RETURNING FOR A 4TH YEAR
CDRC received some GREAT news last Friday. The DD Council has agreed to fund CDRC for a 4th year. This means that CDRC will be able to work for YOU on the important issues for another year.!!!!!!!! Welcome to CDRC’s newsletter for the month of July. In this edition we will be discussing the Housing Seminars, the Employment Service Focus Groups, Legislator Home Visits, and more.
Housing Seminar – The regional housing seminars that were hosted by Sharon Brent and The Disabilities Institute were very informative. Here are some of the topics that were discussed: Availability of Housing Options, Financial Resources for Making Housing Affordable, and Financial Resources for Accessibility Adaptations.
CDRC members who attended the seminars said they were very informative and they were very pleased with the content that was presented. However, some felt it was a lot of information to digest in one day. CDRC members believe the sessions would have been better if they were spread over a two day period, so folks could have time to absorb all of the information.
Focus Group on Employment Services for Persons with Disabilities – These focus groups discussed different services such as DORS, DDA, MHA, and ONE STOP and their effectiveness in helping people with disabilities find jobs that they want. Most of the folks that attended the meeting in Silver Spring and other areas found that the DORS services are not very helpful in finding people employment. The participants of the focus group felt that DORS provided them with the necessary equipment to help them continue to work if they already had a job, but that they aren’t so good at helping people get jobs to begin with. Everybody who attended the focus groups was pleased they had a chance to give their opinion on their experiences. Most felt that the focus groups would be more helpful if they believed DORS would do something with the information gathered at these sessions.
One Two Free – MDLC hosted the final session for the 1, 2, FREE training. The training taught CDRC members what materials are needed to assist persons with disabilities to leave Nursing Facilities if they want to do so. CDRC members learned how waivers work, and what waivers are meant for which people. For example, there is a waiver named the OLDER ADULTS WAIVER. This waiver is for adults who are 50 years old or older. Another waiver called the Community Choices, Living at Home Waiver, is for individuals that are between the ages of 18 to 59. Lastly, the Pathways Waiver is for the DD population.
One of our members, Floyd Hartley, has recently been successful in getting someone out of a nursing home. Floyd was himself once a nursing home resident. He is going to celebrate his one-year anniversary of freedom next month. Here’s how Floyd freed his friend Terry from a nursing home.
Floyd met Terry at Good Samaritan Nursing Home in November of 2004. Terry had been at Good Samaritan Nursing Home (GSNH) for approximately four years when Floyd met him. Terry had an illness that left him without use of his legs. It also affected his arms as well. Floyd discussed with Terry his journey back into the community. Floyd began explaining to Terry about the Waivers and how they work. The first step was to contact the Coordinating Center to get the process rolling. Terry applied for the Community Choices Living at Home Waiver. Floyd and Terry began communicating twice a week, to discuss his plan of action.
- Terry
needed a visit from the Coordinating Center for a nursing evaluation for level of care.
- Terry
also needed to apply for Section 8 housing.
- He had to
get his support team ready for when he got out.
- Medical
equipment was needed as well
- Doctors
needed to be found for his medical needs.
- Transportation
needed to be figured out
- Vocational
Rehabilitation was needed to help Terry return to work
- In Home
Providers were needed (Personal Care, Physical Therapy, etc)
- MCIL was
contacted to help with some $$$$ for the move (Furniture, rent, groceries, etc).
This continued from November 2004 until June 2005 when Terry
was transitioned back into the community. Terry now lives with a friend and has all of the necessary supports he needs to once again live in
the community.
Legislator Home Visits – We had scheduled a legislator home visit from Delegate Keith Haynes with CDRC
member Will Fields. Delegate Haynes had to cancel the visit at the last minute but the
visit has been rescheduled for late July. We have scheduled Senator Sandra Schrader to
visit Lori Powell in early July. Lori lives in Senator Schrader’s district in
Columbia. We have also scheduled a visit from Delegate Bob Costa with John Sheehan
August 1st.
Web Site – Kenny will continue to update our web page weekly. He will be
updating the site with more stories, photos, activities, and information on a regular basis so check the site often. www.thecdrc.org.
Meetings – Our next CDRC meeting is set for July 31st:
1:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Maryland City at Russett Library
3501 Russett Common
Laurel, MD 20724