I’m ‘Irked’

Actually, I’m a little busy, hence the inactivity on this blog.  Some things take priority over blogging…like REAL writing (a book-like thing in development) and elderobics classes (don’t ask) and baking apple custard tarts. However, some readers obviously continue to cruise through current and past entries. They have differing ideas on what types of blogs they enjoy most. ‘Joefun’is a devoted fan of the rant. He would have me bitchin’ every day of the week. Others? Not so much. One guy who has been attentive recently is the editor of Irked Magazine, an Internet publication that merits a look-see.  He wrote to ask if I would allow Irked to republish a couple of  my past blogs. You’d  think, given the name, ‘Irked’, that it would have been a request for a ‘big blow’, the likes I am occasionally known to produce. Not so. The ones Irked is interested in,  have to do with guide dogs and the handler’s experience. Irked, can be found at www.irkedmagazine.com . Check it out if you are interested in the “culture of disability”, as wikipedia puts it.  Link from blogroll (which is getting a bit long, eh?)

Let the ‘Other’ Games Begin!

The hoopla is over in Beijing. Or is it? Sure,  thousands of athletes and visitors have streamed onto airplanes and returned to their home countries.  They tote medals and for some, sponsorship deals. The media assault on the world has abated. Disinterested people around the globe give a collective sigh of relief as their TV and radio programming returns to normal. However, on September 6th, the Para Olympics get underway. These are, in my opinion, the REAL games. You won’t find flaky sub “sports” such as BMX bike racing, syncro-swimming (plenty of gel and nose plugs here!) or trampoline in the Para Olympic lineup.  No, instead, count on things like equestrian, swimming and goalball.

The Para Olympics began in 1948, when British war veterans  with spinal cord injuries decided to participate in a sporting ‘olympics’. Since then, the Para Olympic Games has grown into a huge ‘after’ event with thousands of ‘disabled’ athletes (the lucky ones who are have the resources and facilities at home to participate in para sport). These Games come on the heels of the ‘real’ Olympics.  Frankly, I would love to see the day, when there is no separation of the games. It would be a logistical nightmare to facilitate all this ‘inclusion’  and access to venues etc, but how wonderful it would be for Olympic fans (able bodied and not) to be able to wander from ‘Olympic Girls Gymnastics’ in one part of a stadium, to the ‘Para Olympic Fencing’ competition in another part of the same stadium.

‘They’ (and I mean the government funders and planners and other  do-gooders who spout ‘inclusion’ and ‘accessibility’ in all things) often do not really walk the para-walk, so to speak.   It’s one thing to provide an automatic door opener and modified washroom in a sports arena or community centre and announce with great fanfare that the complex is “ACCESSIBLE”, but it’s another thing to provide accessible PROGRAMS for the kids with disabilities who want to use them.  These facilities are erected at great cost and are intended for EVERYONE’S use. However, they often have physical barriers to PWD (persons with disabilities)  or, there simply is no provission for PWD (kids and adults) to access programs. What is the point if someone in a wheelchair can get INTO the building, onto the pool deck and maybe, even into the pool,  but there are no programs for them?  The big bucks and support go to mainstream (able-bodied) sports.  I think there is really little genuine interest on the part of government and society in true ‘accessibility’, ‘inclusion’, ‘full participation’, ‘diversity’…yada, yada, yada.  For many ‘Planners’ (the able-bodied guys and gals in suits) who tweak design and convince the tax payers that they have done an admirable job with their ‘accessible’ design, it’s ‘all about the money’ and creating a building that minimizes  spending on the project and provides what is mandatory by law in the way of accessibility features. There is much time and effort (ergo money) spent (ie. wasted) on legal consultation by city planners to avoid the risk of not meeting the minimum accessibility requirements and, god forbid, a Human Rights or other legal (ie costly and embarrassing) challenge by some ‘minority’ group (persons with disabilities or cultural, ethnic or other). Sigh. Do you need to live the experience of seeing YOUR kid in a wheel chair before you start thinking, “Hey! there are hardly any programs for my little Johny!” ?  Sadly, that’s the way it seems to work. A physiotherapist and advocate for kids with disabilities recently told me that she has spent 3 years trying to hammer home the need for programs, not just physical accessibility to a proposed Halifax sports venue  to some of our city ’suits’. She described ‘vacant stares’ by some of these dudes and dudettes. Her frustration was evident but her conviction?…unwavering.

The Gift of Giving

I am as poor as a church mouse. At least, that’s what my bank account would have you believe. Do I have hidden riches? You bet. No, it’s not Opal, my ‘precious jewel’… though that would be a good answer. My latest ‘riches’ arrived through the Advisory Committee For Persons with Disabilities which I chair. Recently, the city Mayor and Council felt generous (and maybe wanted to make points for the upcoming municipal election?). They approved $200,000 for fixing or adapting or creating stuff in HRM buildings to make them more accessible for persons with disabilities. Nice. The committee’s job is to decide how this money gets spent. We have a wish list that is growing by the minute. My suggestion was to maximize the spending of this money. 200K is squat when you consider that this is the price tag for major accessibility surgery like putting in one new elevator in a community center. I wanted to do the most with this, and effect change in many buildings. Yesterday, after much discussion following the ‘pitch’ from a representative from the Sledge Hockey Task Force, we passed a motion to funnel 35 thousand towards retrofitting the Bowles arena in Dartmouth (auto door opener and washroom) so that the new sledge hockey team can get off the ground here in HRM. Sledge Hockey, by the way, is a form of hockey that uses ’sledges’ to move disabled players around the ice. This is CANADA! Hockey is our game and part of our identity. All kids should have the opportunity to participate in the game. What a wonderful gift for me to be able to say the words, “motion passed”. I had bumped into Mayor Kelly before my meeting started (He was coming into city hall as I was stepping out to relieve Opal). He knew who I was though I don’t know why. We’ve only met at big, crowded functions. My paranoia led me to believe that he has been following this blog…remember the ‘can relocator’ and my confession by proxy? I think I mentioned that I should be dumping Opal’s poop bags on his desk because my requested garbage can had not arrived after two months… my photo is on one page of this blog…you can see how my mind got to this conclusion. But no, he was setting up for the Pride flag raising ceremony (could it be that Mayor Kelly is courting the gay vote?) and the reception in Halifax Hall which followed. I told him that I was going to my meeting and that I was not pleased that he had booted us out of our regular meeting room (about to be used for the Pride Week shindig). He suggested that I drop by after my meeting. I did. It was a little crowded and noisy. You know what people are like when food is available on the city’s dime. I stayed long enough to say hello to Mayor Kelly again. He told me that he is feeling better after his recent hospitalization. He insisted that I take one of the sweets from the tray he was wielding around like a social butterfly. Perhaps I’ll send him a note to announce the spending of some money for the sledge hockey team and their arena. Could it be that we can double the 200K amount that is set aside for disability-related retrofitting next year?

Run Opal, Run!!!

I know. I’ve already written a blog with the same title. Today, however, we are a BIG step forward towards getting a safe, enclosed ‘run’ for service dogs in Halifax. I felt a little guilty about making Opal work on her birthday. Going to Advisory meetings at City Hall is not much fun for her. As usual, I brought her food ration for supper in the ladies room before the meeting. To my dismay, I forgot her dish. The Commissionaire saved the day. A lovely ceramic bowl was brought to me courtesy of the kitchen staff.  ”Perhaps Mayor Kelly once ate his Wheaties out this bowl”, I say to Opal.  She could care less!  The meeting got underway at 4:00. As Chair of this monthly shindig, I can make announcements and requests. Yes, of course I added  singing  ’Happy Birthday’ to Opal to the agenda. Councillor Wile has nice pipes. It got even better when Phil Townsend dropped in to announce that Council has approved $200,000.00 for improvement or development in HRM buildings with regards to disability. We (the HRM Advisory Committee for Persons with Disabilities) are the ones who are being consulted on the money’s dispersal. This is BIG for an advisory committee. It is BIG for THIS advisory committee. I asked how the proposal for a Service dog run would fit in. I put this proposal forward many months ago. Now that there is money committed to disability-related infrastructure, it will very likely be approved, says Phil. It could take a while, but I suspect that one day, I will be able to take a bus and access an enclosed service dog run…the first in Canada. Hot dog! Run Opal, Run!.  The meeting ended and I left feeling elated and important…then Opal had a poop in front of City Hall (I picked up). Nothing like a dog to bring you down to earth.

High Cost of Assistive Devices for Blind People is Onerous

Just some observations…and a bit of a rant.  One of the problems that face people who are Blind or partially sighted, is the high cost of assistive devices and technology.  Let me explain;  What are assistive devices for the Blind?  They include necessary items for everyday life, such as:

•  talking clocks and watches
• talking calculators 
• magnifyers
• Braille paper 
• tactile measuring cups
• audible water level indicators
• large print keyboard inlays
• talking thermometers
• low vision lamps
• talking glucometers
• recording devices
• large print calendars etc.
• Braille watches
• tactile games
• bump dots
• Braille rulers
• talking pedometers
• talking scales
• talking thermostats
• bold lined paper
• etc.

Some items are ‘gadgets’ and  though I would not find them essential for my life,  other people find them useful,  and therefore,  they should have them. Then we get to the big ticket items: 

•  computer screenreading software ($800.00-$1200.00)
• talking pedestrian GPS (Treker) ($1200.00+)
• CCTV (closed circuit TV magnifier) ($2000.00-4000.00)
• Perkins Braille Writer (&700-1100.00)
• ‘DAISY’ (book) player ($500.00)
• Braille computer keyboard ($1800.00+)
• ‘Scan and speech’ machines ($2500+)
• etc.

YES I KNOW that some of these prices seem odd. Some are Canadian, some are U.S.  I ALSO KNOW that charitable organizations sometimes ‘loan’ equipment to clients at no cost. I also know that free software downloads are available (limited time trials).  I also know that some (very few) provinces provide funding programs for assistive devices.  Most people with disabilities, including people who are blind, live in poverty. That is the reality. There are some wonderful (but rare) opportunities for employment, but this is not the norm, at least not here in Nova Scotia.  The percentage of people who are blind and employed, is very small.  Here’s the thing. Not only is it out of reach for many blind people to afford these things, but they are also inaccessible. For a Haliganioan (Halifax resident) who can afford to buy any of these items, we must (with some exceptions) order over the telephone, or online through a catalogue service, halfway across the country or in the U.S.A.  (see MaxiAids or CNIB catalogue links).  While it might be acceptable to order a large print calandar ‘unseen’ , prepay the thing, and wait a while for it to arrive in your mailbox, it is difficult and frustrating to choose a talking or Braille watch, without ‘checking it out’. You might not want to wait a week or two for a Braille watch to arrive because everyone needs to know the time. Again, I know that there may be one or two talking watches available at a Radio Shack-type store, but there is no variety.  Braille watches are not available locally. Many other items are also catalogue only.  My friends (and anyone who will listen) always hear me going on about ‘Quality of Life’. QL has several aspects, including financial security, physical, mental and emotional health, social inclusion,  opportunity and choice of employment,  appropriate housing, community and cultural supports, and affordable education.  There’s more, but you get the picture.  If we are to have an inclusive society which embraces people with disabilities, (as some politicians and charitable service organizations claim they believe in and should advocate for), we then, must stop TALKING about: equity, inclusion, fairness, diversity, advocacy, accessibility, accountability (and every other en vogue buzz word we use), and start DOING SOMETHING about it. Comment?