what was then called the U.S. Department of Health, Education & Welfare (HEW).
In the election campaign of 1976, candidate Jimmy Carter promised that his administration would sign regulations that had received extensive input from affected agencies and the disability community nationwide, and which had taken years to finalize. However, when the new administration took office, the Department immediately began revising and watering down the regulations, with no input from the disability community.
A national coalition, the American Coalition of Citizens with disabilities (ACCD) announced that demonstrations would begin on April 5th if the regulations were not signed as they were on the day the Carter administration took office.
Demonstrations took place in a number of cities around the country. Sit-ins were held in Washington D.C., Eugene, Oregon, New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. On April 5th, a group of people with disabilities took over the San Francisco offices of the Health, Education, and Welfare Department to protest Secretary Joseph Califano's refusal to sign meaningful regulations for Section 504. No one expected to live there for almost a month, but they did. The historic demonstrations were successful and the 504 regulations were finally signed.
The 504 demonstrations were critical in securing comprehensive 504 regulations protecting people with disabilities from discrimination in all programs receiving federal financial assistance from HEW, and later, from all other federal agencies. Ultimately those regulations became the model for the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
The 504 Demonstrations signaled the birth of the powerful, nation-wide disability rights movement that would achieve other important civil rights victories in the decade and a half that followed.
WISCONSIN
PERSONAL CARE WORKER RATE INCREASE
The governor’s budget recommendation includes an increase for all non-institutional provider services by 3%, including personal care. The state hasn’t raised the reimbursement rate in many years, making it difficult for providers like IndependenceFirst to keep up with the rising costs of providing this service. If this is of importance to you, contact your state representative to let them know what you think!
DHFS REORGANIZATION
Kevin Hayden, Secretary of the WI Dept. of Health &Family Services (DHFS), recently announced that the Governor’s Office approved a request to reorganize DHFS, creating the Division of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, the Division of Long Term Care, the Division of Quality Assurance, and restructuring and renaming the Division of Management and Technology and the Office of Strategic Finance. The Division of Management and Technology is renamed the Division of Enterprise Services, and the Office of Strategic Finance is renamed the Office of Policy Initiatives and Budget.
Implementation of the reorganization began April 1.
LOCAL
NEW ADVOCACY COALITION
Make It Work Milwaukee! (MIWM) is a new coalition dedicated to strengthening Milwaukee County through better health and human services. This cross-disability, aging, youth, and families coalition grew from the belief that a strong coordinated effort could improve our ability to advocate for health and human services in Milwaukee County – and for the people who rely on these essential services. Individual groups and coalitions have been very strong voices, but unified we could be even stronger.
MIWM coalition members will be hosting a Legislative Breakfast on May 18th. This will be an opportunity for community members to meet their state representatives and provide input on their priorities regarding the state budget. For more information, contact Alie K. or Patty S. at IndependenceFirst, 414-291-7520 (v/tty).
ADA/FAIR HOUSING
HISTORIC FAIR HOUSING SETTLEMENT
The Equal Rights Center (ERC), the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) and the United Spinal Association along with their counsel, and the Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs announced what is by far the largest settlement of a lawsuit challenging defects in the design and construction of multi-family housing under the Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The settlement requires the survey of 71 apartment complexes developed by Archstone-Smith Trust and located in 16 states around the country (editor’s note: none are in Wisconsin), which contain approximately 36,000 apartment units, about 12,000 of which are covered by the settlement, and to retrofit features of the complexes, at Archstone's expense, that operated as barriers to the full use and enjoyment of these facilities by people with disabilities. Archstone-Smith Trust is the seventh largest developer of apartment complexes in the United States. Although surveys of the properties have not concluded, the cost of remediation is estimated to exceed $20 million. Archstone will also pay $1.4 million in damages and attorneys' fees and litigation expenses.
The lawsuit resulted from an investigation, undertaken by civil rights testers from the Equal Rights Center, of Archstone apartment complexes around the country. The testing found evidence that Archstone apartment complexes had steps at entryways, doorways that were too narrow, insufficient turning space in kitchens and bathrooms, and other barriers that prevented persons who use wheelchairs from entering or fully using the apartment units and facilities.
The Consent Decree also requires, for the 3-year period it is in effect, that Archstone-Smith Trust will certify that its future construction of apartment complexes will comply with the accessibility requirements of the Fair Housing Act and the ADA and to educate its personnel on the design and construction requirements of those laws.
Source: American Association for Persons with Disabilities Press Release
HOUSING DISCRIMINATION BASED ON DISABILITY TOP COMPLAINT BASIS
The U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development’s (HUD) Annual Report on Fair Housing shows that government agencies received 10,328 housing discrimination complaints in fiscal year 2006, a 12% increase from 2005 and the highest number ever. Disability and race were the most common bases for complaints, constituting 40% and 39% respectively.
The fastest growing issue was failure to make reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities, complaints of which increased by 14% from 2005 and 48% from 2003.
In addition, HUD’s research has found that minorities experience housing discrimination in one in five encounters with rental or sales agents, with Hispanic and Native Americans experiencing the highest rates of discrimination (one in four encounters). Persons with disabilities experienced even more rampant discrimination – in half of encounters for deaf individuals using telephone-operator relay to search for rental housing, and in a third of encounters for persons using wheelchairs inquiring about housing in person. Such discrimination is rarely blatant, however; HUD detected it by comparing the treatment of matched pairs who differed only on relevant characteristics.
The full report is available from www.hud.gov/offices/fheo/fy2006rpt.pdfSource: The weekly newsletter of the National Low Income Housing Coalition
QUOTE OF THE MONTH
“Progress always involves risk; you can't steal second base and keep your foot on first.” ~Fred Wilcox
ON THE WEB
The 2007-2008 Mental Health and Wellness Resource Guide for Milwaukee County is currently being printed. It also can be downloaded from the Mental Health Association web site:
http://www.mhawisconsin.org/userimages/2007-2008Guide.pdf
AMAZON.COM AND NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND JOIN FORCES TO DEVELOP AND PROMOTE WEB ACCESSIBILITY
The National Federation of the Blind
(NFB) and Amazon.com announced that they have agreed to work together to promote and improve technology that enables people who are blind to access and use the World Wide Web. In a cooperation agreement, Amazon.com pledged its commitment to continue improving the accessibility of its Web site platform, while the NFB committed to contribute its expertise in Web accessibility technologies to help further Amazon.com's efforts.
Source: Great Lakes ADA Center
ANNOUNCEMENTS
MAY 12TH - CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME INTERNATIONAL AWARENESS DAY
This condition is characterized by profound fatigue, not alleviated by rest, lasting six months or more, generalized muscle weakness, ache or pain, concentration problems, sleep disturbance, headaches, dizziness, and other persistent problems.
In Wisconsin approximately 20,000 men, women, and children are affected. The Wisconsin Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Association is a non-profit corporation dedicated to assisting patients and families. We offer information, a quarterly newsletter, support groups, and additional services. For more information call: 1-608-834-1001 (V/Relay) or e-mail wicfsme@yahoo.com
Source: Submitted by Deborah Ullenberg
INDEPENDENCEFIRST’S 2007
POWER LUNCH
SAVE THE DATE!
JUNE 14th at Noon
Italian Community Center
This year’s featured speaker is Tony Award winning actor Ben Vereen!
Tickets are $50 each
For reservations, call 414-291-7520 (v/tty) or email powerlunch@independencefirst.org
Advocacy Action News is published by IndependenceFirst on or about the 1st of each month. Submissions of articles are due by the 15th of each month prior to publication. For consideration, send your articles or announcements to the Editor, Karen Avery, via e-mail to kavery@independencefirst.org.
Advocacy Action News is available by request in alternative formats such as Braille, large print, on disk or audiotape. It is also made available via our website.
You may also receive Advocacy Action News via email instead of print copy. Contact Karen at 414-291-7520 (V/TTY) or kavery@independencefirst.org.
If you do not have access to the internet, and would like assistance in obtaining any of the internet-based items described in this news bulletin, please contact Karen at 414-291-7520 V/TTY).
IndependenceFirst
The Resource for People with Disabilities…
600 W. Virginia Street, 4th Floor
Milwaukee, WI 53204
414-291-7520 (V/TTY)
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www.independencefirst.org