Back in the 70's when Fred was supervising rehab teachers, the majority of his
clients were elderly, newly blinded people. At that point in time, the
commission was funding rehab for homemakers and then, something called,
"homemaker's assistant". So each person was provided with a personalized plan
for instruction, and every 13 weeks, if the goals hadn't been reached, another
13 weeks was requested. Certain equipment was purchased for the client to help
her reach those goals, although never a CCTV when they became available. That
was all dessimated by the 90's. But there was never a peep out of ACB about
all of this decrease in services. I remember being on an Evergreen trip to
Spain, my first blind trip. At one point, we were sharing a bus with a sighted
tour group and one of the sighted people said something which indicated that he
assumed our government was paying for our trip. At the time, I was insulted
that he would think we were objects of charity. Now I look back and wonder if
some countries actually paid for their blind citizens travel to other countries.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Friday, January 24, 2020 9:37 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Blind Advocacy organizations, capitalism, and
socialism
To a large degree you're correct. Funding services for the blind has always
been inadequate, forcing providers to make choices that exclude rather than
include people. When I went to the Services for the Blind, back in 1965, I was
provided a brief session with a man who said he was my VRC. He directed me to
sign up for unemployment compensation...without telling me that I could not
collect Aid to Dependent Children at the same time. Nor did he tell me that I
would receive more money through Aid to the Blind, than that of Aid to
Dependent Children.
While my tuition was paid by the government, and certain equipment like a
Braille Writer and a reel to reel tape recorder were also provided, I received
not one hour of adjustment counseling. When I asked my VRC what sort of work
blind people could do, he said that basically I had three choices. I could go
to work at the Seattle Light House, or I could become a Vending Stand Operator,
or I could go to college and become a VRC...like he had done.
But as little actual help as I had in dealing with an entirely new world, my
wife received even less. At least while I was in the training center I had
activity and goals. My wife simply sat home and wondered how she ever got into
such a mess. 28 years old with a 2 year old, and stuck with a blind man for a
husband.
Jump ahead 55 years and take a look around. Nothing has really changed. Sure,
there's more gadgets, but the rank and file newly blind person is still left to
do the heavy lifting of rehabilitation on his/her own.
And that is the younger, employable blind. The older blind, those being
"served" through the Independent Living/Older Blind Program are given two or
three one to two hour sessions, a talking watch, a magnifier and a quick trip
around their neighborhood with a white travel cane. Then they are turned loose
as having been "rehabilitated".
We do what we can, passing along second hand CCTV's when we can get them
donated. The same is true of other sorts of equipment, but computers are very
hard to come by. And even folks with computers struggle to find help from
people who are skilled in the adaptive equipment needed in order to continue
functioning in the community.
And during my years directing the Orientation and Training Center, each new
fiscal year we were sent a request from the governor with instructions
requesting us to show how we would run our program with a 5% reduction, and
with a 10% reduction in funds. And always we were warned that the governor
would not accept the elimination of any current service.
As a result our Training Center had no substitute instructor. When a staff
person was out sick, I filled in.
We were a bare bones program, but each new fiscal year it was the same old
request. Trim the fat!
Carl Jarvis
On 1/24/20, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
This is what I've been thinking about this morning, most probably,
because of the new computer that is supposed to arrive momentarily.
There was a time when agencies for the blind provided rehab teaching
services which included "skills of daily living". Well guess what? In
2020, using modern technology is a skill for daily living that one
must have in order to function in the modern world, not just to hold a
paying job, but just to be integrated into society. And, to some
extent, blindness organizations and the blindness industry recognize
that which is why Apple is praised for manufacturing technology that
includes accessibility for blind people right out of the box and why
some corporations are sued when their websites, (of course, always
commercial websites), are sued when they're inaccessible to blind
customers.
However, those of us who don't have an innate talent, as Roger does,
to learn how to use the computer and to learn new programs on our own,
there is no readily available agency to provide this service to us. We
need to find someone on our own, to teach us stuff, to install stuff
when necessary, and to update stuff, and we have to pay them. It's
difficult for everyone when Windows changes, but older sighted people
can easily learn from the younger people in their lives. For blind
people, it's a very different matter.
Things have to be set up so that the screen reader will work most
efficiently, and we often need to learn new things. One would think
that the national advocacy groups would be demanding that state
agencies for the blind provide this service for blind people of all
ages. But they don't.
The
young people in these organizations are accustomed to a system of
scarcity and those who have mastered technology, feel so superior and
so entitled, that they think that people should be able to do so on
their own or if they can't, than they aren't worth the trouble
bothering about. I think that every blind person should be entitled to
an up-to-date computer and a smart phone, and free instruction,
whenever necessary, to help him or her use the technology effectively.
I also think that every blind person should be entitled to an
instruction plan for any other services he or she may need, at
whatever point in life, these services are needed. None of this is,
available, of course, because of budget cuts. But the advocacy
organizations haven't fought to hold onto our services. They have
cooperated with politicians and business interests as a way of getting
whatever crumbs might drop from the table. And beyond that, NFB has
nurtured the fantasy that blind people aren't really disabled, only
inconvenienced. So audio description wasn't necessary, nor protection
from accidents on platforms in New York City subways, nor any other
accessibility measures.
Miriam
