It’s been thirty-two years since the passage of the Americans With Disabilities Act (1990) Whether you believe it to still be a power-packed contour for us who are blind or you consider its legislation as coming up short of expectations, you must admit that the ADA has had a huge impact on American livelihood, especially in the workplace and affecting public accommodations.

As such, we recognize the legacy of one contributor to the ADA, Bobby Silverstein. You can read here more about Silverstein’s work with regard to the ADA and other efforts to better the lives of us who are physically or developmentally disabled.

Often, it takes the staff behind the legislator to get the Representative or Senator to vote as he or she does. So while serving in Washington, DC, Silverstein worked with plenty of legislators and their committees to craft legislation designed for the betterment of the disability community.

Now as we stand on the shoulders of advocates like Bobby Silverstein, we keep advocating for better web access, small and large accommodations for employees who are disabled, and the public welfare for all.

It’s easy, you might think, for someone who’s blind and uses a guide dog to get noticed. I mean, how could you not be attracted by a confident traveler with a cute canine by his side? The problem, though, is not everyone is so attracted.

One of the most frustrating things guide dog users receive is denial of service by cab or Uber drivers who do not wish to pick someone up who has a service animal. Despite such denial of service is blatantly illegal, it’s also rude. If an Uber driver commits to transporting someone, having already been paid via the Uber app, fulfilling that commitment makes perfect sense.

After all, anyone driving transportation needs to be signed to a contract that permits no discrimination of anyone based on their disability. So it stands to reason that, in effect, the guide dog is an extension of that person. Someone driving a cab or Uber or paratransit vehicle already knows that they will deal with animal fur, occasional cute eye rolls and sighs from the back seat.

Linked here is a survey that the American Council of the Blind is helping to promote. If you have been or if you do get denied service by a cab or Uber or other ride sharing operation and you have a guide dog, make your concerns known.

With that said, we as advocates for our dignity and awareness do well to remember that kindness and documentation is key. Yes, we may be very upset or frustrated when receiving denied ridership. Yet, as the problem has arisen over a long time, the solution won’t appear overnight and we aren’t each given to save the world. Instead, when addressing companies or individual drivers, we do so confident of our character, assured of our rights but resisting the urge to vent our bluster on the offending party. Rather, each denial of service, each level of escalation with a given cab or paratransit company may be an opportunity to show the composure we want everyone in mainstream society to see in us as people who are blind or who have low-vision.

Again, take the opportunity if you have encountered denial of service to you as a guide dog user. And, if you yourself do not have a guide dog, encourage those who do in their travel and dignity. If you are sighted, watch for us who follow our guides across streets, into stores, into restaurants and to work. Engage us with questions so you can be better informed and at ease. And, remember our dogs are working any time they are in their harness!

For more information about guide dogs and their use in public, go to http://www.gdui.org.

Do you know someone who is blind or otherwise physically disabled and employed? If you are like most people in the mainstream, the answer is probably no. That’s because among people who are blind or visually impaired, the unemployment rate still persists at about 70 percent even after many decades of trying to lower it.

During this October, we do celebrate the achievements of those who are disabled and gainfully employed while further emphasizing ways in which even more of us can contribute as part of the workforce. Here is a link from the United States Accessibility Board highlighting their efforts to raise awareness of ways public and private places of employment can ameliorate their facilities and overall atmosphere to welcome people who are physically disabled to their offices.

The question we must take up from time to time in observing National Disability Employment Month is whether the triad of buzz words-diversity, equity, and inclusion really better open paths for us to be employed or are they the latest and trendiest bark with little bite. If the latter is true, then what can we do to adapt small, midsize, and large businesses for employees who are blind, deaf, paraplegic, and so forth. After all, the push for a higher employment rate of people who have various disabilities has existed even before Title IX came into existence or the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 became public law.

Just a short listen to the way government employers and those in cahoots with them talk about diversity, equity, and inclusion of people who are physically disabled gives the impression that they want to win the bragging rights contest. No one, no matter how hard they try, can outspend the government on gaining accessible resources. No one can best the government in mandating the accommodations that public laws and enforcement of guidelines can provide. Like a well-oiled machine, this effort promises the perfect place for people with disabilities to work whether the setting be an assembly line at one of the National Industries for the Blind’s work centers or in a collections site for the Internal Revenue Service.

What happens to such claims when government imposes a hiring freeze upon itself or money allotted for a work site’s operation runs out? Our  government must cut more than its losses. It changes the lives of people who staked their financial and often emotional livelihood on its claims to provide the way for personal independence. Schools such as World Services for the Blind, who served as a hub for training people who are blind for jobs with the IRS, must revise their employment tracks while rebranding their appeal to the disability community.

We can certainly be thankful for the United States’ government being a  place for employment of us who are blind or have other disabilities. The pay is great along with a whole host of medical, life, and disability insurance benefits. An underlying assurance motivates those who want to work in the Federal sphere, namely, that as far as nondiscrimination clauses regarding physical disabilities, the Fed does police itself well. Lots of workshops and continuing education opportunities do allow for ways in which employees can learn ways of speaking to and on behalf of their coworkers who are physically disabled. The Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC) provides avenues for people to negotiate disputes when filing grievances. Such measures have the goal of empowering someone wo is blind, deaf, or otherwise disabled to advance in his or her career path like anyone else working a cubical or office next door.

Again, we wonder how such government self-promotion affects the private sector workforce and overall society that isn’t aware of all that public rulings on employment state. One of the biggest costs is a reactionary dependence on big government. The saying may go something like: Since the Fed has the advantage of noncompetitive employment and standards for monitoring itself, then people who are blind should gravitate there instead of looking for entrepreneurial opportunities. Working in a store or office setting would need more adaptation that a company can’t necessarily afford, but the government can fork over the costs. Of course, this observation may be partially true, but the Department of Labor and Vocational Rehabilitation do have avenues whereby someone can get funding for pursuing a livelihood in the private sector thanks to loans and short-term job coaching that can provide someone scaffolding until he or she gets a business or salaried job established.

It’s easy, when looking for government assistance for financial support or for a government job to let the awareness gap to persist. Without the incentive to venture into the private sector, someone who is physically disabled or an advocate for us who are limits our ability to change people’s perceptions. The only way that a store manager, seminary dean, a bank manager, or tech supervisor will learn how we are capable of working well is through contact with us who want to join in their companies. Sure, public seminars, expositions featuring assistive technology, and heart-touching documentaries about heroing success stories can bring people in touch with our individual lives. But only personal and persistent relationship-building will further welcome us who are blind into areas where we haven’t so much trodden in our pursuit of happiness.

 Of course, much more can be said in the matters addressed in this first look at the employment landscape during National Disability Employment Month. In our next part of this series, we will tackle a perception that many have, namely, that since disability income and benefits exist, that’s the best option for us who are blind or otherwise physically disabled to pursue instead of gainfully earning a living.

World Services for the Blind (formerly Lions World Services for the Blind) has long served our community with employment training opportunities. Most notably it used to be the hub for training future workers for the Internal Revenue Service to answer taxpayers’ questions, establish payment agreements, and enforce the tax code. Many other people have attended World Services to become assistive technology instructors who help fellow blind and low-vision neighbors gain independence through better use of computers.

Over the past decade, CEO Sharon Giovinazzo has done stellar work guiding the school from some very rocky waters into thriving again toward respect among clients and employers alike. Under her leadership, the school has shifted focus from the IRS programs due to the 2016 government hiring freeze to implement tracks for credit counseling, massage therapist work, and a continued emphasis on assistive technology. While many of the long-standing faces that graduates might recognize from the past decades are no longer working, the staff is more energetic than ever to keep the school in step with the needs of blind workers and their employers.

So, welcome Eric Yarberry, the new CEO. You can find more about him at this link.

One of my observations, as a graduate of Lions World Services’ IRS program back in the early 2000s, is that having leadership who is visually impaired will more than benefit the Little Rock based school. After all, what better to have someone who’s lived it, walked the talk, and done the hard work of being a leader in the blindness community and in the greater mainstream society? Hence, Eric will be the second CEO in a row who is blind or low-vision. Here’s to him being the latest ambassador for this incredible school with its many opportunities.

More Places For O.andM. Instructors To Learn Ou

We’ve all heard the expression: You need to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes to understand what they are going through. Thanks to a partnership with Cal. State L.A., Braille Institute’s California campuses will give students training to be orientation and mobility instructors a great opportunity to do just that.

Most of the Braille Institute locations from San Diego, Los Angeles, and on up the coast service clients who are transitioning from high school to college, middle age adults, and those transitioning into retirement. Some of these campuses also have daily classes for building skills for homelife and employment like working with adaptive technology. Now, with the help of Cal. State-L.A., they will give future O.andM. instructors hands on exposure to people who are blind.

After all, the popular sayings flipside is true, too. We who are blind long to learn from people who truly get us. So after learning a lot about blindness through classroom books and theory along with a bit of practicum mixed in, Cal. State students will have yet another venue where they can immerse themselves in the world we know very well. After all, orientation and mobility isn’t just showing routes and sending the client on his or her way. It’s adapting those routes and needs to the young college student rushing from dorm to science lab, from lecture hall to the dining hall. It’s helping a partially sighted man in his sixties learn to use the color contrasts in his apartment so as to organize where to put the mail he’s retrieved from the box outside. For the guide dog user, O.andM. instruction involves learning the routes he’s taken for some years while staying clear of many benches or flower pots that his cane tip has tapped instead of using them as landmarks.

Of course, the benefit for both Braille Institute and Cal. State-L.A. will extend to the dollars and cents of any partnership along with each other’s public awareness. The more businesses and schools raising the awareness of our capabilities and dignity the better. Now as you read more about this excellent alliance here, think of how working together will benefit each Braille Institute client or O.andM. student intern.

In addition, it’s no secret that there’s a shortage of blindness professionals, whether we’re talking orientation and mobility or assistive tech. instructors, or vision rehabilitation therapists-all of whom we’ve featured in the past on Boldly Blind. Now let’s see how gaining new ground for internships and increased exposure to the blindness community helps Cal. State-L.A. train the next generation.

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With the change of the leaves and summer into fall comes the new school year. And with the new school year comes the next cycle of amateur sports for all grade levels…and adults. We’re not just talking school sports but the resumption of blind sports like goalball, track and field, preseason workouts for wrestling, judo and swimming.

So what better way to get the blood pumping and enthused than blind sports week? You don’t have to live in Colorado Springs, CO where the USABA is based or in Fort Wayne, IN where the paraolympic goalball team trains to get involved. Blind sports week will feature activities all over the country related to the many adaptive sports we’ve featured on here over the past few months. Yes, blind and low-vision people can and do play sports like anyone else. We enjoy the feel of that track or treadmill beneath our feet. The smell of leather, lockers, and iron dumbbells at a gym gets me pumped for the fray.

So check out the week of activities from Oct. 3-8  both in person and via the web sponsored by the United States Association of Blind Athletes. Go here for more information whether you yourself are an athlete, fan, or parent of an athlete. And always, go, USA!

Since this week’s theme for Fitness Friday is running, here’s a Fitness Friday extra featuring an outstanding blind athlete who’s become an endurance ambassador for the United States Association of Blind Athletes. I saw the post I’m attaching first from the Blind Lifestyle newsletter and couldn’t help but highlight it here.

After all, we can take courage from those people who have stepped up to the plate when navigating life’s contours and made their passion into their full-time endeavor. Jasmine Murrell’s story follows in this link.

Here’s hoping and praying she is able to make the next paraolympics, which is one of her goals.

Running has always been one of my ways of keeping fit. One of the first questions I am sure to answer when moving is where I can find the nearest treadmill. And usually within a few days, I go, sign up, and get logging in those miles…running in place.

There’s nothing wrong with running in place, adjusting the little buttons for speed and incline. It helps shed the pounds, keeps our heartrate healthy and puts us in a great mood.

But I’ve always enjoyed those times when I can stretch my legs on a path, road, or actual track. I used to do this more often in college years ago. And, now, with the help of United In Stride, running outside, training for 5K’s and 10K’s may very well be possible again.

Maybe, you would be interested in this fantastic organization that matches blind runners and sighted guides. http://www.unitedinstride.com

For those of you who can see, a verbal and visual tutorial on the homepage can give you the basics of being a sighted guide. For us who are blind, resources show us the ways in which we can be guided along a course. Some people only need verbal directions on the spur of the moment. Others of us need tethered to our guide with a rope or cord wrapped around our waste or wrist.

Looking at the site, I’m impressed to see how casual fitness buffs to paraolympic sprinters use the services offered by United In Stride.

All you need for signing up is to enter your user name, email,  and password; your name; phone number; and location. That will give you a profile along with your best guess at how slow or fast you  run per mile. There are places to discuss your past athletic involvement and interests.

So perhaps, as you want to meet new friends, gain someone in your corner who knows the ropes (literally) of guiding and want to have fun keeping fit in the elements, here’s your opportunity.

United In Stride is sponsored by the Massachusetts Association of Blind Athletes and has members all over the country. I hope this will give you the impetus to get in stride and keep in shape along with me as we navigate life’s contours together.

http://www.unitedinstride.com

Call me weird, but one of the things I look forward to when moving is getting to know the people at my local supermarket. From the bagger at the checkout line to the deli worker slicing up a pound of honey ham, all these people have such varied backstories. Some are high school aged helpers while others are married and in their fifties. Some work the store as a full-time gig while others put in a few hours here and there to make some extra bucks.

Whether we shop at the store in person or order our food through InstaCart, we rely on these folks to get our food off the shelves. Sometimes, they are the baggers in Walmart who have a moment while the customer flow has ebbed a bit or they may be the hands-on-deck stocking shelves most of the day. After all, unless your local supermarket has designated a person or two as being handicap assistants, most folks who shop for or with us are doing those things a job description calls “duties otherwise assigned by the manager.”

In our here-today gone-tomorrow world, turn-over at entry level jobs is very high in the food service industry. So, it’s rare that we get to know the same helper for years on end unless yours is the main store in town and does a great job retaining its staff through good pay raises, substantive benefits, and job security in the event of a prolonged sickness or pregnancy leave. Add to that, the pace at which many of these entry level workers go has quickened over the years and that has reduced their work to checking off boxes within a given amount of time before moving onto their next responsibility. It always amuses me, though, how some will volunteer to wait with me for paratransit to arrive so that they can take a break from the otherwise frantic pace they’ve been running all day. Sometimes, for the sake of conversation, I’ll accept the offer though I am certainly independent enough not to need their company at that point.

So, as we say “thank you” to those who help us shop, we also keep a strategy in mind for helping them work with us and our needs. Here are a few tips:

1. Be patient. Most of the time, it will take several minutes for people at the customer service desk to locate someone who can help us shop.
2. If you are totally blind, be ready to explain sighted guide. While many supermarkets require to include handicap assistance as part of training new employees, many of them forget how to do it unless they have a relative or several new customers at the same time who are blind.
3. If you’re working from a list you’ve brailled or printed up, remember to specify which brands of food you want. By default, many workers will pick out the store brand or, if that’s not available, say they don’t have what we want. If you’re comparing           prices, make sure that your assistant knows you want them to read off several selections of what the store offers.
4. Let small talk be small talk. Making light conversation with someone will helpak the ice a bit so that you and your helper aren’t feeling like you have to walk on egg shells while walking around the store together. It’s perfectly okay for whoever’s helping you to ask even the simplest questions about being blind. When you cordially clear up their misconceptions, they will be more ready to accommodate the next person who is blind that they meet.      

Of course, you can add to this list of tips for yourself with whatever helps you ways you can bridge the awareness gap. The more people serving in the public square see us assertively showing our capabilities, the more they will see us who are blind for who we are and appreciate the adaptations we make in everyday life.

We’ve mentioned Seeing AI on here before as it is a newer bit of software that works with IOS devices to scan anything from mail parchments to recipes to colors on your polo shirt. Here’s a YouTube link demonstrating this incredible app. Remember, Seeing AI is free for the download and, I’d dare say, very worth it.