Contributors: Dan Burke & Erin Daley. With assistance from Lisa Bonderson, National Federation Of The Blind Of Colorado, and President, Jessica Beecham. Email, jbbeecham@gmail.com
Here is what you need to know
NFBCO president Jessica Beecham is urging all members and friends of NFBCO to actively participate in the upcoming 6 Dot Dash 5k, blind beer tasting, and family festival. This is the big fundraiser for our affiliate. You can participate onsite or virtually. Join us on September 10 at 8 am at the Colorado Center for the Blind, Littleton, Colorado. As the longtime chairperson of our NFBCO scholarship committee, Jessica knows how important it is to have a robust scholarship program. She has also seen firsthand how the work of our NFBCO and Colorado Center for the Blind Braille Literacy programs and advocacy change lives.
This year we have amazing NFBCO 6 Dot Dash sponsors. Thank you, Vanda Pharmaceuticals, Blackstone Consulting Inc, BCI, Comcast, Philadelphia Insurance, LaBarre Law, and J B & K Services. These and other corporate sponsors have supported our work over the years. We thank them. Please register today and participate in person or virtually in our NFBCO 6 Dot Dash 5K. http://6dotdashco.com/
Convention is coming! Convention is coming!
All roads lead to Greeley on October 27, 28, 29 & 30 for the annual state convention. Save those dates! Hotel reservations and convention registration are forthcoming in a matter of days! You and your family, your chapter, your organization or institution, and your company won't want to miss this year's Convention. Did we mention you should “Save those dates!”
National Federation of the Blind defends true equality for all
From the aggregator: Many readers of this blog know that we have been working for over a year to resolve discrepancies in how the Colorado Department treats blind inmates of Corrections compared to prisoners with sight. The Federation stands for equality of opportunity. We advocate for those who can not advocate for themselves. We have received the following press release from Fox and Robertson law firm. Congratulations to NFBCO president Beecham, NFB general counsel Scott LaBarre and our affiliates board for their commitment to seeing this battle through to its just conclusion. Here is what the release says.
Brian Christopher Mackes and Adrian Chávez, two blind men in the custody of the Colorado Department of Corrections (CDOC), and the National Federation of the Blind of Colorado, have settled the lawsuit they brought against CDOC last year.
The plaintiffs were represented by attorneys from Fox & Robertson, along with co-counsel at the Civil Rights Education and Enforcement Center (CREEC), and the Baltimore law firm of Brown Goldstein & Levy.
The suit alleged that CDOC denied blind prisoners access to the aids and services needed to participate in educational programming, work assignments, and recreation. According to the complaint, CDOC also failed to provide blind prisoners with effective communication of the materials and information that the Department provides prisoners in written form, such as handbooks, regulations, and grievance forms. This conduct forced blind prisoners to rely on other inmates to help them with various tasks, such as reading mail and to provide them with information, threatening their privacy and safety.
The settlement requires that each blind prisoner have access to a laptop loaded with screen reader software, which reads digital material aloud, as well as a typing tutorial program, an ebook reader, and other assistive technology. These devices will also contain accessible-format versions of key prison documents. Blind prisoners will also have access to a scanner and printer to which the laptops can be connected so that they can read mail and other printed documents. All job and education information will be made accessible, and blind prisoners cannot be denied access to any such opportunity based on disability.
"Blind prisoners do not seek, and this settlement does not grant special treatment," said Jessica Beecham, president of the National Federation of the Blind of Colorado. "Blind incarcerated people will now receive the accommodations they need, and to which they are legally entitled, in order to fully and equally participate in the programs and opportunities available to other members of the incarcerated population. We commend the Colorado Department of Corrections for reaching this agreement and hope that other corrections systems throughout our nation will take note of the necessary and humane reforms taking place in Colorado. We are grateful for the leadership of our national organization in coordinating the expertise, resources, and talent to make these changes a reality."
"We recognize and appreciate the courage of the individual plaintiffs, Brian Mackes and Adrian Chávez, who documented the discrimination they faced and worked with us and with the Department to craft this ground-breaking settlement," said Amy Robertson, an attorney with Denver's Fox & Robertson who represented the NFB of Colorado and the individual plaintiffs. "We look forward to working with the CDOC to ensure access and privacy for blind people in CDOC custody."
Building a Career By Maximizing Transferrable Skills
By Julia Zanon
From the aggregator: Readers of this blog tell us they have enjoyed these articles from Julia Zanon focusing on employment. Julia is a member of our Mile High chapter, a retired rehabilitation counselor, and a highly respected administrator with the Colorado Division of Vocational Rehabilitation. She also shares her management savvy by serving on the Colorado Center for the Blind board of directors. In this article, she shares a bit about our Boulder Chapter president Maryann Migliorelli.
Over the past two years, I have been highlighting the career paths of blind Coloradans. Here is another installment in this series featuring Boulder Chapter president Maryann Migliorelli.
When Maryann Migliorelli was in high school, she dreamed of becoming a full-time drummer working in Nashville. Her backup goal was to be a teacher. As I have been interviewing people for this blog, I have yet to find anyone who is doing what they imagined in high school for their future career. In fact, true confession, I dreamed of being a "go-go Dancer" because they got to wear cute boots and mini dresses. I, too, had to get real and went on to work in health care and vocational rehabilitation. However, as an adult, I also took ballroom lessons and competed in dance competitions as a hobby, fulfilling my dream of dancing and wearing beautiful costumes. Dreams are not lost; they sometimes show up in different ways.
Maryann, a creative artist at heart, has followed her high school dreams for music and entertainment by pursuing avocational paths. She has become an actor for Phamaly Theatre Company, is an artist/advocate using Poetry for Personal Power, is a professional speaker and improv leader for Migs Motivation and Merriment Company, and is a distinguished Toastmaster.
Maryann has been working for The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) since September of 2020, starting out in the call center. In April of 2022, she was promoted to unemployment insurance claims adjudicator. Maryann stated, "That's the fancy way of saying that I make decisions based on unemployment law to determine whether or not people get benefits based on how and why they separated from their jobs." Her work with CDLE also gives her a much-needed chance to serve others at a time when the work is truly needed. She is a servant at heart. And working for Unemployment fulfills her need to give back. Maryann stated, "I love when I can use the law effectively to get claimants much-needed benefits. It's also kind of fun getting to the bottom of each separation. It feeds the curiosity seeker in me when I have to ask probing questions of both the claimants and employers to discover the truth."
Prior to working for CDLE, Maryann had been working in hospitality. However, Covid19 forced her to change careers, as it has done for many other people. When she saw the job posted on ColoradoTalk, she figured that her skills in retail, business ownership, and hospitality management could transfer nicely. Her future goal is to work her way up to joining the Unemployment training team.
I asked Maryann how she learned the skills she needed for this current career. She reported that her education came from a variety of sources. She learned customer service skills in the Business Enterprise Program and in hotel front desk and reservation work. She learned computer skills from college courses, Vocational Rehabilitation instructors, training provided by Google for state employees, and many hours of personal study. She has also attended on-the-job training for her work with CDLE. Despite many hours of training and access to blindness technology, Maryann said that there are parts of her job that are challenging. She spends many hours every day reading untagged PDF documents with many "Yes, No" checkboxes that don't read properly and the questions and answers don't line up for her. She often uses AIRA agents to read documents when she can't glean enough of the answers on her own.
Maryann lives with her family in Boulder, Colorado. She is the president of the Boulder Valley Chapter, treasurer of the Colorado Association of Guide Dog Users, and is a board member of the National Federation of the Blind of Colorado. Maryann explained that the NFB has given her a place to serve in many capacities and to grow as a leader. She stated, "I know that what I do here makes a difference not just for me but for others who also want to live their dreams. Every time I call or email someone from Congress, mentor a newly blind person, or just be present and loving to the rest of the blind community, I'm giving back, and the giving matters."
A summer of growth for blind youth
By: Anahit Labarre
From the aggregator: If you have never visited the Colorado Center for the Blind during summertime, you don't know what you are missing! You can hear and feel and absorb the energy of youth. Our CCB is always bustling as people who are blind seek wisdom and find their wings. But the summer is truly special, as Anahit LaBarre tells us in the piece about this summer's dynamic summer youth programs.
The energy is high, and the students and staff are busy learning, having fun, and getting to know each other. This describes our daily life at the Colorado Center for the Blind as we race through our second session of the Summer Youth Program. It is incredible to see the transformation in the students when they graduate. Two or three weeks are just enough to plant the seeds of independent blindness skills and nurture them into sprouts of promise. The confidence, curiosity, desire to learn, and the realization that we grow daily through applying our skills is so rewarding to watch!
This summer, we held a three-week residential youth session in June, and a two-week session after the NFB convention, ending on Friday, August 5. These are our first residential summer programs since the summer of 2019, and it's been a wonderful time for all of us!
Of course, students have all the usual classes – Technology, Braille, Home Management, and Travel, along with philosophy and enrichment classes. One of the highlights has clearly been the woodshop, where students were introduced to various power and hand tools, made a keepsake braille cell out of wood, and learned how blind people could fix common problems around the house.
Paul Sandoval, a blind technology trainer, demonstrated assistive technology equipment and answered many questions about braille and mobile technology. Additionally, this tech guy shared with the students how valuable networking was as a tool.
April Hill, a chemistry professor from Metro State University in Denver, led an informative seminar on polymers, how they interact with various substances etc. She based all of her presentations on hands-on experiments for the students. It was incredible to watch them discover different textures, smells, and reactions. In June, the group made a trip to CU-Boulder and visited the Fiske Planetarium, but really students were most impressed by the constellation of options in the cafeteria.
Students participated in rock climbing, kayaking, self-defense classes, goalball, and outdoor summer games. It is great to watch our students rely on each other, learn about how teams work, emerge as leaders, and teach teammates the skills they know.
Education regarding interpersonal communication is the key to success. We held two seminars provided by WEAVE, an organization out of California, on healthy vs. unhealthy relationships and establishing healthy boundaries. The students responded very well, had many questions, and participated actively in the conversations.
In philosophy class, students discuss topics such as advocacy, the fact that being blind does not define who we are, the power of networking, and ways they can incorporate the skills they learned as they return home. In other words, how to continue the sprouts of confidence and independence!
RTD and Colorado Springs Transit
During the month of August, RTD is offering zero fares across the entire bus and rail system as part of the Zero Fare for Better Air initiative. From August 1 – 31, 2022, during Colorado's high ozone season, customers will not have to purchase mobile tickets or use fare products on any RTD service, including Access-a-Ride, Access-a-Cab, and Uber, as RTD aims to help reduce ground-level ozone by increasing the use of public transit. This collaborative, statewide initiative is made possible by Colorado Senate Bill 22-180, the ozone season transit grant program in partnership with the Colorado Energy Office.
Experience the many benefits of RTD all month long at zero fares while we all do our part to reduce ground-level ozone and increase transit usage across the region.
Learn more at https://www.rtd-denver.com/zerofare
Request for proposals for NFBCO state convention programming
The National Federation of the Blind of Colorado is excited to announce that we are seeking content for our 2022 State Convention seminars and breakout sessions. At this time, we are planning to be in person with a hybrid component.
The Convention will be held from Thursday, October 27 through Sunday, October 30. Breakout sessions will be held during the afternoon of Friday, October 28, and may also occur Saturday, October 29. The National Federation of the Blind is made up of blind people of all ages, races, ethnicities, and backgrounds. This year we are seeking new and dynamic content that will appeal to our diverse audience. If there is something fun, exciting, interesting, intriguing, evocative, or stimulating that you want to share with the Blind of Colorado, please fill out the information below and email it to Kevan Worley kevan@nfbco.org by September 17, 2022. We will review all proposals and will let you know by September 27 whether your proposal/seminar has been chosen as a part of this year's Convention festivities.
If you have attended a convention of the National Federation of the Blind in the past, you know that we often hold a large number of breakout sessions simultaneously. For this Convention, We will be limiting the number of seminars that can be held at the same time. We will be accepting a limited number of breakout sessions/seminars, including sessions organized by special interest groups and committees and activities hosted by divisions that are not annual division business meetings.
So, division leaders, if your group wants to host a breakout session/seminar, you need to submit a proposal. Please give us as much detail as possible about your session and how it will enhance the Convention. We will choose the presentations which best fit our agenda. Unfortunately, we will not be able to accept all of the proposals that are submitted.
Name:
Title:
Is this presentation or seminar affiliated with a division or chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of Colorado?
Objective of Presentation or seminar:
Description of presentation or seminar (note, someone from the review committee may reach out to you for more details):
Best Method of contact:
How much time would you like for your session (Breakout Sessions/Seminars must be less than 2 hours in length )
Forward always forward!
