December 2014 Edition - Access Press

Made in the Shade, p 10

Volume 25, Number 12

Transition continues for program

www.accesspress.org 2014 honorees

Charlie Smith Award winners exemplify his life's work, passion

by Jane McClure

by Access Press staff

Minnesota’s transition from Personal Care Assistance (PCA) to Community First Services and Supports (CFSS) continues through 2015, as program changes are reviewed by a group of state officials, disability service organizations and advocates.

CFSS is a self-directed home and community-based service being developed by the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS).

Like the PCA Consumer Support Grant programs it is replacing, CFSS is a service for people living in the community who need help with day-to-day activities. DHS staff is working to get a transition plan approved. The latest program details must be sent to the federal government for review by the end of December. Then a statewide plan must be submitted.

With all of the reviews and needed revisions, it could be January 2016 before Minnesota has CFSS, said Alex Bartolic. She oversees programs for people with disabilities for DHS. PCA/CFSS - p. 15

A full house representing many of Minnesota’s disability community turned out November 7 for the Access Press Charlie Smith Award banquet. They honored 2014 winners Wendy DeVore and Christine Marble of Career Ventures.

These women and their business, Career Ventures, are committed to removing barriers, creating access, creating workplace equity and increasing independence.

DeVore and Marble acU.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, center, greeted Charlie Smith Award winners cepted the award on behalf of their entire staff. They are Wendy DeVore and Christine Marble. Seated in front of them are Access Press Executive Director Tim Benjamin and Board Chairperson Kristin Jorenby. the 12th winners of the Photo by Abby Goodell award, which began in 2003.

The two professionals won the award in former recipients of this award, we are quite September, by vote of the Access Press Board humbled to be among this list,” DeVore said. of Directors. The award honors the late “Wendy and Christine are outstanding honCharlie Smith, founding editor of Access orees and we are pleased to recognize all that they and their staff have done for Minnesotans Press. DeVore and Marble didn’t get the opportunity to meet Charlie Smith but many of with disabilities,” said Access Press Executive Director Tim Benjamin. “They have done so their colleagues including colleagues in the interpreting community, shared stories with much for so many people.”

Marble and DeVore are co-founders of Cathem about their work and experiences with Smith. “The consistent theme shared by all was reer Ventures. The organization is based in St. the mention of his passion, his energy and his Paul, but is a statewide community rehabilitation program that provides employment-fotireless commitment, day in and day out for the advocacy for equal access for all. We’d also cused services in preparing individuals for employment. Career Ventures provides a wide like to mention that in reviewing the list of Award winners - p. 3

Reliable Medical celebrates 25 years Reliable Medical Supply, Inc. opened its doors in 1989 with the idea that people with disabilities desired to be better understood and their equipment needs met. As the company celebrates its 25th year, company leadership looks back on Reliable Medical’s history.

“Our philosophy has always been that the needs of people with disabilities needed to be better understood and met. To this day we have not wavered from that,” said CEO Jeffrey Hall.

Reliable Medical’s executive management team members are Mark Kopischke, Debbie Kalk and company owner Jeffrey Hall. the company is celebrating 25 years of serving clients.

Photo courtesy of Reliable Medical

The company was founded by Jeffrey Hall and his father John Hall, and continues under Hall’s ownership today.

Reliable Medical has grown from one location to four, and is headquartered in Brooklyn Park. The company has more than 100 employees, many of whom are customers. It began with an 800-square foot facility, and a hope and a prayer.

“I was 25 years old when I started Reliable Medical Supply,” said Jeffrey Hall. “My father believed in my aspiration to be the best home medical equipment supplier in the state. My father and I each put up $5,000 to acquire the last retail homecare store from Bird and Cronin.” The little store was doing less than $70,000 a year in sales.

“We sold mostly ostomy and orthopedic supplies. I had worked for another company for many years prior to starting Reliable Medical. I knew the mobility/seating, medical supplies and wound care really well,” said Jeffrey Hall.

The Halls worked to grow their new store’s sales more than 10 times what the previous owners had seen. “I knew we had something different to offer our customers.”

By 1996 the company had three locations. The company consolidated to one space and moved its base from Bloomington to Brooklyn Park, retaining almost its entire customer base.

The company continued to grow. Additional locations opened in Buffalo and St. Cloud. By 2009 the company had outgrown its facility, and moved into a new 40,000 square foot facility in Brooklyn Park. Jeffrey Hall became 100 percent owner of the company in 2010.

Reliable Medical, 25 years of service - p. 5

December 10, 2014 Nonprofit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Twin Cities. MN Permit No. 4766 Address Service Requested

“Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors and let each new year find you a better person.”

— Benjamin Franklin

NEWS DIGEST

Access Press Charlie Smith Award emcee Nick Wilkie wants everyone to check out this year’s banquet pictures.

Pages 8-9 Immigration history shows that people with disabilities weren’t welcome.

Page 2 A Summit Avenue mansion-turned-luxury hotel is the focus on an accessibility debate.

Page 3 Courage Kenny Cards help share holiday cheer.

Page 11 AXIS makes a move to Minneapolis.

Page 13

INSIDE Accessible Fun, pg 11 Events, pg 12 People & Places, pps 7 & 10 Radio Talking Book, pg 14 Regional News, pg 6

Pg 2 December 10, 2014 Volume 25, Number 12

EDITOR’S DESK

Tim Benjamin At Access Press, as the year closes, we’re looking ahead to the January opening of the new legislative session. But December is also “awards month” at the Access Press news desk, and we’re pleased to give you highlights of recent awards events in the community.

Several disability support organizations close the year by bestowing honors on individuals and groups.

The Arc of Minnesota, an organization that has been protecting the rights of people with disabilities for many years, held an awards banquet at their annual conference in November. Among the 12 awardees are many who are recognizable faces in the disability community. We were especially pleased to see Alicia Munson of Opportunity Partners receive the Luther Granquist Systems Change Award for her leadership role in last year’s successful 5% campaign.

NAMI Minnesota, which has advocated for people with mental illness since 1976, also presented nine awards “for outstanding efforts” at its November conference. Their Media Award was given to the Star Tribune, and Sue Aderholden, Executive Director of NAMI, honored reporter Chris Serres for his “wonderful job relating how Minnesota policies impact people with mental illness.”

Reliable Medical, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary doing business in Minnesota’s disability community, has won the HME Excellence Award from HME News, the business newspaper for home medical equipment providers. It’s a very prestigious national award.

And of course, we’re still enjoying the glow from Access Press’s own Charlie Smith Award banquet in November. It was both moving and motivating to hear how Wendy DeVore and Christine Marble of Career Ventures have supported so many in the blind and blind/deaf and hard-of-hearing community to find meaningful work. Nick Wilkie of Metropolitan Center for Independent Living did a remarkable job as emcee; all of us at Access Press want to give him a shout-out for all of his efforts that evening. There are so many others that make the evening a social and financial success, and first among them are the Access Press staff and board of directors. The board, our staff and I are immensely grateful to everyone who donated and bid on items in the silent auction and raffle—especially Charlie Braun of Equal Access Homes, Inc. The Equal Access Homes’ week’s vacation at a Montana cabin brought in the highest donation in the silent auction.

The best part of any social event like the awards banquets is being with friends old and new. It’s always very exciting for me to see all the folks who knew and called Charlie Smith a friend. It’s also exciting to discover new organizations and interact with

new people who are making extraordinary contributions to the disability community—in the tradition of Charlie Smith. Finally, we extend our applause to everyone who took part by helping others to navigate the event. It is the group effort that makes this banquet such a remarkable and memorable affair.

We’re glad to welcome back our old friend Luther Granquist this month for a History Note on “institutions for the defective.” It’s not an easy topic to write or read about, and for most it is definitely difficult to acknowledge that this is part of our history, and that this was how knowledgeable, educated people thought in 1888. As Cecil Gaines says in Lee Daniels’ The Butler, “Americans always turn a blind eye to our own. We look out to the world and judge.

We hear about the concentration camps, but these [slave] camps went on for 200 years in America.” Institutions and cruel practices aimed at confining “the defective” went on for far too long throughout the world, and right here in Minnesota.

I hope that in another 125 years people will not regard our ethics, morals and methods as so unacceptably barbaric as Judge Rodney A. Mott’s seem to me. And yet, there’s also a part of me that hopes that advancements in medical care and ethics in another hundred years will make ours look harsh. Thank you, Luther, for helping us to recognize the great improvements our society has made; we should never forget how difficult it was for our ancestors and their brothers and sisters.

I hope everyone enjoys this month’s issue of Access Press and the upcoming holiday festivities. Have blessed holy days (if they’re yours) and a safe New Year’s celebration. We’ll talk again in 2015. ■

HISTORY NOTE

Then as now, immigration proved to be controversial

by Luther Granquist

Recently, immigration and how it should be regulated has been in the headlines. Unfortunately, a look back to 1888 shows us that stereotypes are not anything new.

Rodney A. Mott, the primary player in the establishment of the Minnesota School for the Deaf, stated his case for immigration reform in a speech he gave there on June 5, 1888. The speech marked the closing exercises for the school term.

Mott chose to commemorate the 25th anniversary of that institution, recapping the history of the School for the Deaf and noting the subsequent addition of the School for the Blind and the School for Feebleminded to form what became known as the Minnesota Institute for Defectives. He emphasized that Minnesota took a step not yet taken by many states when, in 1881, the legislature made the School for Feebleminded a permanent institution. It not only offered instruction and training for feebleminded children but also providing for custody of the idiotic and epileptic children and youth of the state.

Earlier that day Mott had participated in the cornerstone laying for a custodial wing for the School

for Feebleminded. The new building, he said in his speech, would serve to confine children and adults considered unimprovable until they were past the reproducing age and, by so doing, “stamp out hereditary imbecility and epilepsy, right here and now.” But that end, he lamented, could be reached only if all other states took similar action and if the country ceased to be the dumping ground of all nations.

Congress, in the Chinese Exclusion Act and the Immigration Act of 1882, had limited admission of Chinese laborers and any convict, lunatic, idiot, or any other person unable to take care of them selves and becoming a public charge. Mott proposed to cast a much broader net, saying “We shall ever welcome the vitality and nobility of the best Celtic, Saxon, Germanic, and Scandinavian blood of Europe, but if the sewage of vice and crime and physical weakness is to pour in upon us from the east, and more nameless abominations to come in a like flood from the west, we are helpless. We cannot build prisons, reformatories, insane retreats and idiotic asylums fast enough and large enough for our needs.”

He called for a stop to this “folly.” He proposed to protect the future of the county from outside “mental,

Volume 25, Number 12 • Periodicals Imprint: Pending ISSN Advertising Sales Business Manager/Webmaster Michelle Hegarty Dawn Frederick 612-807-1078 Co-Founder/Publisher/Editor-in-Chief Cartoonist Co-Founder/Publisher Wm. A. Smith, Jr. (1990-1996) Charles F. Smith (1990-2001)

Executive Director Tim Benjamin

Scott Adams

Board of Directors Production Brigid Alseth, Steve Anderson, John Clark, Ellen Houghton with Presentation Images Managing Editor Kristin Jorenby, Halle O'Falvey, Elin Ohlsson, Jane McClure Distribution Carrie Salberg, Cheryl Vander Linden, S. C. Distribution Walt Seibert and Kay Willshire Editorial submissions and news releases on topics of interest to persons with disabilities, or persons serving those with disabilities, are welcomed. We reserve the right to edit all submissions. Editorial material and advertising do not necessarily reflect the view of the editor/publisher of Access Press.

Paid advertising is available at rates ranging from $12 to $28 per column inch, depending on size and frequency of run. Classified ads are $14, plus 65 cents per word over 12 words. News, display advertising and classified advertising deadline is routinely the 25th of the month. When the 25th falls on a weekend, deadline is the next Monday.

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moral, and physical rottenness” by imposing a high tariff on “impure blood.”

In the years that followed, Congress continued to limit admission of persons with disabilities. The federal government also continued to limit admission of persons from China and other disfavored countries, Rodney A. Mott but not to the extent Mott envisioned. Mott’s vision for the “custodial” at Faribault did become a reality, however, starting with construction in the next decade of two new custodial buildings, Sunnyside and Skinner, and expansion in the century that followed into a custodial institution for more than 3,000 persons.

A transcription of Mott’s speech published in the Faribault Republican for June 6, 1888 is on line in With an Eye to the Past on the DD Council at http:// tinyurl.com/AP-historyNote The History Note is a monthly column sponsored by the Minnesota Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities, www.mnddc.org or www. mncdd.org and www.partnersinpolicymaking.com ■

December 10, 2014 Volume 25, Number 12

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Hotel access poses unique issues

by Jane McClure

Plans to convert a Summit Avenue mansion into a 10-unit boutique hotel have hit a bump, as the St. Paul Heritage Preservation Commission (HPC) seeks more information. The project is expected to return to the commission January. The main issue of debate appears to be how wheelchair users access the building, either through a front door ramp or through back entrances.

On a 10-2 vote November 20 the HPC laid over action on developer John Rupp’s building permits needed for 344 Summit Ave. Rupp is converting the Watson Davidson House into a luxury hotel. The house, which was built and expanded from 19151921, is considered a pivotal structure in the Historic Hill District. It was used for many years as the main building for the College of Visual Arts. The college closed in summer 2013.

The developer wants to provide access to the building for people with disabilities, by adding an elevated ramp sidewalk to the front door. Rupp also wants to make grade changes to the property’s front yard to alleviate longstanding drainage problems that have damaged the building’s basement level. He is concerned that the layover means he cannot pull any building permits for the property for at least few more weeks. The building needs electrical and plumbing work on top of the needed renovations for hotel use.

The building permit would also allow widening of the front sidewalk that connects with the driveway with the central entry sidewalk, to allow space for vehicles to turn around.

HPC staff asked that the application be laid over for further review and to gather more information.

Award winners - from p. 1

U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar addressed the banquet crowd.

Photo by Abby Goodell

range of services for its clients, including job seeking skills training, resume development, job search, assisting in the application process, conducting interview practice and mock interviews, interpreting job interviews, on-the-job supports, cultural awareness trainings, advocacy for accommodations, and more.

Clients are deaf, deaf/blind, heard of hearing blind or have low vision. Career Ventures clients are ages 15 years and older.

As part of their acceptance speeches, Marble and

One request is for a written evaluation by a preservation architect, showing that all possible routes for access have been explored. The house has doors on three sides but those are either narrow or have obstacles such as steps or lack of space to turn a wheelchair around.

Rupp would like to use the front door, with a low ramp along the front of the building. He said “the ramp, which would require removing part of a stone front door landing wall, would not be obtrusive. A ramp could also be a convenience for guests pulling wheeled suitcases in and out of the hotel”.

“If I can, I would like people in wheelchairs to be able to use the front door,” said Rupp. He’d either like to modify the front entrance or use temporary ramps. The hotel will have one accessible unit, on the main floor.

Some HPC commissioners agreed with Rupp. Two commissioners, David Wagner and William Lightner, voted against laying over the building permit. Both said that the front door should be used for access.

“People with disabilities shouldn’t be sent to a rear door,” Wagner said, “People should be able to enter the building in a dignified manner.” He and Lightner said the only reason they could see for a delay is if a temporary ramp could be explored.

The other commissioners and HPC staff said more information is needed and that use of other doors should be explored.

Historic buildings are regulated by the U.S. Department of the Interior, which provides guidance for states and local communities on access issues. In the preservation brief, “Making Historic Properties Accessible,” it is pointed out that modifications to improve accessibility should generally have using the DeVore shared personal stories, as well as the stories of a few of their clients.

DeVore was raised by a single mother who was deaf.

Communication was through American Sign Language.

After many years of work, her mother became unemployed. DeVore recalled her struggles to find a new job. “She could not help but wonder if this was due to the potential misgivings that employers had about hiring someone that was deaf,” she said.

Family members took on an array of jobs to support the household. DeVore’s mother finally got a job cleaning at a fast-food restaurant. It was a job she took great pride in. “(My mother) always told me that no matter what work you were given to do, it was important to do it with pride and always serve with a smile. And she did just that,” said DeVore. “And now, here I am as an adult contributing whatever part I can in assisting others who are willing and able but who too, are looking for ‘a way’ in how they can participate in work world.”

Career Ventures educates employers about ways to hire employees with disabilities, using adaptive technology, equipment and support services, and helping employers make workplaces accessible.

“One of my driving factors in the work that I do is knowing that we are not only working with the client

Making this Summit Avenue mansion accessible, for luxury hotel use, is under study.

Courtesy photo

front or main door as a priority. One issue that has to be weighed is how modifications would impact a historic property.

Rupp has been working with city officials for several months on his plans. The St. Paul Planning Commission in September approved a conditional use permit for the project. Summit Avenue Residential Preservation Association (SARPA) appealed that decision to the City Council, which upheld the Planning Commission decision. That appeal stopped the clock on any city staff work on building permits until it could be resolved by the City Council.

SARPA and two neighbors submitted letters opposing the permit request. SARPA pointed out that when Rupp sought the conditional use permit, and said there would not be exterior alterations. Neighbor Anita Robeson, who has worked on disability access issues, said the solution proposed for the front door is a good one and should be allowed. ■ that has been referred to us, but we are working with all the people that are “behind the scenes” in their life as well,” Marble said. “What I mean by that is that each client that we work with has loved ones that are rooting for him or her to obtain employment. The work that we do is not just about getting someone a job. The people we serve are husbands, wives, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, uncles, aunts, just like all of us and they want the same opportunity to support their families and be role models to their loved ones as anyone else does.”

“In American society, if you go to a party, one of the first questions asked is ‘so, what do you do for a living?’ Not being able to answer that can affect selfconfidence,” Marble said. It’s an honor for Career Ventures to be part of someone’s successful employment process.

The work of helping people find work isn’t glamorous and requires working around to clock, to accommodate clients’ individual work hours. The work has taken staff, including the two company founders to everywhere from corporate offices to farmyards. But Marble said the reward for everyone who works at Career Ventures is the variety in their jobs and the satisfaction of matching clients with meaningful work.

Learn more at http://careerventuresinc.com ■

Diamond Hill Townhomes Diamond Hill Townhomes is a great property located near the Minneapolis International Airport. We have spacious two and three bedroom townhomes that are HUD subsidized and rent is 30% of the total household’s adjusted gross income.

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Please call (612) 726-9341.

Pg 4 December 10, 2014 Volume 25, Number 12

NAMI presents awards for service to mentally ill The National Alliance on Mental Illness pecially during the 2013 session. She authored (NAMI) of Minnesota presented several awards a major children’s mental health bill that at its annual conference, held at November 15 would have increased funding for respite care, at St. Paul RiverCenter. The Star Tribune was improved case management for transition age one of several award winners, winning the Meyouth, funded youth mental health first aid dia of the Year Award. training for community health workers and The media award recognizes an individual or helped schools decrease the use of prone reorganization that has been instrumental in reportstraints,” said Abderholden. “This session, she ing on the needs of people with mental illness authored NAMI’s bill requiring DHS to create or effectively portraying the stories of people an online training program on the civil comliving with a mental illness and their families. mitment act, and has also authored bills to inPahoua Yang, Wilder “This year the Star Tribune did an excellent Foundation’s community crease support services for people who are job printing a multitude of stories related to the homeless, including homeless youth.” mental health director, problems and progress in our mental health sysSen. Greg Clausen (DFL – Faribault) was was honored as NAMI’s Professionla of the Year. also given a Legislator of the Year Award. tem. Reporter Chris Serres wrote stories describing the conditions at St. Peter Hospital, the de“Sen. Clausen was the author and successful velopment of the Olmstead Plan, the unintended Star Tribune reporter Chris Serres and editorial board member Jill Burcum champion for NAMI’s legislation in 2013 to consequences of the 48-hour hold rule, the lack accepted NAMI’s Media of the Year Award.Photos courtesy of NAMI Minnesota create a workforce summit to develop recomof training for PCAs, the hope for protected transport of people with mental illmendations in order to increase the number of nesses (instead of police or EMTs), the unplanned closure of the Riverwood mental people working in the mental health system at all levels, improve their education health centers, several articles on Golden Valley’s denial of a conditional use permit and training and to create a more culturally diverse workforce. He has attended for a children’s day treatment program, and more. He did a wonderful job relating the numerous steering committee meetings and attended the summit,” said how these policies impact people with mental illnesses,” said Sue Abderholden, Abderholden. She also commended his work on reducing use of seclusion and reNAMI’s executive director. She also praised editorial board member Jill Burcum’s straint in schools, and other issues. work on an issue in Golden Valley and work on coverage of suicide issues led by Vail Place is the Provider of the Year. The award is given to an organization that editor and senior vice president Rene Sanchez. provides mental health services that demonstrate excellence, respect and best pracAnother award winner is Pahoua Yang, Ph.D., community mental health directices. Vail Place is located in Hopkins and Minneapolis and uses the clubhouse tor for the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation, as Professional of the Year. The award model, an evidence-based practice, where people with mental illnesses are not pais given to a professional who provides high quality services, exemplifies best tients or clients, but are members who carry out the activities of the organization. practices, and demonstrates commitment and leadership to the field.

“Vail Place is a community where people are connected to the services and re“Pahoua Yang has been a strong advocate for addressing the inequities in our mensources they need to find a home, a job, friends, and a healthy lifestyle. They protal health system and for improving access to culturally competent mental health care. vide a variety of services including supportive housing, case management, emIt’s not enough for Dr. Yang to provide good mental health treatment, she works ployment, and opportunities to connect to others,” said Abderholden. “But what to ensure that all people have access to high quality treatment,” said Abderholden. truly makes Vail Place stand out is that they take the next step – and offer oppor“She has spoken at many forums on the on the needs of people with mental illtunities for people to become part of the mental health advocacy movement. Their nesses from immigrant and diverse communities. She also serves on the DHS Cul- involvement has enabled their members to understand that their voice is important tural and Ethnic Communities Leadership Council in yet another effort to push for and that their efforts truly create change.” change. NAMI greatly appreciates her efforts to fight for systemic change.”

Longtime NAMI Board Member Scott Craven, who recently left Minnesota and Northern Twin Cities metro area Rep. Carolyn Laine (DFL-Columbia Heights) was moved to Florida, was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award. Other presented with a Legislator of the Year Award, which is given to a legislator who has been 2014 award winners are Leadership Award: Nancy Minahan; Program Volunteer an outspoken advocate for children and adults with mental illness and their families. Award: Susanna Berthelsen; Office Volunteer of the Year: Sylvester Hudson and “Rep. Laine has been one of our ‘go to’ legislators for authoring NAMI bills es- Special Events Volunteer of the Year: Sue Abel. ■

FROM OUR COMMUNITY

For people with disabilities, we are what we eat

by L.A. Reed

This was the message from Robin Roberts, whose mother said these words to her several years ago.

Roberts was on the Dr. Oz show, talking about how she got through her crises with cancer and later a bone marrow transplant. She was saying that the power to discuss what we deal with, from a place of honesty and hope and gratitude and connection with other people, is the opposite of what some of us avoid: a pity-party.

Truth and Courage.

As many of you know, national newscaster Robin Roberts has gone through some challenging illnesses

the last several years. And has survived. And flourished!

Therefore, I want to share some information about my experiences with brain problems, related to prior brain damage and inflammation diseases. And how what I eat ... out of fear or addiction ... sometimes affects my ability to think well.

First, I have prior brain damage from my childhood. I don’t talk about it much. But I discuss with people more the inflammation diseases I have, which affect my brain and the rest of my body. Fast thinking. Lots of fear. Excessive paranoia. Emotional issues? Yes. However, after doing work for years, on the violence behind my brain damage and other disabilities, it’s becoming clearer that nutrition is still very involved with this.

What I eat or drink affects my brain.

The last time I went to my brain damage support group, I was really scared about attending. I had gone

food shopping and came home with lovely, healthy food. But, I didn’t have time to cook any of it. So I ate a piece of baked tofu (which sometimes is just fine), and then a chocolate energy bar. Moreover, I came to the group a bit high, and then purchased a hot chocolate from the machine down the hallway. Oops. I spent most of the group feeling frustrated, scared and wanting to fight with people and criticize them and myself. Nothing was right.

I went home and knew I was in trouble and felt isolated and alone and bad.

But last night I also cooked some of the food I had purchased, the beets and parsnips. My PCA had cut up all the root veggies earlier, including beets, rutabagas, and parsnips. Good winter food. I’ve known for years that, especially in cold weather, eating acidic food – chocolate, for instance, tomatoes peppers or From our community - p. 5

December 10, 2014 Volume 25, Number 12

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HME Excellence Award given to Minnesot’s Reliable Medical Supply When a company names itself Reliable Medical Supply, it establishes a standard that it must live up to on a daily basis.

Based on its first place finish in this year’s Home Medical Equipment (HME) Excellence Awards, the provider has not only lived up to its name, but surpassed it.

Although Reliable Medical Supply has been around for 25 years, founder Jeffrey Hall said the company has only recently reached a point where it truly deserves to win.

“Our managers have seen significant, positive change in our business over the past five years, with double-digit growth and profitability, along with increased community involvement and advocacy,” said Hall, who serves as president and CEO. “We anticipated the changes in our industry and looked outside the box for ways to differentiate ourselves.”

Embracing new technology and specializing in complex mobility and respiratory cases has, indeed, helped Reliable carve a deep niche in the Twin Cities, which Hall calls “a very competitive town.”

Ahead of competitive bidding, Hall orchestrated a

Reliable Medical, 25 years of service - from p. 1 In April 2014 Reliable Medical opened its fourth facility, in Rochester, serving Mayo Clinic and surrounding communities.

Reliable Medical is known for its work with seating, including manufacturing its own seating and providing custom-molded seats and backs for clients.

“We do a lot of custom seating,” Hall said. “We work with a variety of companies to meet a client’s individual needs.” The company does work for the VA and other facilities. “We look at each client and determine what is right for the individual.”

Another program Reliable Medical is known is for is its Exhale Program, which is designed to manage clients with stage four COPD. Reliable Medical recently won a 2014 Home Medical Equipment (HME) Excellence Award (See related story) and has many other awards and accreditations to its credit. Another highlight was in 2009, when Reliable and Hall won the ALS Association Champion of the Year Award. The ALS Association, Minnesota Chapter created the Champion of the Year Award to honor an individual or an organization who, in their eyes, has been a “champion” in the fight against ALS. Reliable Medical has partnered with the ALS Association for almost 20 years, helping to start and expand the Durable Medical Equipment Loan Closet.

Reliable Medical staff members serve on various ALS volunteer and fund raising committees, form walk teams, sell wrist bands and volunteer at events.

Hall and his staff have also been major sponsors of the Walk to Defeat ALS and the Dinner of Champions since the inception of both events. ■ From our community - from p. 4 potatoes – can hurt my brain. Literally, I can feel the burning in my brain.

Root veggies are more alkaline.

This morning when I woke up, I still felt dizzy, argumentative and scared. I immediately ate some of the beets and parsnips I had cooked and some walnuts. I canceled my Metro Mobility ride to the rec center to work out (a mistake?).

Then I cooked some of the rutabagas. When they were done (5-10 minutes) I put some water in the pan and threw in some organic frozen green beans (greens are always good), and added some dried lentil soup from the coop, that had no ingredients I was allergic to (i.e. hydrolyzed protein).

When I was eating the rutabagas, I suddenly realized, I should not have canceled the rec center trip.

Uh oh. Too late. But what I learned is that, once more, the food I eat or don’t eat, the nutrition in my body and brain, and the lack of healthy nutrition, can actually affect my emotions and my ability to think.

Clearly.

Have fun! ■

gutsy strategic maneuver in 2009 by moving from a 17,000-square-foot facility to a much larger 40,000square-foot facility. While others, in anticipation of a shrinking HME industry, downscaled their operations, Reliable went in the opposite direction.

“Admittedly, it was scary to do this, but we knew we had great people in the organization and I’m not someone to hope for the best and expect the worst,” he said. “It turned out to be the right thing to do because it has made us more efficient, and gave us elbow room and more space for growth.”

Now with four locations and 122 employees, Reliable recently opened a store in Rochester, near the Mayo Clinic. The timing and location are fortuitous, as Mayo is expanding its operation there and Rochester is a growing community. Reliable is working with Mayo on complex rehab, custom seating and pediatric programs.

The Reliable staff has also ramped up community involvement and advocacy, logging approximately

1,500 hours a year with various groups, including industry groups like AAHomecare, MAMES, AARC and NRRTS. The company also Jeff Hall (left) of Reliable Medical acworks with the cepts the 2014 First Place award.

ALS Society, Muscular Dystro- Photo courtesy of HME Excellence Awards phy Association and National MS Society.

“The extent of our involvement is eye opening— really amazing,” Hall said. “Our people are doing everything they can; they really want to be involved.

They are showing the dedication and commitment to our audience and our industry.”

This article is reprinted with permission from HME News. ■

Pg 6 December 10, 2014 Volume 25, Number 12

REGIONAL NEWS Veteran is given new home Veterans who are wounded during service can find it difficult to return to their pre-service lives, let alone move onto home ownership. One Twin Cities veteran, who was wounded during combat in Afghanistan, had house keys handed to him, free of charge.

The house in Blaine was given to retired Army Specialist Joel Sigfrid during a ceremony at the Blaine Walmart. The free home will allow Sigfrid to focus on school and recovery.

Dr. Pepper Snapple Group and Military Warriors Support Foundation started Project Rebuild, a campaign to assist in rebuilding the lives of our nation’s combatwounded veterans. Funds generated from the purchases of participating products at Walmart Stores helps the project provide 100 percent mortgage-free homes.

Sigfrid is a native of St. Paul, who recently moved back to the Twin Cities to be closer to family. Sigfrid was wounded by sniper fire in October 2012. He has a Purple Heart sitting on the kitchen counter of his new home. A concussion left him with memory loss, sleeping issues, headaches and on occasion, speech trouble. Figuring out how to move forward has been difficult for him.

“This gives me security. I do get a little bit of disability for what I went through, but with this security now I can start focusing on school. It’s just one step closer to my own rehabilitation,” Sigfrid said. ■ (Source: KSTP)

Medication error is cited The Minnesota Security Hospital continues to face criticism due to errors by staff. A state investigation found that hospital staff failed to provide prescribed medications for three mentally ill patients. This happened in August and September and is being blamed on a system glitch in which doctors outside of the facilities weren’t notified of expired medication orders.

The errors are the latest in a series of incidents at the hospital in St. Peter. The Security Hospital houses 225 of the state’s most dangerous and mentally ill patients. Earlier this year, one patient was killed. There have also been incidents of use of excessive seclusion and restraint. Inadequate staffing and staff injuries are other problems cited.

The Minnesota Department of Human Services has been working to rectify a number of issues at the hospital. Measures costing more than $10 million have been implemented. these ensures have ranged from more security cameras to stepped-up staff training.

While state officials point to the progress they have made, some advocates question whether enough is being done and where the state is capable of properly operating the facility.

“If they can’t fix it, maybe they should bring in someone who can,” Edward Eide, executive director of the Mental Health Association of Minnesota, told the Star Tribune. “All the training and mentoring doesn’t appear to be making a whit’s bit of difference.” ■ (Source: Star Tribune)

DARTS loses appeal, faces more woes DARTS leadership has vowed to continue its mission, after the Dakota County nonprofit lost an appeal to restore its Metro Mobility and Transit Link program contracts through the Metropolitan Council.

The council voted November 5 to reject the appeal and let the cancellation stand. The contracts ended Nov. 9, ending a service agreement that began in 1989.

In September, the council terminated two DARTS contracts worth $13.7 million after discovering that records were falsified and that buses were inadequately maintained.

DARTS issued a statement after the council vote.

“We’re very disappointed that the Met Council failed to correct its ‘rush to judgment’ of cancelling our two transit contracts for insufficient cause,” said Greg Kona, president and CEO of DARTS, a nonprofit serving seniors and their families in Dakota County.

“We swiftly addressed the Met Council’s concerns yet were unfairly denied due process.” Kona called the decision an injustice to the 4,300 riders and 196 employees who count on DARTS. “Many DARTS clients will lose the continuity, familiarity and comfort level they’ve established with DARTS’ drivers

Sex offender program is criticized Minnesota confines many sex offenders in state programs for far longer than necessary and may be confining some who pose minimal risk to the public.

The findings in a report released last month but further press on the legality of Minnesota’s sex offender treatment program. A lawsuit centering on the program’s constitutionality goes to trial in early 2015 in U.S. District Court. The report could become a key point in arguments that the Minnesota Sex Offender Program needs changing.

Court-appointed authorities from several states reviewed the program and released 108-page report. It paints a bleak picture of a program that creates unnecessary obstacles to treatment, sets unrealistic expectations for patient behavior, and leaves both patients and staff beset with feelings of futility. Only two offenders have been discharged in the program’s 20-year history. Some elderly clients told the review team they fear they will die in state custody.

“This is going to have a significant impact on the case,” said Dan Gustafson, an attorney representing the plaintiffs. “The program has built-in obstacles that make [release] next to impossible.”

The reviewers made more than 40 recommendations for changes. Some problems are tied to clients’ disabilities. The reviewers found that there are many offenders who aren’t progressing in their treatment, because they have are cognitive disabilities or mental illnesses that make communication with staff difficult. Others are held back for rule violations, such as running down the hallway or wearing unapproved clothing, that have little bearing on their risk for reoffending, the reviewers stated. ■ (Source: Star Tribune)

and with the unique services DARTS has provided over the years,” he explained.

“The last two months have been trying, with unfair accusations and negative publicity damaging DARTS’ reputation in the community,” said Kona.

He added that DARTS has been “heartened and humbled” by the strong show of support received from many volunteers, clients, donors and community members.

DARTS will rebuild its transportation division with its own community fleet and personalized ride service. But the nonprofit, which provides a variety of services to elders and people with disabilities, faces more challenges. Last month two former DARTS employees filed suit against the company, They allege that they were pushed out because they raised questions about whether DARTS could comply with legal obligations associated with Metro Mobility and Transit Link bus service.

The suit, filed in Dakota County District Court, alleges that DARTS officials “publicly defamed” the two former employees and violated the state’s whistleblower law. The suit also names DARTS CEO Kona and chief strategy and operations officer Subramanian Krishnan. ■ (Source: DARTS, Star Tribune)

Food shelf goes to those in need Catholic Charities St. Cloud has taken its food shelf on the road. The Catholic Charities Mobile Food Shelf is hitting the streets to bring food to help the elderly and people with disabilities in need.

The small converted bus is filled with shelved boxes of canned food, produce, coolers and more.

The bus travels to different stops in the St. Cloud area. The agency developed the service after seeing a need among clients at the traditional food shelf on Roosevelt Road, said Kathryn Stolpman, manager of the emergency services program at Catholic Charities.

“It started out with really taking a look at whether people who needed food in the St. Cloud area could access the food,” she said. “We started to address it from a transportation problem standpoint.”

Catholic Charities staff and volunteers found that many food shelf clients do have mobility problems because of age or disability. “It kind of became more clear that even if they could get here by city bus, it was hard to carry that much food. It was too difficult for people to maneuver,” she said.

“We came upon the idea, that if we can’t get people to the food, can we get food to the people?”

With a grant to purchase and retrofit a small bus and other funding, the mobile food shelf took to the streets this June. Staff and volunteers have been refining the process as they go. Once a month, they go to five or six apartment buildings to deliver food. ■ (Source: St. Cloud Daily Times)

BDC Management Co. is now accepting applications for our accessible waiting lists at the following affordable communities Albright Townhomes Buffalo Court Apartments Elliot Park Apartments Evergreen Apartments Franklin Lane Apartments Hanover Townhomes Lincoln Place Apartments Olson Towne Homes Prairie Meadows Slater Square Apartments Talmage Green Trinity Apartments Unity Place Vadnais Highlands Willow Apartments Woodland Court Apartments

Minneapolis Buffalo Minneapolis Hutchinson Anoka St. Paul Mahtomedi Minneapolis Eden Prairie Minneapolis Minneapolis Minneapolis Brooklyn Center Vadnais Heights Little Falls Park Rapids

(612) 824-6665 (763) 684-1907 (612) 338-3106 1-800-661-2501 (763) 427-7650 (651) 292-8497 (651) 653-0640 (612) 377-9015 (952) 941-5544 (612) 340-1264 (612) 623-0247 (612) 721-2252 (763) 560-7563 (651) 653-0640 (320) 632-0980 1-888-332-9312

We are accepting applications for our large number of mobility impaired accessible units.

Please call us for more information.

1 BR 2 BR 2 BR 1 BR 1 & 2 BR 1 BR 2 BR 1 BR 2 & 3 BR EFF & 1BR 2 BR 1 BR (sr) 2 BR 3 BR 1 & 2 BR 1 BR

December 10, 2014 Volume 25, Number 12

The Arc Minnesota presents awards

PEOPLE & PLACES

Bruce Torgerson, left, COO of Mount Olivet, accepted an award from The Arc Minnesota’s Steve Larson.

Steve Worst received the Employer of the Year Award

Alicia Munson, recipient of the Luther Gran-quist Systems Change Award, was one of the honorees.

Sarisse Carlson, right, winner of the Betty Hubbard Family Advocacy Award, met Awards Banquet emcee Susan-Elizabeth Littlefield of WCCO-TV.

Jill Resseman, center, is shown with award committee co-chairs Carol Sime, left, and Carrie Varner

The Arc Minnesota celebrated the accomplishments of several individuals and organizations November 15, at its annual awards banquet. The event was held at the Shoreview Community Center.

Andrew R. Richardson Advocacy Award - Barb Kulas, who works with adult day programs at Home and Community Options of Winona. For the past three years, she has championed and led the Grassroots Advocacy Task Force. Through her leadership, a local group of self-advocates, family members, and staff have helped change public policy to improve the quality of life for people with cognitive disabilities.

She has helped organize state capitol visits for agency clients, to help legislators better understand disability policy and issues and have led to the passage of legislation including initiatives to improve the quality of disability services. Kulas shows courage in sharing her convictions, her example that she sets for fellow employees and her efforts to teach emerging leaders to speak out for the rights of people with disabilities.

Teacher of the Year Award – Wendy Susen, Faribault Public Schools. Susen has worked in special education for more than 20 years as an early childhood special education teacher. She dedicates her life to providing the best possible learning environment for her students.

Children with and without disabilities learn together in class. She provides solutions to each child’s challenges.

She makes strong connections with students and families. She actively supports agencies that advocate for all children, and informs parents what programs are available to them. Susen has been instrumental in creating after-school programming to enhance social, mathematical, and creative skills of many of her students. Her advocacy and support for children reach far beyond the classroom.

Irving Martin Professional of the Year Award – Jill Resseman, manager of Employment Enterprises Inc.’s thrift store in Little Falls. Her retail program is designed to train individuals to move into other community jobs.

Under her training, individuals working there acquire retail skills including operating the register, customer service and window design. She teaches her employees the skills necessary for success on the job, and she targets her training to meet each person’s individual needs. Eight individuals work there every day.

Resseman speaks about all of them with pride and includes them at all times. She also does store publicity.

Volunteer of the Year Award – Angela Maile, founder and volunteer facilitator of the Brainerd Lakes region People First group. She researches projects and provides information to the group. Activities range from fundraisers to educational presentations. She provides support to organize each event from start to finish.

Her activities have drawn the attention of leaders in the community. Recently the Brainerd Planning and Engineering Board requested her feedback on

Pg 7

Angela Maile, recipient of the Volunteer of the Year Award, received her plaque.

Barb Kulas, center, celebrated her Andrew R. Richardson Advocacy Award with her work colleagues at Home and Community Options

Karen Loven was happy to have her parents, Tom and Marlene Loven, on hand when she got her award.

Wendy Susen, left, celebrated The Ambassadors for Respect were pleased to her Teacher of the Year Award receive the Community Innovator Award.

Photos courtesy of Arc Minnesota with nominator Karen Larson.

community accessibility for individuals with disabilities. She, in turn, invited civic leaders to meet with the People First group.

Maile’s dedicated volunteer service successfully promotes inclusion in her community and helps people grow in independence.

Community Media Excellence Award – Chip Scoggins, Star Tribune sports reporter, wrote a piece headlined “A reminder of what high school sports are about.” Hopkins’ top-seeded boys’ basketball team lost a close state title game. During the medal ceremony, a few Hopkins players showed bitterness by removing their medals almost immediately after receiving them. Hopkins team manager Grant Petersen, a senior born with Down syndrome, showed the team what grace and sportsmanship look like. When called to receive his medal, Peterson reacted as if Hopkins had won the Super Bowl. Scoggins’ reporting was vivid, giving readers the feeling they were watching perfect sportsmanship take place.

Frances Klas Johnson Spirit of Giving Award – Mount Olivet Rolling Acres. Since 1997, Mount Olivet Rolling Acres has generously supported The Arc Minnesota and its public policy advocacy.

Former executive director Wayne Larson initiated regular dinners honoring outstanding public policy advocates, to raise much-needed funding for The Arc Minnesota’s work at the state capitol. Over the past decade, eight public policy recognition events have spotlighted the work of community leaders.

Mount Olivet’s financial gifts have increased annually for the past five years, staff members are The Arc volunteers and it was a sponsor of this year’s successful statewide campaign to increase wages of Minnesota’s direct care staff.

Inclusive Housing Award – Brenda Schulz, Carver County case manager, helps many individuals and families. In summer 2013 Schulz was contacted by Mains’l, to help a young woman in a crisis home.

Schulz showed incredible compassion by thinking

outside the box to provide her a comfortable, stable housing environment. Earlier this year the young woman took a big step by moving into her own apartment, where she is thriving.

Schulz works tirelessly to secure resources and support needed for the best possible outcome with the support of her county supervisor. Schulz has given this young woman – and many other individuals – the opportunities they deserve.

Employer of the Year Award – Steve Wurst, Walgreens, Bloomington store manager, utilized the corporation’s Retail Employees with Disabilities Initiative (REDI) Program to hire employees. Wurst and Opportunity Partners worked together to hire and train people. Wurst and his team have been supportive, accommodating, and engaged advocates for those with disabilities using the program. Trainees have received valuable employment opportunities, both during the time they learned retail job skills and after they graduated.

Thanks to this successful partnership and personal commitment from leaders like Wurst, eight REDI graduates have been placed at Walgreens stores. Five more people have been placed with other retailers since the program began.

Community Innovator Award – Ambassadors for Respect is an innovative anti-bullying program. Antibullying training sessions were held in three schools in North St. Paul and White Bear Lake school districts last year. The program is adding Mahtomedi schools this year. Teachers and paraprofessionals are involved in training sessions and interactive activities so they can reinforce the tips and tools that students learn. Curriculum from PeaceMaker Minnesota is modified so all students can benefit from this training.

So far, 330 students and 23 teachers were reached in 11 training sessions. The Ambassadors are working to obtain additional funding to expand their training sessions to school districts statewide.

Luther Granquist Systems Change Award – Alicia Arc Minnesota awards - p. 15

Pg 8 December 10, 2014 Volume 25, Number 12

2014 Charlie Smith Award banquet drew a large crowd Left: UCare is a regular banquet sponsor and always sends a large group to the event.

Below: Winners received these beautiful awards.

LuAnn and Rob Wudlick from Courage Kenny Rehabilitation Institute enjoyed the banquet.

December 10, 2014 Volume 25, Number 12

A good time was had by all! See you next year Left: Career Ventures had a great turnout for its banquet tables.

Right: The ever-popular silent auction and pickyour-prize raffle drew many participants. lots of prizes went home with new owners.

Photos by Abby Goodell

Nick Wilkie served as this year’s banquet emcee.

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Pg 10 December 10, 2014 Volume 25, Number 12

PEOPLE & PLACES Adapted soccer champs crowned A longtime powerhouse and a re-emerging program were the winners of the Minnesota State High School League’s adapted soccer titles this fall. The state tournaments were held in November at Stillwater Area High School.

This is the 22nd year for the league’s program for athletes with disabilities. Competition is conducted in two divisions, one for athletes with cognitive disabilities known as CI and the other for athletes with physical disabilities, or PI. Teams are co-ed.

The Robbinsdale/Hopkins/Mound Westonka Robins team won its seventh consecutive title in the PI Division, topping Anoka-Hennepin 2-1. The Robins beat Dakota United and Minneapolis South to reach the championship game. It is the Robins’ ninth overall title.

Anoka-Hennepin Mustangs defeated St. Paul Highland Park and South Suburban to get to the title game.

Third place honors went to South Suburban. The Flyers defeated the Minneapolis South Tigers, 11-5.

Dakota United won the consolation crown, defeating Mounds View/Irondale/Roseville 7-3.

St. Paul Humboldt was the eighth team in the tournament.

There was a new champion in the CI Division as the South Washington County Thunderbolts topped Dakota United, 3-2 in overtime for the state title. It was the Thunderbolts’ first soccer title since 1998.

The Blazing Cats of Burnsville/Farmington/ Lakeville came into the tournament as defending champions but finished fourth.

The Thunderbolts beat North Suburban and Park Center to reach the title game. The Hawks of Dakota United defeated Anoka-Hennepin and Burnsville/ Farmington/Lakeville on their way to the title game.

Third place honors went to the Park Center Pirates, with a 5-4 win over Burnsville/Farmington/Lakeville.

Anoka-Hennepin defeated North Suburban, 5-4, for the consolation championship. Minneapolis Roosevelt and St. Cloud Area were the other teams in the tournament. ■

AXIS moves offices to Minneapolis AXIS Healthcare was on the move in November, from its longtime home in St. Paul to the Park Avenue Medical Services Building, 710 E. 24th St., #400, Minneapolis. The new quarters are in a wing of the Phillips Eye Institute on the Allina campus.

AXIS’ new main phone number is 612-262-8800.

New fax number is 612-262-8801, and the after-hours nurse line is 612-262-8802.

All AXIS staff members were assigned new direct phone numbers. Members and clients received their care coordinators and case managers new numbers through a mailing. Clients with questions should call the main number.

After settling into their new offices, AXIS plans to host an open house in the future. No date has been set.

“Our goal is to minimize any disruption of service during this transition,” said Randall Bachman, AXIS Director. “While we have been busy with all the details of the merger and move, we continue to provide our care coordination and case management services as seamlessly as possible.”

AXIS Healthcare, LLC, was created in the late 1990s by Courage Center and Sister Kenny Institute of Allina Health. AXIS provides quality health care coordination and waiver case management services to adults with disabilities. Many Access Press readers will remember that AXIS provided care coordination and case management for years under the Minnesota Disabilities Healthcare Option (MnDHO) until that program was discontinued at the end of 2010. Now AXIS provides Special Needs Basic Care (SNBC) care coordination through contracts with UCare, Medica and the Metropolitan Health Plan of

Hennepin County. AXIS also provides case management for Community Alternatives for Disabled Individuals (CADI) and Brain Injury (BI) waivers for people with disabilities in Hennepin and Ramsey Counties.

In January 2013 Courage Center merged with Sister Kenny Institute, and is now Courage Kenny Rehabilitation Institute. As part of that transition, AXIS continues to be part of Allina Health. AXIS staff are now Allina employees. AXIS will retain its LLC status and will continue to have an advisory board that will give input on quality initiatives and strategic direction.

AXIS enrollment has grown significantly over the last two years. More than 4,000 adults receive health care coordination, waiver case management, or both from AXIS. “Allina Health, and other large health care systems, are broadening their scope beyond acute care provided in hospitals and clinics. A growing emphasis is on health promotion, and managing chronic conditions. Accordingly, services provided by AXIS are aligned with that direction. Although we are now employees of Allina Health, our mission has not changed and we plan to continue to be an asset to the entire community,” Bachman said. “In fact, we pride ourselves on establishing and maintaining a long-term relationship with our members and clients, regardless of who they choose for their health care providers.

We also pride ourselves in working hard to continuously improve the work we do so that people with disabilities maintain their health, avoid unnecessary hospital readmissions, and have the supports they need and want to live in the community.” ■

Partnerships prove profitable for nonprofits This isn’t the season when most people seek shade but 11 disability community nonprofits are already working on plans for 2015 Made in the Shade Walk Run and Roll. This unique collaboration raised more than $115,000 at this year’s event and hopes to build on that success in 2015.

While it is unusual for such a large number of like-minded organizations to unite for a fundraiser rather than doing their own events, Made in the Shade has a long history. It began 22 years ago with six groups. It is held on the third Saturday in September. The event benefits everyone through sharing costs including the Minneapolis Park Board permit, t-shirts, signage, furnishings and entertainment. There groups also work together to seek in-kind donations of food and beverages. More than just a walk, Made in the Shade is a celebration of partnerships, friendships and a sense of Everyone at the 2014 Made in the Shade event community building to make a differhad a great time. ence for the many people served by Photo courtesy of Partnership Resources these organizations. Each organization raises and then keeps its own pledge and sponsorship funds.

The eleven agencies participating in Made in the Shade are: Achieve Services, Inc., Ally People Solutions, CHOICE, Inc., Community Involvement Programs, EGH, Highland Friendship Club, Homeward Bound, Partnership Resources, Inc., The Phoenix Residence, Inc., TSE, Inc., and Wingspan Life Resources. Groups use funds raised for supports expenses including music therapy sessions, art classes, group home remodeling, new accessible vehicles, job training and more.

The 2014 event was at Lake Calhoun in September. The route along Lake Calhoun was packed with clients and their supporters, with a pre-walk warm-up led

by The Firm. Walkers/rollers/runners were cheered on by the North Star Roller Girls and a bluegrass band, The Moss Piglets. Participants enjoyed a performance by a “Glee Club,” a collaboration of Partnership Resources, Inc., Wingspan Life Resources and Choice, Inc., directed by MacPhail Center for Music.

Also new this year was an art design contest for clients from partnering agencies.

Winners received gift cards. Eric Sherarts from Community Involvement Programs won first place. His design will be used to promote the 2015 event. A group of clients from CHOICE, Inc. – David, Ray, Scott, Johanna and Colleen – won second place. Jenny Beavers from Partnership Resources, Inc. placed third.

Plans are already underway to make the 2015 Made in the Shade even bigger and better, with monthly meetings of agency representatives. Any other group serving people with disabilities, with an interest in joining the Made in the Shade Walk Run and Roll fundraiser should call Dan Reed, Director of Marketing and Development at Partnership Resources, Inc. at 952-925-1404. ■

December 10, 2014 Volume 25, Number 12 Pg 11

ACCESSIBLE FUN Raise a pint for autism awareness The Autism Society of Minnesota (AuSM) invites the public to “What’s On Tap for Autism,” a unique fundraising event, 4-10 p.m. Fri, Dec. 19 at ENKI Brewing in Victoria. The event will feature hand-rolled cigars, delicious chili, exciting prizes and more. ENKI Brewing will donate $1 for each craft beer pour to AuSM. Share a pint and raise dollars to support programs and services for local families touched by autism. FFI: Kelly Knack, 651-647-1083.

Calling Artists with a Disability The Courage Kenny International Art Show is one of only a handful of juried art shows in the world featuring artists with physical or cognitive disabilities. The show is April 30 – May 22, 2015 at Courage Kenny Rehabilitation Institute – Golden Valley. FFI: www.callforentry.org and search keyword: courage.

The Cocktail Hour Guthrie Theater presents a heartfelt comedy of manners at its McGuire Proscenium Stage, 818 2nd St. S., Mpls. Captioning is 7:30 p.m. Fri, Dec. 12 and 1 p.m. Sat, Jan. 3. (Captioning by c2 inc.) ASL shows are 7:30 p.m.

Fri, Dec. 12 and 1 p.m. Sat, Dec. 13. AD shows are 1 p.m. Sat, Dec. 13 and 7:30 p.m. Fri, Dec. 19. Tickets reduced to $20 for AD/ASL, $25 for Captioning (regular $34-85). FFI: 612-377-2224, TTY 612-377-6626, www.guthrietheater.org/visit/access_services.

Courage Kenny Cards bring cheer, help artists Courage Kenny Cards are beautiful holiday cards featuring original artwork, many by artists with disabilities. New cards are released every year. Proceeds from the sale of these cards support Courage Kenny clients.

Courage Kenny Cards are available at all Lunds, Byerly’s, Bachman’s locations, County Market — Hudson, Rose Floral, Stillwater and also at Courage Kenny — Golden Valley. Order online at www.couragekennycards.org

A Little Princess Lakeshore Players Theatre presents playwright Joe Hendren’s world premiere adaptation of the rags-toriches tale, at its theatre, 4820 Stewart Ave., White Bear Lake. ASL show is 2 p.m. Sun, Dec. 14. (If no ASL seats are reserved within two weeks of the performance, the ASL-interpretation will be cancelled).

Tickets reduced to $10 for ASL patrons (reg. $16, senior $14, student $13). FFI 651-429-5674; www.lakeshoreplayers.com

Christmas with Cantus Cantus presents an afternoon of carols at St. Bartholomew Catholic Church, 630 Wayzata Blvd. E., Wayzata. ASL show is 3 p.m. Sun, Dec. 14. (Doors open by 2:30.) Tickets are $30 adult/senior; $10 student; discounts for groups of 10+. FFI: 612-435-0055, weekdays 12-3 p.m.; www.cantussings.org

The Best Christmas Pageant

A Rare and Revealing Look at Mental Illness

SteppingStone Theatre presents the story of the illbehaved Herdman children and how they help everyone find the meaning of Christmas, at the SteppingStone Theatre for Youth Development, 55 Victoria St. N., St. Paul. AD show is 7 p.m. Fri, Dec. 12. ASL show is 4 p.m. Sun, Dec. 14. Tickets are reduced to $10 access rate (regular $18; youth/senior 55+ $14). FFI: 651-225-9265, www.steppingstonetheatre.org

Scenes, Monologues, Poetry, Song and Dance. Vail Place members present sketches, monologues, poetry, song and dance about mental illness, at History Theatre, 30 East 10th St., St. Paul. The show is 7 p.m. Wed, Dec. 17. ASL interpretation is provided if requested at least one week in advance. Admission is free; donations are welcome. The show was produced through collaboration with History Theater and is funded by the Minnesota State Arts Board. The show will be followed by a dessert reception. FFI: Kate Gillen, 952-945-4232, kgillen@vailplace.org, http://bit.ly/1BNdlks

4,000 Miles Park Square Theatre presents a play about what separates and connects generations, at its Andy Boss Thrust Stage, 20 W. 7th Place, St. Paul. AD show is 7:30 p.m. Fri, Dec. 12. ASL is 2 p.m. Sun, Dec. 14.

Captioning is 7:30 p.m. Sat, Dec. 20 and 2 p.m. Sun, Dec. 21. ASL/AD/OC single ticket discount is half-price for patron and one guest (regular $38-58); age 30 and under: $21; senior age 62+: $38; Rush tickets are $22 cash only, available 10 minutes before performance; subject to availability. Assistive listening devices available. FFI: 651-291-7005, www.parksquaretheatre.org

Striking 12 Bloomington Theatre presents a musical comedy about very different New Year’s Eve experiences, at the Bloomington Center for the Arts, Schneider Theater, 1800 W. Old Shakopee Rd. ASL show is 7:30 p.m. Fri, Dec. 12. AD show is 7:30 p.m. Fri, Dec. 19. Tickets reduced to $25 for AD/ASL (regular $32, $29 senior, $25 age 25 & under). FFI: 952-563-8575; www.btacmn.org

A Charlie Brown Christmas Youth Performance Company presents the Christmas story as told by the Peanuts gang, at Howard Conn Fine Arts Center, 1900 Nicollet Ave, Mpls. ASL and AD shows are 2 p.m. Sat, Dec. 20.Tickets are $15, child/ senior $12, $10 group. VSA discount applies. FFI: 612-623-9080, www.youthperformanceco.org

All Is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914 Theater Latte Da, Cantus and Hennepin Theatre Trust present a musical set at the Western Front of World War I, at Christmas 1914, at Pantages Theatre, 710 Hennepin Ave., Mpls. ASL and AD shows are 2 p.m.

Sat, Dec. 20. Tickets are reduced to $20 for ASL/AD patrons and one guest (regular $35). FFI: 612-339-7007; must call to get discount; www.theaterlatteda.com or www.cantusonline.org or www.hennepintheatre trust.org/box-office/accessible-information

Art Show: Gayle Wyant

Stages Theatre Company presents a new version of the stop-action classic, at Hopkins Center for the Arts, 1111 Mainstreet, Hopkins. AD and ASL shows are 1 p.m.

Sat, Dec. 13. Tickets are $25, $21 senior 60+, $18 child. FFI: 952-979-1111, option 4. www.stagestheatre.org

Artwork by Gayle Wyant of Circle Pines is featured through the end of 2014 in the Vision Loss Resources lobby gallery, 1936 Lyndale Ave. S., Mpls. The lobby is open 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Mon through Fri. The exhibit is free. The exhibit is part of a rotating series of exhibits coordinated by VSA Minnesota. FFI: Vision Loss Resources 612-871-2222; VSA MN 612-332-3888, http:// vsamn.org/gayle-wyant-art-exhibit-vision-loss-resources

British Arrows Awards

The Musical Miracle on 34th Street Rochester Civic Theatre presents a musical version of the Christmas class at its theater, at 20 Civic Center Dr. SE, Rochester. ASL show is 7 p.m. Sat, Dec. 13.

Tickets are $27, senior $24, student $17. FFI: 507-282-8481.www.rochestercivictheatre.org

Joyful and Triumphant Twin Cities Gay Men’s Chorus and the Copper Street Brass Quintet present the annual holiday concert at Ted Mann Concert Hall, 2128 4th St. S., Mpls. ASL interpretation is 8 p.m. Sat, Dec. 13. Large-print and Braille programs available on request. Tickets reduced to halfprice for ASL patrons (regular $25-48, includes all fees).

FFI: 612-624-2345, www.tcgmc.org or www.tickets.umn.edu/Online/

Art Show: Emerging Artists Fourteen artists with disabilities are featured in this exhibit celebrating new work created by 2012-13 winners of Emerging Artist Grants from VSA Minnesota, funded by the Jerome Foundation. Artwork and samples of writing will be exhibited, and a reception will be held Jan. 8 to meet the artists and hear from the writers. The free exhibit is Jan. 5-15, at Soo Visual Arts Center, 2638 Lyndale Ave. S. Mpls. Hours are Wed 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., Thurs. – Fri, 11 a.m. – 7 p.m., and Sat – Sun, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. Visual artists are Caleb Belleveau, Mpls, sculpture; Paul J. Flick, Mpls, mixed media; Christi Furnas, Mpls, painting; Devra Goldstein, Plymouth, Saori weaving, fiber art; Peter F. Hinze, Mpls, watercolor and pastels; Mari Alice Newman, Mpls, collage, acrylics; Leili Tajadod Pritschet, Mpls, painting; Bridget Riversmith, Duluth, kinetic art; Lydia Sponslier, Minnetonka, painting. Multimedia artists are Jill Lynne Ness, Coon Rapids, creative non-fiction, poetry, images; and Wendy Lee Savage, Duluth, millinery. Writers are Charmaine P. Donovan, Brainerd, poetry and Lindagail Roy, Mpls, creative nonfiction. Performance artist is Anne Sawyer-Aitch, Mpls, puppetry. FFI: Soo Center 612-871-2263; VSA Minnesota 612-332-3888, www.vsamn.org

More events information

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Walker Art Center hosts the annual showing of British advertising, at 1750 Hennepin Ave., Mpls. ASL and AD shows are 2 p.m. Sat, Dec. 13 and 6 p.m. Thu, Dec. 18. Tickets are $12, $10 member/student/senior. FFI: 612-375-7600; Access line: 612-375-7564; www.walker art.org/calendar/2014/2014-british-arrows-awards

N., Plymouth. It is free and held 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mon through Fri through the end of 2014. FFI: MRA: 763-253-9129; VSA Minnesota: 612-332-3888, www.vsamn.org

Art Show: Expression Ten Twin Cities artists with disabilities are featured in an exhibit celebrating the interpretation of thoughts, feelings, concepts and ideas into two-dimensional artwork. Artists include Felix Cheng, Maplewood; Michelle Chapa, Chaska; Lisa Dietz, Golden Valley; Halle O’Falvey, St. Paul; Jill Lynne Ness, Coon Rapids and Minneapolis artists Janelle Kay Doyle, Peter A. Elvidge, Tara Innmon, Samuel Lynn and Mari Newman. The show is at the Management Association, 9805 45th Ave.

Kent’s Accounting

Kent Service, LLC Fordyce Certified QuickBooks Online Certified ProAdvisor 2015 2005-2014 6371 Bartlett Blvd, Mound, MN 55364

Fax: 952-472-1458 • 612-889-2959 fordyce6@aol.com

VSA Minnesota is at http://vsamn.org The website has a large calendar at in the upper right hand corner of its home page. For information on galleries and theater performances around the state join the Access to Performing Arts email list at access@vsamn.org or call VSA Minnesota, 612-332-3888 or statewide 800-8013883 (voice/TTY). To hear a weekly listing of accessible performances, call 612-332-3888 or 800-801-3883.

Another web events’ listing is http://c2net.org (c2: caption coalition, inc.), which does most of the captioned shows across the country. Facebook is another way to connect with performances. Sign up to connect with Audio Description Across Minnesota (http:// tinyurl.com/d34dzo2). Connect with ASL Interpreted and Captioned Performances across Minnesota on Facebook http://tinyurl.com/FBcaption ■

Pg 12 December 10, 2014 Volume 25, Number 12

UPCOMING EVENTS Advocacy Attend session preview Join the Minnesota State Council on Disability at its annual legislative forum, and get a preview of issues coming up in the 2015 session. A number of disability organizations will be on hand. There was a change from the previously announced date. The new date is 1:303:30 p.m. Thu, Dec. 11 at the Minnesota Dept. of Human Services, 444 Lafayette Rd., St. Paul. Please make accommodation requests when registering. Watch the MNSCOD website for details about the event. FFI: 651361-7800, 1-800-945-8913, www.disability.state.mn.us New web address Those following the formation of Minnesota’s Olmstead Plan will be checking on a new web address.

The address was changed and simplified in November.

It is now www.mn.gov/olmstead As the Olmstead Implementation Office continues to evolve; staff members will update and change the site. The first step of that process was simplifying the address to offer quicker and more direct access. The Olmstead Office urges everyone to visit the site as it grows and changes, and to share suggestions on what information would be most useful.

Poster and video contest deadline extended Get out the art supplies and the cameras. The Minnesota State Council on Disability has extended the deadline for its poster contest tied to the 2015 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The deadline for the poster and video contest has been extended to Jan. 17, 2015. Winning entries will be featured at the Statewide 25th ADA Anniversary Celebration on July 26, 2015. The theme is “What does the ADA mean to you?” FFI: 651-361-7803, www.disability.state.mn.us/ada

Youth and families New anti-bullying program The Minnesota Vikings have teamed with Verizon and PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center to offer Viktor’s Quest to S.T.O.P. Bullying, a bullying prevention program for Twin Cities area elementary schools during the 2014-2015 school year. The program will be available to 20 elementary schools this school year. The program features interactive call-in guests, including Vikings kicker Blair Walsh, the voice of the Vikings Paul Allen and the Minnesota Vikings Cheerleaders. In addition, PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center and Verizon are offering participating schools a free educational training seminar for parents, school personnel, and community members. These seminars will cover topics such as identifying bullying, tips for preventing bullying behavior, and appropriate ways that bystanders can take action. Participants will also learn how to reduce cyber-bullying with mobile and Internet safety tips.

FFI: www.vikings.com/stopbullying for information AuSM hosts skillshops Parents, family members, caregivers, support staff, educators, therapists, individuals with autism, and anyone touched by autism can participate in the monthly 2014-2015 AuSM Skillshop. Learn about housing options, obtain nutrition strategies, learn how to reduce anxiety, get lavatory training tips and much more. Cost for workshops ranges from $10 to $40. Join AuSM and save on fees. Participants must preregister. FFI: 651-647-1083, www.ausm.org

Have your say on the Americans with Disabilities Act In 1990 the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) • Best practices regarding employing became a law. In 2015 the act reaches its 25-year annipeople with disabilities versary. As part of an overall effort to describe the ADA’s • Changes and experience with emrole in Minnesota, the Minnesota State Council on Disployers’ Human Resources ability (MSCOD) wants to know what has been the im• Basic demographics pact on you. MSCOD wants to know personal experi• Opinions about ADA and experiences with employences as a person with a disability who is currently emment, job-seeking, and hiring ployed or seeking employment or as an employer.

Share the survey with others, as all opinions count.

Survey responses are needed by Jan. 17, 2015. Be The public can request a copy of the final report derived a part of the future of the ADA in Minnesota and take the from the survey. survey at http://tinyurl.com/ADA25employmentMN Contact Andy Mosca at 651-361-7803 with any questions.

The Minnesota State Council on Disability contracted MSCOD has received funding through the Arts & Culwith the Improve Group, a St. Paul-based research tural Heritage Fund from the Legacy Amendment to group, to study what the employment landscape looks help carry out activities marking the 25th anniversary of like now that ADA has been law for 25 years. The state the ADA. For more information about the Legacy Fund council is asking employers and people with a disability visit http://www.legacy.leg.mn/ who are employed or seeking employment to complete MSCOD’s Legacy Funds are administered by the Minthis survey to inform the public’s understanding of nesota Humanities Center. Learn more about the MinneADA’s impact. sota Humanities Center at www.minnesotahumanities.org/ The survey asks about the following: For a list of the partners in planning all 25th ADA • Familiarity with ADA and laws regarding employment events and activities, visit www.disability.state.mn.us/ of people with a disability ada/our-partners/ ■ PACER offers workshops PACER Center offers many useful free or low-cost workshops and other resources for families of children with any kind of disabilities. Workshops are at PACER Center, 8161 Normandale Blvd., Bloomington, unless specified. Advance registration is required for all workshops. Check out PACER’s website and link to the newsletter of statewide workshops that allows participants to pick and choose sessions catered to their needs. Innovative Technology Tools and Strategies for Students is offered 6:30-8 p.m. Mon. Dec. 15 at PACER Center.

Whether it is used at the library, in the community, or online, technology can make finding, understanding, and using information more effective and fun for students with disabilities. Participants will explore tablet, smartphone, and other technology options for research. This free workshop is ideal for students from middle school through college who are working on reading, note taking, organizational, and critical thinking skills. FFI: 952-838-9000, 800-537-2237 (toll free), www.PACER.org

Information and assistance Vision loss group offers activities Vision Loss Resources offers free and low-cost activities in the Twin Cities for people who are blind or visually impaired. Life skills classes for those with low vision, card games, craft classes, book clubs, walking groups, dinners out, special outings and technology classes are among the offerings. Participants need to RVSP to participate. The bi-monthly In Focus speakers’ series starts 1-2:30 p.m. Mon, Jan. 5 with Lisa Larges, State Services for the Blind Outreach Coordinator. She will share information on services offered: to seniors; to job seekers; how to have print materials transcribed to accessible formats; and additional new initiatives underway at State Services for the Blind. There will be time for questions and answers. State Services for the Blind.

This event will be held at the Minneapolis facility. Preregister. FFI: RSVP hotline 612-843-3439; activity phone 612-253-5155, www.visionlossresources.org MCIL offers classes, activities The Metropolitan Center for Independent Living offers many life skills classes as well as fun outings and activities for people with disabilities. MCIL is located at 530 N. Robert Street. St Paul and most activities are there or start there. Classes and events are listed on the website, www.mcil-mn.org Click on “Classes Groups and Sessions” for updated information or to print this calendar.

Please give two weeks’ notice if alternative format or other accommodations are needed. Events are free, accessible and mostly scent-free. FFI: 651-603-2030 Adult support groups offered Autism Society of Minnesota (AuSM) offers free support groups for adults with autism spectrum disorder.

Groups include those for adult family members, women with autism spectrum disorders and independent adults with autism. Groups meet monthly throughout 2014.

Groups meet monthly at the AuSM offices at 2380 Wycliff St. FFI: 651-647-1083 ext. 10, www.ausm.org UCare meetings UCare hosts informational meetings about its UCare for Seniors Medicare Advantage plan, as well as informational meetings about the UCare’s new UCare Choices and Fairview UCare Choices health plans available on MNsure, Minnesota’s health insurance marketplace. Learn about the various plans, as well as key dates and penalties associated with health care reform.

Meetings are held all over the region. UCare for Seniors has more than 75,000 members across Minnesota and western Wisconsin. UCare serves Medicare-eligible individuals and families enrolled in income-based Minnesota Health Care Programs, such as Minnesota Care and Prepaid Medical Assistance Program; adults with disabilities and Medicare beneficiaries with chronic health conditions and Minnesotans dually eligible for Medical Assistance and Medicare FFI: 1-877-523-1518, www.ucare.org Mental health support offered NAMI Minnesota offers free support groups for families who have a relative with a mental illness. NAMI has about two dozen family support groups, more than 20 support groups for people living with a mental illness, anxiety support groups, groups for veterans and other groups. Led by trained facilitators, groups provide help and support. FFI: 651-645-2948. A full calendar of all events is offered online.

Partners and Spouses support group meets 6:45 p.m. the first Tue of each month at Falcon Heights United Church of Christ, 1795 Holton St. FFI: Lois, 651-788-1920, or Donna, 651-645-2948 ext. 101.

Open Door Anxiety and Panic support, meets at 6:30 p.m. the first and third Thu at Woodland Hills Church, 1740 Van Dyke St., St. Paul and 6:30-6 p.m. on the second and fourth Thu at Goodwill-Easter Seals, 553 Fairview Ave. N., St. Paul. FFI: 651-645-2948 A family support group meets in St. Paul on the second Wednesday of each month from at 6-7:30 p.m., at Goodwill-Easter Seals, 553 Fairview Ave. N., St. Paul, in room 123. FFI: Sonja, 651-357-2077. A family support group meets in Oakdale on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month, from 7:00-8:30 p.m., at Canvas Health, 7066 Stillwater Blvd., in the community room.

FFI: Dan, 651-341-8918. Another family support group meets at 6:30 p.m. the second and fourth Wed at Centennial United Methodist Church, 1524 Co. Rd. C-2 West, Roseville. FFI: Anne Mae at 651-484-0599.

Volunteer, Donate Share a smile Brighten the day of a senior citizen in north or southwest Minneapolis. One-time or ongoing opportunities through the NIP Senior Program. FFI: Jeanne, 612-746-8549, srvolunteer@ neighbor hoodinvolve.org or www.neighborhoodinvolve.org Open the Door to Education Help adults reach their educational goals and earn their GED. The literacy council provides training, support and accommodations for volunteers with disabilities. FFI: Allison, 651-251-9110, volunteer@mnliteracy.org, www.mnliteracy.org/volunteers/opportunities/adults ■

December 10, 2014 Volume 25, Number 12 Pg 13

PEOPLE & PLACES

2014 Jacobson Award recipients Joshua Straub and Jenn Schmidt were congratulated by Barbara Jacobson, the wife of the late Judd Jacobson.

Photo courtesy of Courage Kenny

Two entrepreneurs are award winners Two people with disabilities and a knack for business are the recipients of the 2014 Judd Jacobson Me-

Recycle holiday lights, help provide jobs

ProAct consumer John Redding, foreground, was part of a group working to disassemble holiday lights.

Photo courtesy of ProAct

Make the Holidays Merry and help ProAct at the same time. ProAct, a nonprofit serving people with disabilities, is collecting Christmas lights, electric and phone cords from 35 locations through the end of January 2015.

The lights and cords are collected and processed for the Recycling Association of Minnesota and its “Recycle Your Holidays” program. ProAct and similar nonprofits will contribute to a statewide light and cord recycling goal of 100,000 pounds of material this season. These will be individually disassembled by people with disabilities at ProAct’s Eagan and Red Wing facilities, said ProAct Production Coordinator Jennifer Cavalier.

This seasonal program is in addition to ProAct’s year-round recycling efforts, which include beverage containers, plastic bags and plastic packing material.

The program cannot accept cord adapters, battery packs, plastic rope lights or CFL lights.

“The program is a win-win-win,” said Maggie Mattacola, executive director of operations for the Recycling Association of Minnesota. Customers of local businesses have a free recycling option, valuable recyclables are kept out of the landfill and meaningful employment opportunities are provided for individuals with disabilities. The program is in its fifth year and is offered in partnership with WCCO Television, Ace Hardware and other partners. Drop-off locations serviced by ProAct are offered in Dakota, Goodhue and Wabasha counties.

ProAct is headquartered in Eagan and has additional operations in Red Wing, Zumbrota and in Hudson, Wis. Its mission is to serve individuals experiencing barriers to employment and self-sufficiency due to intellectual and developmental disabilities, physical disabilities, mental health issues, traumatic brain injuries and other challenges.

To find a drop-off site, go to https:// recycleminnesota.org/recycle-your-holidays/ ■

morial Award. The award honors exceptional entrepreneurs who also happen to have a disability. Joshua Straub and Jenn Schmidt were each given a $5,000 cash award at a reception November 13 in Golden Valley. The event was hosted by Courage Kenny Foundation in Golden Valley.

Straub, 24, of Plymouth, was born with cerebral palsy. An avid gamer, Straub in August 2012 founded Disabled Accessibility for Gaming Entertainment Rating System (DAGERS). The company’s mission is to ensure game accessibility for people with disabilities.

DAGERS was developed due to the frustrating experiences Straub had with non-accessible games.

DAGERS began as a service to provide information to determine if a game was accessible to a player’s particular needs prior to purchasing it. It now is poised to be the premier journalistic outlet for game accessibility on the Internet. It publishes game reviews and articles addressing larger issues related to game accessibility.

Straub will use his award to recreate his website and begin the second phase of his business. He hopes to contract with video game manufacturers to test products for accessibility. That would give DAGERS a key role in game development.

Schmidt, 29, of Minneapolis, wears hearing aids in both ears. She was three years old when diagnosed with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss. Schmidt has always followed her dreams, working as a makeup artist from the time that she could hold a brush.

Schmidt attended college but during a Mary Kay party, her passion for makeup was rekindled. She began selling Mary Kay cosmetics. In 2011 she graduated with a cosmetology degree from the Aveda Institute in Minneapolis. During her time as a student she auditioned for, and was accepted into, the Aveda Freelance Advisors Program and began traveling to various salons as a professional makeup artist to assist with events. For the past two years she has devoted all of her extra time to her company All by Jenn. Schmidt will use her award to do advertising and marketing to bring in more clients. She’d also like to pay for additional training and start raising funds for a company vehicle.

The late Jacobson was an Owatonna business leader and entrepreneur who became a quadriplegic as a result of a diving accident. The cash award is administered by Courage Kenny Foundation, with funds made possible

by Daniel J. Gainey, a lifelong friend of Jacobson’s. ■

Students foster disability-friendly campus at University of Northwestern The University of Northwestern – St. Paul is promoting disability awareness through the student-led group, Club SODA (Students Of Disability Appreciation). Club SODA members were pleased to become an official university club this fall semester.

Club SODA was initiated by two Northwestern students last spring. Its purpose on campus is to promote disability appreciation through events, speakers and activities. This year members of Club SODA hosted a panel of students with disabilities for faculty in order to spread awareness and knowledge about what it’s like to have a disability in the classroom.

In addition to student-led activities on campus, Disability Office for Support Services at Northwestern also celebrated disability awareness in a series of chapel services that reached the whole student body. The theme this year was “Be the Bridge,” how everyone has a part in the community and a role to play. The keynote

Student Rachel Revennaugh of CLUB SODA met with David Golias, disability services director, who works with the club to raise awareness on the University of Northwestern campus.

Photo courtesy of University of Northwestern

speaker was Jenny Hill, author of Walking with Tension, the story of her journey with cerebral palsy. ■

UCare announces community, research grants UCare has announced that its UCare Foundation (formerly the UCare Fund) has distributed 27 community grants totaling $1,013,100 and three research grants totaling $200,619 to Minnesota organizations working to improve the health of people of all ages, cultures, and abilities in 2014.

UCare Foundation grants were awarded to organizations meeting four health improvement-related grant criteria for 2014. Those are preventative health care, chronic disease management, promoting healthy lifestyles and programs for people with disabilities.

The UCare Foundation is a community-directed initiative of UCare, the fourth-largest health plan in Minnesota. UCare focuses its grant-making on programs and initiatives that improve the health of underserved populations across Minnesota with innovative services, education, community outreach and research.

“UCare’s mission to improve the health of our members through innovative services and partnerships across communities is well served by UCare Foundation grants which focus on communities with the greatest needs and health care disparities,” said Ghita Worcester, UCare Senior Vice President of Public Affairs and Marketing. “We are honored to

award UCare Foundation grants to nonprofit, public health, and community-based groups working creatively and diligently to improve the health of people across our increasingly diverse state.”

The lone research grant with a focus on disability is to the Center for Victims of Torture, St. Paul. The program was provided with funding of a four-year randomized control trial. This will determine if the embedding of the center’s case management and mental health service model onsite at a primary care clinic will lead to better treatment outcomes and cost effectiveness when compared to treatment as usual at the clinic for incoming refugees with a diagnosis of serious and persistent mental illness.

Following are the community grants that focus on people with disabilities and elders: •Highland Friendship Club, St. Paul – Funding to help the Highland Friendship Club offer health, fitness, social, and recreational opportunities to adults with disabilities, many of whom struggle with obesity, diabetes, and other health issues.

•Keystone Community Services, St. Paul – support for the Senior Exercise for Health, Longevity, and UCare community/research grants - p. 15

Pg 14 December 10, 2014 Volume 25, Number 12

December Sampling

Radio Talking Book Holiday Programming

Radio Talking Book gives a break to its volunteers at Christmas time. Special programming begins after the newspapers on Dec. 24, at 8 p.m. and continues until the morning newspapers on Dec. 26. Radio Talking Book staff and volunteers hope listeners enjoy listening to the holiday programming, some of which is told in the voices of volunteers from years past.

Books available through Faribault Books broadcast on the Minnesota Radio Talking Book Network are available through the Minnesota Braille and Talking Book Library in Faribault Call 1800-722-0550, 9 a.m.- 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.

The catalog is online at www.mnbtbl.org, click on the link Search the Library Catalog. Persons living outside of Minnesota may obtain copies of books via interlibrary loan by contacting their home state’s Network Library for the National Library Service.

Listen to the Minnesota Radio Talking Book, either live or archived programs from the previous week, on the Internet at www.mnssb.org/rtb. Call the Talking Book Library for a password to the site. To find more information about Minnesota Radio Talking Book Network events go to the Facebook site at http://tinyurl.com/ RadioTalkBook. Audio information about the daily book listings is also on NFB Newslines. Register for NFB Newslines by calling 651-539-1424.

Access Press is one of the publications featured at 9 p.m. Sundays on the program It Makes a Difference.

Weekend Program Books Your Personal World (Saturday at 1 p.m.) is airing Recover to Live, by Christopher Kennedy Lawford; For the Younger Set (Sunday at 11 a.m.) is airing A Hero for Wondla, by Tony DiTerlizzi, and Sometimes Never,

CLASSIFIEDS

Sometimes Always, by Elissa Janine Hoole; Poetic Reflections (Sunday at noon) is airing Aimless Love, by Billy Collins; The U.S. and Us (Sunday at 4 p.m.) is airing Leaving Rollingstone, by Kevin Fenton, and The Lure of the North Woods, Read by Aaron Shapiro Chautauqua • Tuesday – Saturday 4 a.m.

Saving Sam, Nonfiction by Jay Cohn, M.D., 2014. 14 broadcasts. Begins Dec. 23. Cohn reveals the secrets of heart disease. He also tells the story of the development of the first drug approved for African Americans. Politics and accusations of racism inhibited the widespread use of this life-saving therapy. Read by Yelva Lynfield.

Bookworm • Monday – Friday 11 a.m.

The Forgotten Seamstress, Fiction by Liz Trenow, 2014. 11 broadcasts. Begins Dec. 18. Maria knows she is lucky to have a sewing position in the royal household. Like any good servant, she keeps downstairs. Until the Prince summons her. Their chance meeting rips her life away from her. Searching for a way to understand what happened; Maria turns to what she knows best. Read by Joan Sanaker.

The Writer’s Voice • Monday – Friday 2 p.m.

Not Fade Away, Nonfiction by Rebecca Alexander with Sascha Alper, 2014. Nine broadcasts. Begins Dec. 22. Rebecca Alexander is a psychotherapist, an athlete, almost completely blind, with significantly deteriorated hearing. But she refuses to let that stop her from living life with joy and enthusiasm. Read by Jan Anderson.

PM Report • Monday – Friday 8 p.m.

The Snowden Files, Nonfiction by Luke Harding, 2014. 11 broadcasts. Begins Dec. 22. It began with one anonymous email: “I am a senior member of the intelligence community.” Edward Snowden was a 29-year-old computer genius working for the National Security Agency when he shocked the world by exposing the near-universal mass surveillance programs of the United States government. Read by Myrna Smith.

Off the Shelf • Monday – Friday 10 p.m.

Long Man, Fiction by Amy Greene, 2014. 13 broadcasts. Begins Dec. 11. The government plans to dam the Long Man River, flooding the town of Yuneetah, to bring electricity and jobs to the region. Annie does not want to leave, but her husband wants to make a fresh start in Michigan. As the deadline to leave looms, they realize their daughter has disappeared. L - Read by Nancy Bader.

Potpourri • Monday – Friday 11 p.m.

On Immunity, Nonfiction by Eula Biss, 2014. Five broadcasts. Begins Dec. 29. Eula Biss explores the metaphors surrounding immunity and addresses our fear of government, the medical establishment, and what may be in our children’s air, food, mattresses, medicines, and vaccines. We cannot immunize people against the world. Read by Diane Ladenson.

After Midnight • Tuesday – Saturday 1 a.m.

Raising Steam, Fiction by Terry Pratchett, 2014.

16 Broadcasts. Begins Dec. 16. Mister Simnel has produced a great clanging monster of a machine that harnesses the power of all the elements: earth, air, fire, and water. But no one is in charge of the new invention so Lord Vetinari appoints Moist von Lopwig. Read by Bob Malos. ■

Choice Reading • Monday – Friday 4 p.m.

Love and Lament, Fiction by John Milliken Thompson, 2013. 15 broadcasts. Begins Dec. 15. Mary Bet was born in the 1850s, the youngest of nine children, but was the one to hold the family together. She dealt with the deaths of her mother and siblings, a family member’s disability, and her father’s growing insanity and rejection of God. Read by Alletta Jervey.

Abbreviations: V - violence, L - offensive language, S - sexual situations

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December 10, 2014 Volume 25, Number 12 Pg 15

UCare community, research grants - from p. 13 Independence Project that will improve the quality and quantity of evidence-based programs that provide physical activity for seniors and frail elderly to help them adopt healthy behaviors, improve their health status, and manage chronic conditions better.

•Mental Health Association of Minnesota, St. Paul – Funding for the Mental Health and Wellness Outreach Program, which provides education and tools to help individuals living with mental illnesses improve their overall health and well-being.

•Miller-Dwan Foundation, Duluth – Support to help create a state-of-the-art healing environment, exercise space, and programming that encourages physical activity among adult psychiatric patients at Essentia Health in Duluth.

•National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Upper Midwest Chapter, Minneapolis – Support to expand “Stay Active, Stay Healthy with MS” programming that provides opportunities for persons with multiple sclerosis to enhance their physical health through partner-

ships with locally based exercise facilities, and to extend chapter services to underserved and/or rural communities to promote healthy living.

•Neighborhood HealthSource, Minneapolis – Funding to improve the system’s colorectal cancer screening rates for patients age 50 and older, and/or at higher risk, through an in-clinic screening project that provides patients with high-sensitivity fecal occult blood testing kits to take home, use, and return by mail. It is supported with quality improvement measures and follow-up processes.

•Neighborhood Involvement Program, Inc., Minneapolis – Funding for a pilot program offering foot care as part of preventive health care efforts for underserved seniors and individuals with chronic illness, primarily in disadvantaged neighborhoods in North and South Minneapolis, where access to care is limited. The program is an outgrowth of the program’s Seniors Program, which helps seniors remain healthy, independent, and in their homes.

•North End-South Como Block Nurse Program, St. Paul – Support for the “A Year of Senior Fitness” pilot program focused on helping seniors get stronger, relieve stress, lessen depression, manage symptoms of illness and pain, and improve their overall sense of well-being.

•Partnership Resources, Inc., St. Louis Park – Funding to acquire new adaptive and barrier-free equipment for seniors and adults with disabilities for use by the organization’s wellness enhancement programs at three Hennepin County locations.

•St. David’s Center for Child & Family Development, Plymouth – Support for the Autism Day Treatment Somali community site, which uses a culturally-attuned day treatment model to help improve the health of, and reduce health disparities for, Minneapolis Somali children living with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) diagnosis, and to help reduce cultural barriers to accessing early identification and intervention services. ■

Arc Minnesota awards - from p. 7 Munson, public policy associate at Opportunity Partners, is a liaison with several partner organizations that advocate for those with disabilities. Her leadership as Grassroots and Communications Committee Co-chair for the Minnesota Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities led that coalition’s grassroots advocacy and civic engagement events and programming.

Her work on several committees for The 5% Campaign was crucial to the campaign’s success. Munson believes strongly that self-advocates should speak for themselves. To this end, she develops practical, meaningful, and effective support strategies for those served by Opportunity Partners and the various coalitions in which she is involved.

Betty Hubbard Family Advocacy Award – Sarisse Carlson connected with The Arc Greater Twin Cities when her daughter’s school wouldn’t provide needed special education services. As a result, she became an expert in education advocacy. Knowing that other parents in the district were struggling with education issues, she used her knowledge, experience, and skills to help them.

Carlson is a “go to” person and cheerleader for parents of children with disabilities. She offers them the understanding and support that only a parent who has experienced the struggles and frustrations firsthand can provide. Her efforts help parents feel less isolated and alone. She helps give children with disabilities the educational opportunities they deserve.

Bill Sackter Citizenship Award – Karen Loven is the nation’s first self-advocate to serve as a faculty member for Continuing Legal Education courses. She has presented to more than 300 attorneys and judges.

She single-handedly debunks stereotypes about individuals with disabilities and makes everyone rethink assumptions.

She co-presents with U.S. District Court Judge Donovan Frank, sharing her personal story and views with skill, grace, and humanity. She is passionate about ensuring that those with disabilities not only have equal access to justice in our society, but are treated with dignity and respect in their daily lives.

Loven is a graduate of Partners in Policymaking and a speaker in the Ambassadors for Respect program. ■

PCA/CFSS - from p. 1

hours and in some cases, eligible for travel time between consumers. How overtime and travel time are calculated will depend on whom the employer is in each situation. According to law, the state is a co-employer with the consumer in PCA Choice and the other two programs. In the traditional PCA program the provider agency is the employer.

The letter to Jesson includes a number of questions the groups would like to have answered, centering on work hours, time workers have put in during the past year and costs of worker compensation and travel time.

One key question is how the state will track the time of workers who serve multiple consumers in consumer-directed programs. Another is how is the state, as co-employer, going to ensure that workers get all of the overtime and travel time compensation they are entitled to.

Another focus is on consumers. At the November 19 meeting Ashely Reisenauer of DHS presented available data on the people involved in PCA program.

That data is being used to set a baseline for CFSS. Reisenauer cautioned that the data should be considered a “snapshot in time.” It dates from fiscal year 2012, because of the time needed to submit information. The typical month she used is January 2012.

In fiscal year 2012 about 32,000 Minnesotans received PCA services through fee-for-service and managed care program. People enter and exit the program throughout the year, so the numbers of consumers fluctuates each month. The average monthly caseload is 26,000 people.

In fiscal year 2012, the total Medical Assistance expenditures for the PCA program were about $594 million, including both the state and federal shares.

Between 2008 and 2012, state expenditures increased at an annual rate of about 7.2 percent. People of all ages use the PCA program, with 73 percent of consumers being adults age 22 and older. About 43 percent are between the ages of 23 and 64, while 29 percent are age 65 and older.

Younger children, those up to age 12, make up 17 percent of the consumers.

Participation in fee-for-service or manage care varies by age, said Reisenauer. Overall, 31 percent of the average monthly PCA participants are served by managed care. Most managed care participants are age 65 and older, while younger participants tend to be served by fee-for-service programs.

Of fee-for-service participants, 19 percent of

people ages 23 to 64, and 24 percent of people age 65 and older, have a responsible party.

If PCA program expenditures by age are considered, 48 percent are for adults ages 23 to 64. The rest of the expenditures are nearly evenly split between older and younger consumers.

The PCA program serves slightly more females than males, with 55 percent of consumers being female.

The program is one of the most diverse long-term serve and support programs in Minnesota. Reisenauer said it is becoming more diverse as time goes on. In January 2012, 59 percent of program participants were people of color, while 39 percent were white. Looking at Minnesota as a whole, about 83 percent of Minnesotans identified themselves as white in the 2001 U.S. Census.

Participants speak many languages, with the majority speaking English, Hmong or Somali. Less than 1 percent speak Spanish as their primary language.

The vast majority, 71 percent, of PCA clients live in the seven-county Twin Cities metropolitan area.

Program consumers who are age 65 and older are more likely to live in the Twin Cities region, with 83 percent living there.

Several people at the implementation council meeting said that the number of consumers living in the Twin Cities is likely tied to where people can receive services.

PCA services are authorized based on a consumer’s needs in activities of daily living, Level One behaviors and complex health-related needs.

Reisenauer gave examples of each. Activities of daily living can include dressing or bathing. A Level One behavior can include physical aggression and destruction of property that requires an immediate response by another person. A complex health-related need may include tube feedings or respiratory interventions. These need to be ordered by a physician and spelled out in a care plan.

A home care rating is given based on the combination of assessed dependencies. Needs are assessed based on the in which a person needs the greatest amount of assistance. The data collected for fee-forservice consumers only shows a wide range of participation by levels of need. The greatest percentage of clients were in the categories of needing median levels of assistance with average daily living tasks.

Learn more about CFSS at http://mn.gov/dhs/ people-we-serve/people-with-disabilities/services/ home-community/programs-and-services/cfss.jsp ■

While the timeline may disappointing those wanting CFSS to start sooner, the transition is complex, especially in terms of issues of worker compensation. DHS has been working with the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to obtain approval for CFSS, since it won approval from the Minnesota Legislature.

CFSS is a program under the Medical Assistance, waiver and Alternative Care programs. It has been touted as providing more flexibility to clients. But it has also drawn its share of critics who are concerned about issues including who is served and what the program pays for. There are also concerns about how hours would be allocated and regulated.

The transition in Minnesota is being closely watched by a community advisory group, the CFSS Implementation Council. It includes home health care agency representatives, consumers, family members and advocates. The group’s most recent meeting November 19 was a wide-ranging discussion of issues and ideas. The discussion indicates that while there is support for CFSS, there are also concerns about various aspects of implementation ranging from how services are provided in schools to funding impacts.

Much attention is being focused on hours worked, especially for consumers with the need for more services. Overtime and associated costs have to be considered, for impacts on consumers as well as home health care agencies.

Another issue brought to the implementation council is a concern being raised by 11 groups and health care agencies, including the Minnesota Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities. The group sent DHS Commissioner Lucinda Jesson a letter stating issues with a federal Fair Labor Standards Act change. The change, which was approved more than a year ago, extends the federal act’s protections to workers who provide personal care assistance services. This rule goes into effect January 1, with implementation July 1.

The concern the group is raising is that the companionship exemption to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act will no longer apply to workers in the PCA program, Consumer Directed Community Supports and the Consumer Support Grant after January 1.

These workers will be eligible for overtime after 40

Pg 16 December 10, 2014 Volume 25, Number 12