Accelerated Cure Project

2008 Health & Beauty Fair to Cure MS

• What: A collection of health and beauty professionals who specialize in exercise, aroma therapy, style, etc. Click here for pictures.

• Who: People ready to start the new year off with relaxation and health


• When: Sunday January 13th from 1-6 PM


• Where: Rock City Body, 107 Brighton Avenue, Allston MA Directions


• Why: To raise funds for Accelerated Cure Project and learn how to live a healthy lifestyle.


• Dress: Comfortable attire. You will have the opportunity to try out pilates, stretching, etc, so dress accordingly.


• Cost: $30 in advance or $35 at the door. 25% of entry fee benefits Accelerated Cure Project. Fee is non-refundable unless the fair is canceled.

Agenda:
Mingle with health and beauty professionals, eat refreshments, and participate in a raffle to benefit Accelerated Cure Project (specific times coming soon).

RSVP:
Save the date! We'll announce when ticket sales have begun.

For more information, check out http://www.accelderatedcure.org/

Mobile Women Magazine

At mobileWOMEN.org, we believe that disabled women today steer their own lives. Empowered by knowledge, they are having children, pursuing careers, competing in professional sports arenas, becoming community leaders, and living life to the fullest.

Now, at mobileWOMEN.org there is a place to unite; ask questions, share ideas, insights, and experiences, and learn from a variety of perspectives. mobileWOMEN.org is the creation of women in wheelchairs who were having difficulty finding answers to their health, fashion, and other questions.

Our mission is to bring together current and accurate information on issues of interest to our community. mobileWOMEN.org includes a dedicated link to an interactive forum specifically for disabled women which allows participants to ask questions and share information with nurses, knowledgeable people in fields of special interest, and other disabled women. This forum is possible through a partnership with carecure.org, an informative, long-running website provided by the W. M. Keck Center for Collaborative Neuroscience at Rutgers University.

We of mobileWOMEN.org are ecstatic to provide a site where knowledge will be expanded and success will be celebrated, thereby extending the horizon for women in wheelchairs all over the world.

Visit mobilewomen.org to find out more!

Upcoming Event - Special Olympics Jolly Jaunt, December 1 & 2, 2007

Get in the holiday spirit with Special Olympics Massachusetts!

This fun run will benefit local Special Olympics athletes. Your participation will help fund sports programs, as well as provide uniforms, sports equipment and traveling opportunities to athletes with intellectual disabilities.

Bring your friends and family, walk, run and dress for the occasion!

Click on the event location below for registration information and all event details.

Saturday, December 1, 2007:

Boston

Springfield Taunton Worcester


Sunday, December 2, 2007:
Cape Cod Danvers

BCIL Annual Meeting 2007

Tonight I attended BCIL's Annual Meeting where I had the opportunity to meet and listen to Jean McGuire, the Massachusetts Assistant Secretary for Disability Policy and Programs in Deval Patrick's Gubernatorial Administration.

Assistant Secretary McGuire is a champion of disability inclusion and she supports BCIL's advocacy efforts. I currently volunteer on the BCIL Advocacy Leadership Council and Neighborhood Access Groups (NAGs). I helped to form a NAG in South Boston about five years ago to work with community residents in addressing access issues.
I also had the opportunity to meet Charles Carr, the new Commissioner of the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission. He was recently appointed by Governor Patrick to replace long-time Commissioner Elmer Bartels.
Liz Casey, one of BCIL's dedicated access advocates, received a Community Leadership Award for all of her hard work on NAGs and the PCA Program.

For more information on BCIL, log onto http://www.bostoncil.org/.

Upcoming Event - BCIL Annual Meeting, November 15, 2007

Consumers With Disabilities Are Invited To Attend

The Boston Center for Independent Living

Annual Meeting

Thursday, November 15, 2007

6 p.m.

The Massachusetts Transportation Building

10 Park Plaza - 2nd Floor

Boston, MA

The evening's Guest Speaker is Jean McGuire

Assistant Secretary of Disability Policy and Programs.

The evening will include a light meal, reports on the year's activities, and awards.

Upcoming Event - Interview With Assistant Secretary of ODEP, Karen Czarnecki

I will have the opportunity to interview Karen Czarnecki, Assistant Secretary of The Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) next week. I will be asking her about her efforts in assisting people with disabilities to gain employment.

ODEP provides national leadership on disability employment policy by developing and influencing the use of evidence-based disability employment policies and practices, building collaborative partnerships, and delivering authoritative and credible data on employment of people with disabilities.

I will be publishing this interview in the November issue of "Solutions" e-Magazine, put out by Hire Disability Solutions. Log on to http://www.hireds.com/ next week to read the piece.

2007 Disability Mentoring Day: Career Development For The 21st Century

Disability Mentoring Day promotes career development for students and job-seekers with disabilities nationwide through job shadowing and hands-on career exploration.

The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) is proud to present “Disability Mentoring Day: Career Development for the 21st Century,” which will be commemorated on Wednesday, October 17, 2007 as the official kick-off for a year-round effort. Orlando, Florida will be the official launch city for the national effort, in conjunction with the U.S. Business Leadership Network national conference.


What Is Disability Mentoring Day?

Disability Mentoring Day promotes career development for students and job-seekers with disabilities through job shadowing and hands-on career exploration. With leadership, coordination and resource materials from AAPD, local communities around the country organize their own activities to bring students and employers together for informational sessions about career opportunities and one-on-one mentoring with volunteers at public and private places of employment.


What happens on Disability Mentoring Day?

Disability Mentoring Day is officially commemorated on the third Wednesday of every October and is implemented in locations around the country and internationally throughout the year. It is designed to benefit from local creativity, with each community planning activities to best suit the interests and abilities of its students, job-seekers and local employers. Although the core experience is one-on-one job shadowing, event planners may choose to open with a meeting for a group of students and job-seekers featuring several presentations and/or close with a reception where students, job-seekers and mentors can share their experiences. The type of mentoring experience will largely depend on the participants’ interests, education level, and work experience. Job-seekers can focus on specific career advice and discuss potential internships and job openings.


How Will Students and Job-Seekers with Disabilities Benefit from Disability Mentoring Day?

Disability Mentoring Day is an opportunity to underscore the connection between school and work, evaluate personal goals, target career skills for improvement, explore possible career paths, and develop lasting mentor relationships. The program’s history shows that students’ and job seekers’ participation in Disability Mentoring Day can result in an internship opportunity with the host employer; function as a first interview on the way to a part-time or full-time employment offer; or even a firm on-the-spot job offer.


How Will Employers Benefit from Disability Mentoring Day?

Disability Mentoring Day provides public and private employers with an opportunity to recruit interns; tap a pool of potential future employees; learn more about the experience of disability; develop lasting relationships with disability community leaders; demonstrate positive leadership in their communities; and attract positive media attention. In addition, employers can get involved by enabling employees to serve as volunteer mentors, functioning as a Local Coordinator for a community, and sponsoring Disability Mentoring Day at the national or local level.


How can Disability Mentoring Day Support Other Programs?

Disability Mentoring Day can be a point-of-entry for existing mentoring, school-to-work, internship and employment programs. Since many successful programs around the country require extensive year-round commitments, Disability Mentoring Day can be a way to attract new participants and then encourage them to become more involved year-round.


How Do Communities Get Involved?

Local Coordinators, who play a match-making role between students/job-seekers and local employers, are the key to Disability Mentoring Day. Communities wishing to participate in any capacity – as an employer, organization, educator, job-seeker or student – should review the Local Coordinators list on AAPD's website to see if there is already someone coordinating in that community. Individuals interested in playing a crucial coordination role should also refer to the Local Coordinator Toolkit and then contact AAPD at 800-840-8844 (v/tty). There is no required size or timing for a successful event -- it could involve just a handful of students or several dozen, and can take place at any point during the year. Making an impact in just one person’s life makes a difference and lays a foundation for subsequent years.


How Did Disability Mentoring Day Get Started?

This program started as National Disability Mentoring Day in 1999 in the White House, as a program to increase the profile of National Disability Employment Awareness Month, which is celebrated every October. The program was patterned after school-to-work activities and began with just three dozen participants. In 2001, Disability Mentoring Day was passed to AAPD to administer and build; that year, participation included more than 1,500 students and job-seekers (the mentees), hundreds of public and private employers, and more than 70 Local Coordinators in 32 states plus Washington, D.C. The growth and evolvement of the program have been consistently steady since that point, with the number of participants growing with each program year.

This past year saw the greatest number of participants yet - in 2006, Disability Mentoring Day included participation from 13,000 students and job-seekers with disabilities, over 300 local coordinators, and thousands of large and small employers, in communities around the U.S., Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, and twenty-four countries, including Brazil, Costa Rica, and Germany.


What is AAPD's Role?

As "National Host," AAPD provides leadership by encouraging employers, students, educators and organizations to get involved; supporting a National Organizing Committee; encouraging the development of State Organizing Committees; recruiting, training and supporting Local Coordinators (who serve in a strictly voluntary capacity for AAPD); developing a Toolkit on how to plan Disability Mentoring Day activities; referring individuals to published lists of Local Coordinators and participating employers; and generating media attention. The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) is the nation’s largest cross-disability membership organization, and is dedicated to promoting the economic and political power of all people with disabilities. AAPD educates businesses and the general public about disability issues, and provides membership benefits, such as financial services and product discounts. AAPD was founded in 1995 by cross-disability leaders to help unite the diverse community of people with disabilities -- including their family, friends and supporters -- and to be a national voice for change in implementing the goals of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): equality of opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency. Learn more about AAPD at http://www.aapd.com.

Upcoming Event - Mass For Persons With Disabilities, November 4, 2007

INVITES PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES TO ATTEND OUR

Annual Mass Celebrating the US Bishops 1978 Pastoral Statement

on Persons with Disabilities

Celebrated by His Emminence, Sean Cardinal O'Malley, OFM Cap.

Sunday, November 4th, 2007 at 11:30am

At St. Mary's of the Sacred Heart Parish

392 Hanover Street, Hanover, MA

781-826-4303

Reception & refreshments will follow the Mass.

Please join us as we celebrate this important document that calls for the full and active participation of persons with disabilities in all aspects of the Church.

WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBILE SEATING * ASL INTERPRETED *

PROGRAMS IN BRAILLE

For more information, please contact

Karen Murray

Office of Life and Family Ministries

2121 Commonwealth Ave

Brighton, MA 02135

617.746.5679

Karen_Murray@rcab.org

The Life and Family Office
2121 Commonwealth Ave
Boston, MA 02135
Phone 617.746.5800 • Fax 617.783.5642
Copyright © 2005 Life and Family Office - Archdiocese of Boston. All Rights Reserved.

Christopher Reeve - In Memorium

Christopher Reeve passed away on October 10, 2004. At only 52 years old, it was far too soon. The world mourned his death, and we all reflected on the memories he left behind for each of us. And as we approach the anniversary of his passing, we all agree: No one epitomized a true hero better than Christopher Reeve. Never before has there been so much hope and optimism that cures and treatments for SCI will be found. Christopher's legacy is that we continue his journey on behalf of millions of people worldwide living with paralysis.

Christopher Reeve was born on September 25, 1952 in New York City. While the world knew him for his incredible role as Superman, those who knew him personally remember him to be so much more than just an exquisite actor. Christopher Reeve was an extraordinary father, a loving husband, a human rights advocate, an avid adventurer, an environmentalist, an author, a director, and an accomplished pianist. He was also a pilot who had made two solo trips across the Atlantic, a outdoor enthusiast who skied, sailed, scuba dived, played tennis, and canoed alone into the wilderness.

In 1985, at the age of 33, Christopher began horseback riding and by 1989 was competing in events, which included cross-country jumping. On May 27, 1995, Christopher Reeve was thrown from a horse and suffered a spinal cord injury so severe, that he became completely paralyzed from the neck down.

Christopher initiated a sea of change. Through his leadership, the Christopher Reeve Foundation (CRF) was born and grew exponentially re-shaping the world of spinal repair research. Under his guidance, CRF’s research programs have tripled and today spans from very basic science (molecular and cellular research) to clinical application (testing and delivering promising therapies to patients). Research dollars can hardly keep up with the momentum that he has ignited.

Christopher fought to increase research funding and attention at a federal level by appearing in front of Congress as a patient advocate. And while ardent research continued, Dana Reeve established the Quality of Life Grants Program to aid organizations working to enhance the quality of life for those living through the day-to-day challenges of disability. In order to address individual quality of life needs, Christopher and Dana co-founded the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Resource Center. A first of its kind, the Paralysis Resource Center provides information to people around the world desperate to learn about everything related to paralysis, such as updates on leading research efforts, sources for equipment and support groups, answers for a myriad inquiries on insurance and governmental bureaucracies. Never had there been a team like Christopher and Dana Reeve – so revered and loved for their partnership, both professionally and personally.

Christopher’s legacy through the Christopher Reeve Foundation is strong and enduring. It is humbling to comprehend how one man, who for the last decade of his life was a ventilator-dependent quadriplegic, could change the world.

Help Restore the Americans with Disabilities Act

Did you know that the Americans with Disabilities Act may not protect someone with a disability from an employer who does not hire or fires that person?

October is National Employment Awareness for People with Disabilities month!

People with disabilities should not be subject to discrimination in the workplace. The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 was passed with overwhelming support from both parties and signed by President George H.W. Bush in order to give people with disabilities an equal opportunity to work and a chance to be judged fairly.

But this is not happening. The courts have created a Catch-22 so that a person is "too disabled" to do the job but "not disabled enough" to be protected by the ADA. This is wrong!

Four strong leaders of both parties have introduced a bill to restore the Americans with Disabilities Act to its original intent. You can send an email that is ready to go to your own Representative and your own two Senators.

Go to http://donations.unitedspinal.org and click on Take Action.

If you or someone you know has been fired or not hired due to a disability, add a short description of what happened to the letter you send.

If you get a chance, please thank the primary sponsors of the ADA Restoration Act: Representatives Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and James Sensenbrenner (R-WI), Senators Tom Harkin, (D-IA) and Arlen Specter(R-PA). Harkin was the lead Senator on original passage of the ADA in 1990.

For more information (including a list of all Representatives who have agreed to co-sponsor the ADA Restoration Act) or any other issues in Washington that are important to people with disabilities, please send an email to publicpolicy@unitedspinal.org

Check out this exciting website:
EndeavorFreedomTV

It's a media outlet focusing on disability issues. It has a lot of great video clips on everything from news, to you-tube, to sports. It's also an online community for people with disabilities. You can check out my profile there!

The Miami Project To Cure Paralysis

The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis is:

- The world's largest comprehensive spinal cord injury (SCI) research center;

- Dedicated to finding more effective treatments and, ultimately, a cure for paralysis;

- A Center of Excellence housed at the Lois Pope LIFE Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.


About The Miami Project

The Miami Project was co-founded in 1985 by internationally recognized spinal cord injury (SCI) expert, Barth A. Green, M.D. and three families who had experienced SCI firsthand. Business people Don Misner and Beth Roscoe were early supporters of Green's efforts. Joining them following the injury of his son, Marc, was NFL Hall of Fame linebacker Nick Buoniconti. The Buoniconti family vowed that progress in research would not be slowed because of a lack of funds. Their fundraising efforts brought an unprecedented level of public awareness of the need for SCI research.

The founders envisioned that to find a cure for paralysis, they needed to gather a committed group of scientists from various clinical and scientific disciplines in one center. Out of this vision, The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis was born

The Miami Project has assembled a broad spectrum of researchers, clinicians, and therapists whose expertise relate directly to the problem of SCI and whose full-time focus is SCI research. By uniting this broad range of knowledge and talents, The Miami Project team of scientists is accelerating the search for effective treatments for SCI.

Visit www.themiamiproject.org for more information.

Upcoming Event - September 17, 2007

In celebration of National Rehabilitation Week at Braintree Rehabilitation Hospital, September 16-22, 2007, come out and listen to guest speaker:

Marty Ball
Wheelchair Sports Hall of Fame Member
September 17, 2007
12:15-1:00p.m.
Braintree Rehabilitation Hospital
250 Pond Street
Braintree, MA 02184


BRAINTREE REHABILITATION HOSPITAL

Since Braintree Rehabilitation Hospital's founding in 1975, they have gained recognition as a world-class healthcare provider. Their resources include acute Inpatient Rehabilitation Hospital in Braintree, MA, a satellite rehabilitation unit located at Metrowest Medical Center in Natick, MA and multiple community-based outpatient clinics offering a wide variety of specialty services. Patients benefit from over 30 years of clinical and medical experience, innovative services and commitment to excellence.

From admission through discharge, the same team of interdisciplinary specialists follows each patient in a program that deals with immediate needs and long-term goals. By beginning treatment as soon after injury or illness as possible, patients are treated every day to vital therapy. At Braintree Rehabilitation Hospital, patients and family members can expect to find the support, caring and skill they need, from an organization of physicians and specialists.

Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission (MRC)

The Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission is a state agency that promotes dignity for individuals with disabilities through employment and independent living in the community. MRC is responsible for Vocational Rehabilitation Services, Community Services, and eligibility determination for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Primarily, MRC helps disabled people obtain employment through counseling, training, education, and transportation.


Mission:

MRC promotes equality, empowerment and productive independence of individuals with disabilities by enhancing and encouraging personal choice and risk-taking for independence and employment.

Services:

MRC provides comprehensive services to people with disabilities that maximizes their quality of life and economic self-sufficiency in the community. Multiple programs offered by MRC work together to help individuals with disabilities, such as:

- The Vocational Rehabilitation Services Program
- The Community Services Program
- The Disability Determination Services Program.

Architectural Access Board (AAB) Subcommittee Is Seeking Membership

The Massachusetts Architectural Access Board (AAB) is a state agency that enforces regulations designed to make public buildings accessible to, functional for, and safe for use by persons with disabilities.

To carry out the AAB’s mandate, regulations are incorporated in the Massachusetts building code that are designed to provide full use of buildings and facilities so that persons with disabilities may have equal education, employment, living and recreational opportunities.

The authority of the AAB is triggered by any construction, renovation, remodeling, or alteration of a public building or facility. Public buildings are those that are open to public use, as well as privately financed buildings that are open to and used by the public.

The nine member Board meets every other Monday to hear requests for variances by building owners and to hear complaints about buildings that are believed to be in violation of the AAB regulations. All hearings on complaints and variance requests are open to the public.

The Board also has the authority, after a further hearing, to impose fines of up to $1,000 per violation for each day of noncompliance.

In its efforts to expand the Subcommittee on Regulations, and improve the quality of the regulatory process, the AAB is extending this invitation to all interested parties to have them submit a resume and letter of interest to the AAB Office for membership consideration. This is a volunteer position, which will involve detailed reading and code comparison, as well as individual light research assignments. The Subcommittee on Regulations generally meets 6-8 times a year and are hoping to add more meetings to speed up the promulgation process.

Please submit resumes and letters of interest to the AAB Office, attention Thomas Hopkins, Executive Director at the following address: One Ashburton Place, Room 1310, Boston, MA 02108. Resumes and letters of interest for consideration will be accepted up until Monday, October 1, 2007.

City of Boston - Commission for Persons with Disabilities

The Commission for Persons with Disabilities facilitates full and equal participation in all aspects of life by persons with disabilities in the City of Boston. The Commission strives to reduce architectural, procedural, attitudinal, and communication barriers that affect persons with disabilities. The Commission coordinates and monitors the City's compliance with federal, state, and city civil rights laws for persons with disabilities.

One of primary programs of the Commission for Persons with Disabilities is providing technical assistance on disability-related issues to the various City departments and agencies and to the general public. The City's Americans with Disability Act Transition Plan provides guidance in monitoring facilities, programs, and activities of the City. The Commission, following the Transition Plan, has provided technical assistance in a variety of capital projects throughout the City, including the construction of the new Early Learning Centers, the first newly built schools in Boston in over a decade. We have also provided assistance to the Parks and Recreation Department for the construction of the Frog Pond Skating Rink, which provides accessible public skating on Boston Common. The Commission, in partnership with the Mayor's Office, has recently developed the Freedom Trail Access Map to assure access to the city's historic sites. We also work frequently with the Office of Special Events to assure access to events such as the Boston Marathon. The Commission has been very successful in providing this assistance because of our broad networking efforts and familiarity with resources.

The disabled citizens of the city have benefited from this technical assistance as it has resulted in access or knowledge of the access that would not have occurred without direct assistance.

For more info, visit www.cityofboston.gov/civilrights/disability

Try "ThisAbled" instead of "disabled"

The tagline for ThisAbled.com is: “Where people with disabilities help each other." They help their readers by offering accurate and quality information on issues that matter to our community. They offer a portal to sponsors and supporters that care about the empowerment and growth of people with disabilities.

ThisAbled is built on the concept that in order for people with disabilities to be free they have to be politically and economically empowered. They are not a not-for-profit entity. In order to survive as a business they depend on people with disabilities, family members, friends and those whom they assisted in one way or another.

ThisAbled.com has the following article on their website:

Ms. Wheelchair America Pageant
August 2, 2007
By Kelly Rouba

Twenty-seven women of extraordinary strength and commitment from 26 states and the District of Columbia recently competed for the 2008 Ms. Wheelchair America title in Bethesda, Maryland. After competing in several rounds of judging throughout the weeklong event, Alana Wallace, a compelling speaker and advocate from Chicago, Illinois, was awarded the coveted crown.

The four runners-up included Heather Grossman (Ms. Wheelchair Arizona, 1st runner up), Kristen McCosh (Ms. Wheelchair Massachusetts, 2nd runner up), Jackie Bartels (Ms. Wheelchair Texas, 3rd runner up), and Jennifer Biggers (Ms. Wheelchair Arkansas, 4th runner up). The event took place from July 23 through July 29 at the Doubletree Hotel.

All of the contestants have disabilities, ranging from spinal cord injuries to cerebral palsy, that significantly limit their mobility and require them to use a wheelchair on a daily basis. In spite of their challenges, each one has served as a tireless advocate for individuals with all types of disabilities in their home state. For the competition, the women selected a platform outlining their specific goals for national advocacy if chosen as Ms. Wheelchair America.

Now in its 35th year, Ms. Wheelchair America Program, Inc. aims to provide an opportunity for women of achievement who use wheelchairs to successfully educate and advocate for all individuals with disabilities. Ms. Wheelchair America is about appreciating inner beauty and judges work hard to select the most accomplished and articulate spokesperson for the millions of Americans with disabilities.

Over the coming year, Wallace will communicate both the needs and the accomplishments of her constituency to the general public, the business community, and the legislature. She will promote awareness of the need to eliminate architectural and attitudinal barriers, inform the able-bodied public of the achievements of people with disabilities, and promote Ms. Wheelchair America in states that do not currently have a representative.

Check out their website!!!

More States Needed to Compete in Ms Wheelchair America Competition!

This year, 27 contestants competed for the title of Ms Wheelchair America. Next year, we are shooting for 50 contestants!!!

The following states did not send a representative this year:

Alaska
Connecticut
Delaware
Hawaii
Idaho
Louisiana
Maine
Minnesota
Missouri
Montana
New Hampshire
New Mexico
Nevada
North Dakota
Oaklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
South Carolina
Utah
Vermont
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming

If anyone reading my blog has friends or relatives living in one of these states, or if you happen to live in any of these states yourself, and you are (or know someone else who is) a disabled woman between age 21-60, consider getting involved!

Also, of you're a Massachusetts resident, think about entering the 2008 Ms Wheelchair Massachusetts Program, competition to be held next April.

These programs offer women with disabilities a wonderful opportunity to showecase their personal accomplishments as well as an opportunity to advocate for others.

Email me for more information at: mswheelchairmass07@yahoo.com

Also, check out the following links:
Ms Wheelchair America
Ms Wheelchair Massachusetts

The Massachusetts Office on Disability (MOD)

The Massachusetts Office on Disability (MOD) was created in 1981 to bring about full and equal participation of people with disabilities in all aspects of life. It works to assure the advancement of legal rights and for the promotion of maximum opportunities, supportive services, accommodations and accessibility in a manner which fosters dignity and self determination. MOD is the Commonwealth's Americans with Disabilities Act Coordinating Agency.

MOD has three main components that function to fulfill its priorities: the Government Services Program, the Client Services Program, and the Community Services Program. While each program is uniquely distinct, they intersect and interact with each other in order to effectively ensure that people with disabilities are treated fairly in the Commonwealth.

The Government Services program works to ensure that Massachusetts’ policies and practices are consistent with state and federal laws. This unit works with other facets of state government on behalf of the needs of people with disabilities to resolve problems before they turn to crises.

The Client Services Program is an extensive information and advocacy system for people with disabilities. Responding to over 10,000 requests a year, the program helps people, their families and friends, as well as professionals and government officials, learn about the government program that help citizens with disabilities live independently and about their civil rights. When consumers report that systems are not responsive to their individual or collective needs or that their civil rights have been violated, the Program investigates and advocates that legitimate problems be corrected. The Program also houses the federally mandated Client Assistance Program, which addresses similar information and advocacy concerns about the functioning of federally funded vocational rehabilitation and independent living programs.

The Community Services Program interacts with approximately 8,000 people per year through training and technical assistance to help ensure that people with disabilities learn of their rights and responsibilities and that state, local and private entities know how to comply with their non-discrimination responsibilities. This Unit developed and runs the nationally acclaimed and replicated Community Access Monitor (CAM) Program.


For more info, visit: www.mass.gov/mod

Advocates Rally for Access

Today I joined a group of approximately a dozen advocates from BCIL on a walk through downtown Boston to raise awareness about inaccessible sidewalks and curbcuts. We gathered at the intersection of Tremont and School Streets to hand out fliers that listed some of the ADA violations the City of Boston currently has.

We made our point loud and clear, as we pointed out these inequities to pedestrians who passed by. Some of the issues we were addressing included: ramps that are too steep, a temporary wooden ramp that has nails sticking out of it, and broken-up brick sidewalks.

It was great to see so many advocates working together to improve access!

First the advocates gathered to make leaflets and posters (below). Later, we spoke to law enforcement officials about our concerns (right).