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Advocacy
D & L Consultants LLC offers a wide range of Advocacy related services, from assisting you in fighting for your rights and benefits, be it from the Social Security Administration, your state, or even from private companies and individuals, such as landlords. Here are just a few of services that I can provide to you.
Accessible in the work place
Social Security Benefits
The Social Security Administration denies disability benefits to more then ½ of their applicants. Most applicants could be denied up to four times, and each time you most repeal their decision in order for your application to be continue. If you don’t and your application gets dropped you not only need to reapply, you will lose right to receive your benefits retroactively from the day you applied. Between answering application questions correctly, gathering medical documents and X-rays, most people get overwhelmed.
The Social Security Administration allows you to contact Social Security Advocates to help you with the process. Most people believe that they need to hire an attorney, but the Social Security Administration regulation states that anyone with knowledge of Social Security regulation may represent you in the process. I have been working with individuals trying to obtain their benefits for over 25 years. If you would like to set up an appointment please Contact Me.
Special Education
Being a student in the 50's, with a disability, we had no laws to protect us against discrimination in the school system. My parents forced the Massachusetts school system to mainstream me in with the general population. As an adult, I have come to realize that even with Rehabilitation Act 504, IDEA and the ADA school systems around the country are still trying to discriminate against children with disabilities. I have become an advocate for consumers in the school system. Educating the parents on what services should actually be supplied. By educating the parents, and the children, they would be guaranteed the proper education from the school system. With the vast knowledge from the internet and publications from state and federal government one could actually put a booklet down in front of the members of the PPT and refer to the book if need be in order to get the school system on the right track. Without this knowledge, the parents would be unable to protect their children's rights under these regulations. I do not know everything there is to know. Who ever says they do, actually does not know enough. Before I even go into PPT, I sit down with the child and their parents to be informed of past history. Once I know what was provided, we can create a strategy to obtain the right services with no cost to them. Please feel free to Contact Me if you feel your child is not getting the right education that he or she deserve under law.
COMMUNITY ORGANIZER
As a Community Organizer I had the opportunity of working with groups and organizations state wide on issues concerning people with disabilities. In the late 80s into the 90s I co-chair a local area disability advocacy/support group (RIPCORD) out of the Disability Network of Eastern Connecticut (DNEC) my local Independent Living Center (ILC). Our main focus was on Public Accessibility. We identified a state truest attraction not being accessible under the newly passed American with Disability Act (ADA). The truest attraction was an over 15 colonial shops in the seaport district of our state. Through multiple attempts to contact the owners by friendly phone calls and correspondence we decided to stage a protest at the location. We gather over 300 signatures from people across the nation who was visiting the village. After several more attempts to contact the owners we turned to out P & A for their assistance. When we met with P& As’ attorney and showed him the paper trail and the petition with over 300 signatures, he said he would try to make contact with the owners. After contacting their attorney our attorney said it was time to go back and take some pictures. After a threat of going to court the owners made the village accessible. By making a paper trail we were able to give our attorney enough information in order for him to feel confident enough to proceed where we left off.
Shortly after I was hired by Connecticut Union of Disability Action Groups, (CUDAG) as one of their Community Organizer. My duties were to help organize our groups around issues, which they identified as their projects. The three major groups that I was assign to was:
· Citizens for Accessible Transportation, (CAT) making the state busses wheelchair accessible and to comply with the ADA.
· CT Association for Personal Service, (CAP) to draw attention to the need for Personal Care Assistance and make it to become pilot program
The two groups needed to go meet with their State Legislator and try to educate them on why they felt that their project was important to the disability community. I had to set up appointments with key Legislators, gather information both pro and con about the topics we would talk about and set up training meetings with each group. By presenting both sides of the issue we gave our members the opportunity to come up with a stronger debate tactic. During the Legislation hearings I needed to arrange transportation for members statewide.
While working with CAP several members and the two organizers had to go to Washington, DC to meet with members of congress to educate them that people with disabilities could hire, train, manage the own personal assistance.
Being paid from Federal and State funded grants we as Organizers had to be careful not to take on the role of Lobbies and to allow the members to take control.
The third group was working on public accessibility and held their meetings in the community center at the West Farms Mall. The mall management, knowing that we ware working on public accessibility issues, approached us and asked if we would be willing to assist them while they were planning to remodel the mall, we agreed. The group was instrumental in making their mall more accessible.
“"A good leader follows their members”" that’'s true with Organizing too.
Are you a member of a group and need help with a project? Do you see your group not being as successful as you believe they could be?
Contact Me
for free information and ideas to help your group be achieve their goals.
Education
We offer a full line of education services to the community. We are committed to providing children and adults with a unique understanding of what it is like to live with a disability.
An average session is 2 hours long, although the sessions can be tailored to your group's needs. Each session is unique and interactive. The audience takes control by asking the questions that you thought you never could!Classes are offered on:
Teaching Disability Awareness and Civil Rights
· Advocacy with individuals and groups
· Promotion of Independent Living
· Education of State and Federal Officials about improving life with disabilities
· Improvement of accessibility by removing physical and attitudinal barriers of Hotels, Motels, etc.
· Holding session on rights and obligations regarding elections
· Education on becoming a Conservator for persons with disabilities.
Making Learning Fun
We offer a wide variety of ways to understand, by giving the members of the audience their own disabilities and talking them through an imaginary experience. This enables them to get a first hand idea of living with a visual impairment, lack of balance, or a coordination or mobility disability.
We can also offer an obstacle course where you can maneuver around the room full of obstacles using a wheelchair and other mobility aides, simulating day to day activities of a person with a disability.
Teaching Old Dogs New Tricks
We realize that when we are asked to speak to a group of adults, there will be moments when we will need to slay the dragon and deal with myths about living with a disability. We start by talking about each of our disabilities and how we live with them.We talk about our personal needs, giving you freedom to ask personal questions like "How do you take a shower?", "How do you go to the bathroom?", "When you were growing up did you go to a normal school?", and "How did you get over your disabilities?"
Please Contact Me if you are interested in finding out more about these unique educational opportunities.
Other Services
In addition to the services listed above, we also provide the following services to our clients: Communications
Given our extensive work with organizations devoted to the disabled, we have developed excellent skills that can be of value to your organization, such as:
· Newsletters
· Press Releases
· Fundraising Campaigns
· Media Relations
Please Contact Me to discuss the communications needs of your organization.
Olmstead What is Olmstead?
The Olmstead Case involved two women with dual diagnoses of mental retardation and mental illness who were living in an institution in Georgia. When their treatment professionals agreed they were ready to leave the institution, the two women applied for Georgia's home and community based service waiver. They were told that the waiver was full. They filed a lawsuit under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) which went all the way to the Supreme Court. In the summer of 1999, the Supreme Court announced its decision in favor of the two women. The Court decision ruled that:
· Under the ADA, individuals with disabilities must be served in the least restrictive setting appropriate to their needs;
· It is descrimination against persons with disabilities to fail to provide community based services to those who want and can benefit from them;
· States can demonstrate compliance with the Omlstead decision by creating a comprehensive, consumer-friendly working plan to move people to less restrictive settings;
· States must also demonstrate waiting lists that moves at a responsible pace.
The court decision is being broadly interpreted as applying to individuals with all types of disabilities, those in many types institutional settings, and including individuals at risk of institutionalization.
Connecticut's plan, "Choices Are For Everyone" has been created by the Connecticut Community Option Task Force and will go to the Long Term Care Planning Committee (members are appointed by legislators), the body that has oversight of the project.
D & L Consulting, L.L.C. is working closely with the Connecticut Olmstead Coalition by moving people with disabilites from inclusive institutions to their own residences. With proper support and networking, any individual with the desire to live in the community should have that right. So far, the combined staff at D & L Consulting, L.L.C have moved over 60 adults out of institutions and into the community. The five independent living centers, located throughout the State of Connecticut, have programs that will enable them to help people.
Contact Me if you believe that either you or a loved one is being held against their will in an institution like nursing homes, boarding homes, convalescent homes, or psychiatric facilitites.
