DEAF WORKERS OF ORANGE COUNTY PROJECT -- DEAF WORKERS WEEKLY BULLETIN -- AUGUST 14, 1999 Greetings, Now with the main deafness mailing list in jeopardy of closure since no one has stepped up to take over this list, we are now seeing a rash of new deafness relating mailing lists appear. Lets make sure the motivations of these new lists is genuinely to pass around and share deafness related news and events. Some of the new deafness related mailing lists are simply propaganda machines and people find that out soon enough to leave the list and form their own lists furthering the fragmentation of the community. We have no plans to own such a mailing list at this time. Since I have assumed the leadership of CHARM (Community Healing and Advocacy Reform Movement), we are moving it to Hollywood today. We will be including people with other disabilities to make the movement stronger and viable. The CHARM website is undergoing a transformation to make it resourceful for people with disabilities. James may not like this but he hasn't done anything to get this ball rolling for a while. We will start a monthly newsletter for our CHARM friends. Richard Roehm ---- *SPECIAL REPORT* ORANGE COUNTY HOUSING AUTHORITY TO ACCEPT HUD RENTAL ASSISTANCE APPLICATIONS With the rents in Orange County soaring beyond the reaches of people with low income and people with disabilities on SSI and SSDI, Housing Urban Development opens up first time in over 3 years to provide rental assistance. The rental assistance program is designed for households earning less than half their community's median annual income--or $34,150 a year for a family of four in Orange County. Those who qualify pay up to 40% of their annual incomes in rent, with the federal government picking up the rest to a certain limit. Last year, the county paid an average of $500 per month for each of the 7,000 families enrolled in its program. THIS STARTS NEXT MONDAY AUGUST 16 AND ENDS ON AUGUST 31....YES 2 SHORT WEEKS! HOW TO APPLY Residents can pick up applications for the federal rent subsidy program at their public libraries (excluding Santa Ana, Anaheim and Garden Grove, which administer their own programs). The applications should be mailed to:      Reynolds & Reynolds Data Center      Attn: Orange County Housing Authority      P.O. Box 814089      Dallas, TX, 75381-4089 Orange County Deaf Advocacy Center (OCDAC) has some applications on hand and should be contacted immediately if you need to apply for this assistance. OCDAC will even provide postage stamps to help applicants mail the applications. Send inquiries to ocdac@deafadvocacy.com with the "FAST HUD HELP" subject header. ---- BE AN ACTIVIST WITHOUT LEAVING YOUR COMPUTER! These links connect you to the action pages of several civil rights organizations. Sign up for their action mailing lists or bookmark their action pages. It's a very easy way to help you become an activist in your area and help us make a difference! National Organization of Women Take Action http://www.now.org/actions/ National Association for the Advancement of Colored people Urgent Action Alerts http://www.naacp.org/wbacton.htm Human Rights Campaign Action Center http://www.hrc.org/actncntr/index.html Bezelon Center Action Alerts http://www.bazelon.org/alerts.html The Disability Rights Activist Action Alerts http://www.disrights.org/dr-hot.html American Civil Liberties Union Act Now (You can send free faxes to legislators on any issue from this site!!) http://www.aclu.org/action/action.html American Association of People with Disabilities News http://www.aapd.com/news/index.html ---- IMPROVING YOUR DISCRIMINATION SNIFFER Finding subtle discrimination in housing is difficult. Deaf workers dont realize that some innocent sounding excuses for not doing business with them could be RED FLAGS and signal that an illegal discriminatory act has been committed. Call 1-800-927-9275 (TDD) IMMEDIATELY if you hear something like these. "I rented that apartment right after you called." "I really dont want all those changes - a ramp, grab bars, that's too much" "We can't have mentally retarded people here. Who will take care of them? It will make the neighbors uncomfortable" "Do you think you can afford this neighborhood?" "We just cant seem to make an appointment to show you that house?" "I'll need to pre-qualify you before I show you homes." "The owner just took the house off the market." "There's a problem with the appraisal" "We'd like to make this loan, but we need at least a 20% downpayment" "You haven't been at your job long enough to qualify for a mortgage loan." "You might get a better deal at another bank. Why dont you call there first before you apply here." "I'd like to rent to you but my insurance will go up." "How can I be sure that you will pay the rent?" "We have a no-pets rule and that includes your service dog." "I want to see your medical records" ---- FAIR HOUSING ACCESSIBILITY RULES IN JEOPARDY Date: August 6, 1999 Since the beginning of this year, disability advocates have been aware of a movement by some in the homebuilding industry to radically change the Fair Housing Act accessibility guidelines. Within the past month, several things have occurred that indicate increased momentum on the part of fair housing foes to undermine this civil rights law. On July 1, Cong. George Jones introduced HR 2437 * inappropriately named the Justice in Fair Housing Enforcement Act of 1999 * which is now pending before the House Judiciary Committee. That measure would exempt from the Fair Housing Acts accessibility requirements any multifamily housing built between March 13, 1991 the date when the accessibility regulations were published by the Department of Housing and Urban Development - HUD and the bills date of enactment. This exemption would apply if the builder received approval from relevant state or local building authorities. On July 27, Michael Rose, a spokesman for the National Association of Homebuilders, told a subcommittee of the House Small Business Committee that the industry had been working with Cong. Jones on HR 2437. Claiming that HUD had failed to offer clear guidance to builders on how to comply with the accessibility guidelines, Rose called HR 2437 a step in the right direction. In August, as the HUD-VA appropriations bill was about to go to the House floor, Cong. Mark Sanford was preparing an amendment he planned to offer to that bill that would limit HUDs ability to enforce the fair housingaccessibility guidelines. Sanfords amendment would also reduce the number of units in multifamily housing that are subject to the accessibility rules. Under current law, all units in multifamily residential properties with elevators must meet the seven basic categories of accessibility set forth in the Fair Housing Act. Cong. Sanfords bill would change the law so that only 5 percent of such units would have to meet all of the Acts guidelines. His amendment may be offered when the House takes up the VA-HUD appropriations bill upon its return from the August recess. These moves seem to be coming in response to increased fair housing enforcement efforts by HUD and claims by the private housing industry that modest changes made in 1998 to the Fair Housing Act Design Manual have made it impossible for builders to comply with the law. This latter charge overlooks the fact that the design manual was never meant to replace statutory requirements set out in regulations in 1991. Indeed, those regulations reference even earlier accessibility standards available to the industry since 1986. Action requested: During the August recess, call your Congressional representative and tell him or her that you are aware that efforts may be made during floor consideration of the VA-HUD appropriations bill to undermine the Fair Housing Act. Remind your representative that the FHA Amendments passed in 1988 were meant to assure equal housing opportunities to people with disabilities and that many people with disabilities still have a hard time finding accessible apartments or condominiums. Any confusion over implementation of certain aspects of the Fair Housing accessibility guidelines should be resolved through negotiations among all affected stakeholders * HUD, the building industry, code officials AND the disability community. Failure by certain builders to adhere to accessibility standards that have been available for almost fifteen years * and most clearly since 1991 -- should not be used as an excuse to gut an important civil rights law. Your Congressional representatives local office will be listed under Government in your local phone book. To call their Capitol Hill offices you can use the Capitol switchboard * 202-224-3121 * and ask to be connected to their office. ---- CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATS TO HOST CAMPAIGN 2000 TRAINING WORKSHOPS The California Democratic Party will be hosting Campaign 2000 Training Workshops on the following dates: Saturday, September 18 -- CHICO Saturday, October 9 --SAN DIEGO Saturday, October 30 -- VENTURA Saturday, November 13 -- STOCKTON Times and locations TBA. The workshops will be geared towards preparing Democratic candidates and activists for the 2000 Coordinated Campaign. If you would like more information or a registration form, please contact Lisa Chin or Chris Myers in the CDP Sacramento office: (916) 442-5707 or e-mail to lisa@ca-dem.org / chris@ca-dem.org ---- LABOR SHORTAGE ADDRESSED BY TAPPING INTO PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES Bridge To Employment Addresses Iowa Labor Shortage Through Untapped Source: Persons With Disabilities DES MOINES (July 26, 1999) - Citing Iowa's sustained labor shortage, business and government leaders today announced details of an effort to address the problem by focusing on employing Iowans with disabilities. "Iowa has a 2.6 percent unemployment rate, yet persons with disabilities, as a group, have a 60 percent unemployment rate. That translates to potentially 87,000 Iowans who could potentially fill our critical workforce needs. We cannot afford to overlook this large pool of candidates," said Iowa Lt. Gov. Sally Pederson. Under a $2.5 million federal Social Security Administration grant to the Iowa Department of Human Services, Iowa has created Bridge to Employment, a five-year pilot project to expand employment opportunities for persons with disabilities who are Social Security recipients while matching job candidates with Iowa employer needs. Two project areas have been identified: The Kirkwood Community College district in east central Iowa (Benton, Cedar, Iowa, Johnson, Jones, Linn and Washington counties), and the North Iowa Area Community College district in north-central Iowa (Butler, Cerro Gordo, Floyd, Franklin, Hancock, Mitchell, Winnebago, Worth and Wright counties). Bridge to Employment efforts will focus on working with job candidates to chart career goals, assessing skills and training needs, determining assistive technology and personal assistance requirements and developing relationships with businesses. "This truly defines the term 'public/private partnership,'" said Jack Hillyard, executive director of Iowa Creative Employment Options. "Until now, there has been little success in assembling and coordinating the various resources available to potential job candidates with disabilities while also bringing employers into the picture early on in a well-managed, results-driven fashion." "We believe Bridge to Employment will pay dividends to Iowa employers and communities in the months and years to come," said Hillyard. The Iowa Department of Human Services and Iowa Workforce Development will partner in this project, with added assistance from the Iowa Department of Economic Development, and the U.S. Social Security Administration. Iowa Creative Employment Options, an outreach service of The University of Iowa, will manage the day-to-day activities of Bridge to Employment. Employers interested in learning more about Bridge to Employment should contact Iowa Creative Employment Options at 515.283.2310, or visit www.iowa ceo.com on the Web. Medicaid buy-in: an important new step A recent catalyst in advancing the Bridge to Employment objectives has been the Medicaid Buy-in bill, SF 211, which takes effect March 1, 2000. The legislation, passed by the Iowa legislature and signed by Gov. Tom Vilsack in April 1999, allows workers with disabilities statewide to continue Medicaid health insurance coverage after getting a job. Previously, Medicaid coverage was terminated if a person began earning $500 or more per month. "This was a huge disincentive to work, and it has been eliminated," said Pederson "People with disabilities can now enter the workforce knowing that their critical health care needs will still be covered." Contact: Jack Hillyard, Iowa CEO 515.283.2310 jack-hillyard@uiowa.edu ---- ADA WINS AGAIN AT THE 2ND U.S. CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has joined four other federal circuits in ruling that Congress, when it passed the Americans with Disabilities Act, did not exceed its power by abrogating state immunity under the Eleventh Amendment. In a case of first impression in the 2nd Circuit, a three-judge panel found that "the anti-discrimination provisions of the ADA provide a narrowly tailored and reasonable response to the problem of discrimination against people with disabilities." (New York Law Journal -- Read the story .) Sharon Huffman Legislative Analyst Kansas Commission on Disability Concerns 1-800-295-5232 http://adabbs.hr.state.ks.us/dc ---- IS THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT SAFE IN YOUR STATE? The following states in the Second, Fifth, Seventh, Ninth and Eleventh Circuits where various provisions of the ADA, or the ADA in its entirety are constitutional Alabama - Alaska - Arizona - California - Connecticut - Florida Georgia - Hawaii - Illinois - Indiana - Idaho - Louisiana Mississippi - Montana - Nevada - New York - Oregon - Texas Vermont - Washington - Wisconsin If you live in any of the above states, you can file a Title II lawsuit with the United States District Court of your state. The following states in the Eighth Circuit where the Title II of the ADA are NOT constitutional. Arkansas - Iowa - Minnesota - Missouri - Nebraska - North Dakota - South Dakota If you live in any of these states, it is not necessary to file because your possible case will automatically be dismissed. Just wait till the US Supreme Court will decide. The following states under the First, Third, Fourth, Sixth, and Tenth Circuit where no similar Title II case are yet decided: Arizona - Colorado - Delaware - District of Columbia - Kansas - Kentucky Maine - Maryland - Massachusetts - Michigan - New Hampshire - New Jersey New Mexico - North Carolina - Ohio - Oklahoma - Pennsylvania - Rhode Island South Carolina - Tennessee - Virginia - West Virginia - Wyoming If you live in any of the above states, you can file and pray. Howard L. Gorrell Deafmarva@erols.com Deafmarva@aol.com (for AOL chatting) ---- 48 HOURS TO FEATURE DEAF BALLPLAYER CURTIS PRIDE On September 2, 1999, 48-Hours (CBS) will feature a segment on Curtis Pride. Pride is a deaf and a professional baseball player. The segment will feature Pride's community work with deaf and hard of hearing children. ---- NEZ'S CYBER MALL SUPPORTS THE DEAF COMMUNITY Nez's Cyber Mall is a fundraiser project that will help support the newly created Orange County Deaf Advocacy Center. This mall has been designed with accessibility in mind. All commissions generated by sales activity within this mall will be used to support the Orange County Deaf Advocacy Center. Nez's Cyber Mall can be found at: Http://www.i-sphere.com/eyedeaf/deafmall.htm ---- OAKLAND COLISEUM CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT NOTICE IMPORTANT NOTICE TO ALL PERSONS WITH MOBILITY, VISION, AND HEARING DISABILITIES WHO HAVE BEEN DENIED FULL AND EQUAL ACCESS TO THE OUTDOOR STADIUM OR INDOOR ARENA AT THE OAKLAND COLISEUM Notice Of Class Action: A class action lawsuit is currently pending in Federal District Court in San Francisco involving disability access issues at the Outdoor Stadium and Indoor Arena at the Oakland Coliseum. The parties to this lawsuit have negotiated two tentative settlement agreements which resolve all claims. In those negotiations, the plaintiff class was represented by the Disabilities Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF), the Law Office of Elaine Feingold, and the law firm of Rosen, Bien Asaro. The Defendants in the case are Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority, Oakland Alameda County Coliseum Financing Corporation, Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, Inc. City of Oakland, California, County of Alameda, California, The Oakland Athletics Baseball Company, The Oakland Raiders, Bill Graham Presents, Inc., and Volume Services. If you are a person with a Mobility, Vision or Hearing Disability who attended a baseball game, basketball game, football game, concert or any other event at either the Outdoor Stadium or Indoor Arena at the Oakland Coliseum anytime since May 19, 1992, you are a member of the Proposed Settlement Class. If you attended an event before May 19, 1992, but did not go back because of access problems you experienced, you are a Class Member. Please read this Notice carefully. It affects your legal rights. Proposed Settlements: The Proposed Settlements were reached after more than two years of negotiations, the last year of which were conducted under the supervision of former U.S. District Court Judge Eugene F. Lynch. The Proposed Settlement Agreements significantly improve accessibility for persons with disabilities throughout the Oakland Coliseum and create a settlement fund to compensate eligible class members for past accessibility violations. (1) Accessibility Improvements: The Proposed Settlement Agreements call for significant accessibility improvements throughout the Coliseum. Among the many accessibility improvements achieved through this litigation are the following: (1) increased, dispersed, and improved seating for wheelchair users and their companions; (2) elevated Wheelchair Locations designed so that wheelchair users can see when persons stand in front of them; (3) increased seating for persons who use mobility devices other than wheelchairs; (4) installation of an elevator in the older part of the Outdoor Stadium so that persons with Mobility Disabilities can sit in the sun in the lower section of the Outdoor Stadium; (5) improved signage throughout the facility; (6) increased and improved accessible parking; (7) accessibility upgrades to older bathrooms and concession stands; (8) purchase and installation of Assistive Listening Systems; (9) implementation of policies to ensure the availability of Qualified Sign Language Interpreters or real time transcription when needed; (10) implementation of policies to ensure the provision of print materials in alternative format for persons for Vision Disabilities; (11) purchase and installation of text telephones; (12) appointment of ADA coordinators to ensure prompt resolution of complaints regarding accessibility; (13) establishment of detailed policies governing Accessible Seating; (14) establishment of written materials and a comprehensive training program for employees regarding accessibility features and services. (2) Monetary Payments and Vouchers for Concerts: The Proposed Settlement Agreements establish a fund to compensate eligible class members for past accessibility violations. There will be $425,000.00 in the fund. Eligible class members who file timely claims can receive up to $ 1,000.00. each, depending on how many total valid claims are filed. Eligible class members can also receive, again depending on how many valid claims are filed, up to two vouchers that can be used at concerts and other events produced by Bill Graham Presents at the Oakland Coliseum for the three years, following Court approval of the Proposed Settlements. These vouchers are valued at approximately $32,000.00. Claims will be filed after the Court approves the Settlement Agreements. In addition to the settlement fund, the Named Plaintiffs in the case will share $50,000.00, and the attorneys who have represented the class will be paid a total of $500,000.00 for the work they have done and the expenses they have incurred in litigating the case and negotiating the settlement. This amount of attorneys fees also includes payment for future work that the attorneys will perform to ensure Court approval of the Proposed Settlements and payment of claims after that approval. 3. Options For Class Members: (1) You may do nothing, and you will remain a class member, and be entitled to file a claim for monetary damages as described above and be bound by the terms of the Settlement described above; (2) You may object to the proposed Settlement, if you follow the procedures set forth below; (3) You may opt out of the damages portion of the proposed Settlement portion if you follow the procedures set forth below. 4. Right to Object or to Opt-Out of the Monetary Damages Portion of the Proposed Settlement: (1) Court Hearing. The Court has given preliminary approval to the Proposed Settlements. On Friday, October 22, 1999 at 10:00 a.m. in Courtroom 7 of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, the District Court will hold a hearing on whether the Court should grant final approval of the Proposed Settlements as fair, reasonable, and adequate ("Fairness Hearing"). The Court may continue or adjourn the Fairness Hearing without further notice. (2) Objections. If you object to the Proposed Settlements, you may send a written objection to the Clerk of the Court, United States District Court, 450 Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94102. Your written objection must begin with the following heading: "OBJECTION TO PROPOSED CLASS SETTLEMENTS IN O'HARA v. OAKLAND COLISEUM, C-96-3649 WHO." All objections must be received by the Court no later than Friday, October 1, 1999. You also must mail an additional copy of your written objection to the address at the bottom of this notice. Only members of the proposed settlement class are entitled to file objections to the proposed settlement. Any class member who has submitted a written objection to the proposed settlement with the Court by October 1, 1999 also may request permission to speak at the Fairness Hearing. The Court has the discretion to refuse or limit oral presentations at the hearing. Any oral presentation permitted will be limited to ten minutes unless otherwise ordered by the Court. (3) Right to Opt Out. All class members will be bound by all parts of the Proposed Settlements except that class have the right to be excludedfrom the part of the Proposed Settlements that provide for claims for monetary damages and concert vouchers. If you opt out of the monetary provisions of the Proposed Settlements, you will not be able to file a claim for part of the Settlement Fund, and you will still be bound by the other parts of the Proposed Settlements. If you want to be excluded you must notify the Clerk of the Court at 450 Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94102 in writing no later than October 1, 1999. Your letter must state that you wish to opt out of the O'Hara v. Oakland Coliseum case, No. C-96 03649 WHO and give your name and address. 5. How To Get Further Information: If you have questions about the Proposed Settlement or your rights, if you want a copy of the entire Settlement Agreements, or if you want to put your name on the list of persons who will receive claim forms after the Settlements are finally approved, you should contact Class Counsel by phone, e-mail or mail as follows: Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund 1-877-254-1780 (v/tty) dredf@dredf=2Eorg 2212 Sixth Street Berkeley, CA 94710 ---- AUGUST 21 SWAPMEET SALE EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT Due to the great turnout and sales activity on August 7, 1999 swapmeet event, Orange County Deaf Advocacy Center is having another sale at the local SSSS W W A PPPP MM MM EEEEE EEEEE TTTTT S W W A A P P M M M M E E T SSS W W W A A PPPP M M M EEE EEE T S W W AAAAA P M M E E T SSSS W W A A P M M EEEEE EEEEE T LOCATION : Golden West College Parking lot spaces Q-6 and Q-7 near Edinger street in Huntington Beach, California. Same place as last time! DATE : August 21, 1999 TIME : 8 AM - 3 PM SUPPORT OUR DEAF CENTER IF YOU CAN COME TO THE SWAPMEET OR VISIT THE DEAF CENTER'S WEBSITE AT HTTP://WWW.DEAFADVOCACY.COM/PRODUCT.HTM If you can donate items to us for the swapmeet sale, please do it before 6pm friday August 20, 1999. We plan on selling the non OCDAC items very cheap so we'll need LOTS, LOTS, AND LOTS OF STUFF! We need a truck to help bring in the items to the swapmeet. We need help with sorting and hanging donated clothing. Last time 5 deaf people showed up to provide support and help. COME ON OVER AND SHOW YOUR SUPPORT! WE ALSO PLAN A HUGE FRONT YARD SALE ON SEPTEMBER 4 and 5, 1999 AT 1004 NORTH FRENCH STREET, SANTA ANA, CALIFORNIA. Just accross from OCDAC! Mark your calendars to attend this great event to support OCDAC and the new SCADHH (Southern California Association of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing) organizations! All proceeds go to the Orange County Deaf Advocacy Center and spent on support services for our clients with disabilities. Http://www.deafadvocacy.com Http://www.deafadvocacy.com/swap.htm ---------------------- LETTERS: dear sir, i hope that you could help me in finding velontrly work in any orgnaisation or educational institution in norway or europe i'd like to be a help for deaf or blind people without money they just provide a place for stay only. that's because i had a blind sister and she died long time ago in an accident,and i'd like to get married to someone from these people, and i'll be honerd and the happiest man in the worled although iam a normal person thanks and waiting for your help mohamed othman23@hotmail.com ------- H.U.M.A.N. Would like to you answer four questions. 1. You do think was the person in the disability community that did the most good for the disability community this century? 2. You do think was the person in the disability community that did the most wrong for the disability community this century? 3. Which event did the most good for the disability community, this century? 4. Which event did the most wrong for the disability community, this century? Send your answers to DisableNET@aol.com before September 1, 1999. In the subject area of the e-mail, please put the word, "BALLOT." Paul Cannaday ============================================================== DEAF WORKERS OF ORANGE COUNTY Orange County, California Richard Roehm President Internet : Deaf@activist.com Deaf_Workers_OC@usa.net Website Nesmuth@worldnet.att.net Http://www.i-sphere.com/eyedeaf/dwoc.htm =============================================================== Feel free to redistribute this newsletter in it's entirety and if you are planning to add a mailing list as a subscriber then let me know for my records. 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