ILR Presents "Lay Award" to Ruth A. McEwen! By Barry Fox-Quamme, ILR Executive Director We are pleased to announce that the Scott A. Lay Disability Advocacy Award in 2010 goes to Ruth A. McEwen of Salem, Oregon. For close to 30 years, Ruth has been a creative and persuasive advocate for seniors and adults with disabilities. Ruth has fostered the development of programs that offer people with disabilities diverse long-term care opportunities that advance independence, dignity and choice. As an advocate for Oregon’s waiver, she fought to have nursing-home eligible adults with physical disabilities receive services in their own homes and communities. For 28 years Ruth has represented adults with physical disabilities on the Northwest Senior & Disability Services Senior Advisory Council. From 1978 to 2009, she served as Board Chair at Rockwest Training Center. Ruth has served as Board Chair at Shangri-La, an organization that assists people with disabilities, as well as Chair and Vice-Chair of the Disability Services Advisory Council for Marion, Polk and Yamhill counties. She currently chairs the Oregon Association of Area Agencies and Disabilities, O4AD, and serves on the Oregon Disabilities Commission, ODC. In 2002, Ruth was presented the Governor’s Award from the Oregon Disabilities Commission. Many inspirational people pass through ILR over the decades. Some are consumers, others staff, and a few are notable as volunteer leaders. As a peer mentoring organization, ILR is a place where we all strive to learn from each other via our unique perspectives on ability and disability. Like Scott A. Lay, Ruth A. McEwen has helped show us the road forward. ILR and Scott’s surviving family are pleased to honor the vision and advocacy of a uniquely inspiring Oregonian – Ruth A. McEwen In This Issue Cathy’s Corner…………………….2-3 Guide Dog Guidelines......................9 Resources from WIN………………..3 Tech Corner………………………11 Associate Director’s Message……....4 SMS & ILR Staff Updates.………..12 Lift Tips..………...…….…………….5 Program Updates…………….……15 Rent Well Class………………………6 Winter Recreation Events..………..16 A Roll In The Park…………………...8 As we move through Winter and into Spring and may be spending more time outdoors with our service animals and pets, there are some important things to remember to keep everyone safe and happy. While dogs must be kept under control and on a leash while outdoors, there are many parks in the Portland area where dogs may be unleashed and roam free once they reach the designated area. A list of ‘Off Leash’ areas and hours can be found at the Portland Parks and Recreation website, http://www.portland online.com/parks/index.cfm?c=39523 or by calling 503-823-2223. With any outdoor activities, it is important to remember spring plants such as Buttercup, Easter Lily, Chrysanthemum, Jessamine, Tulip bulbs, Morning Glory, Narcissus and Daffodil bulbs may be harmful to your cat or dog. For a complete listing of toxic and non-toxic plants and foods check the Animal Poison Control Center of the ASPCA website http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/poison-control/. You can also find a list of common poisonous plants and view their Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ), which has an extensive list of common questions you can find answers for in a hurry. There is also an Animal Poison Control number but be advised that fees up to $65 may be charged for its use. For veterinary care, Oregon has some low cost resources such as Animal Aid, Inc which can offer assistance through their Vet Bill Fund, as well as through their Spay and Neutering assistance. You can reach them at their website, http://www. animalaidpdx.org/ or by phone at 503-292-6628 or 503-292-6628 which is a message phone. Select Option 1 for Emergency Medical Loans or Option 2 for Spay/Neuter Assistance. You can find the Animal Aid Fund FAQ online here: http://www.animalaidpdx.org/library/questions.php#medicalLoan Finally, the Oregon Humane Society, http://www.oregon humane.org/ offers a spay and neuter coupon as well as a free program for cats for people with low income or no income. Information for both spay and neuter assistance programs and loan applications can be found online: http://www.oregonhumane.org/services/assistance_options.asp or you can call them for further information at 503-285-7722. Individual Development Accounts, or IDAs, are an innovative way for hard working Oregonians to gain greater financial security. Participants select an asset goal, such as purchasing a home or starting a small business, attend financial education classes and save to achieve their savings goal. Once the savings goal is met, which can take from 6 to 36 months, the savings are matched at a rate of $3 for every $1 saved. IDAs are designed to help people become self-reliant through establishing new savings habits and gaining assets. These special accounts provide a powerful incentive for individuals to save money towards the purchase of an asset and funds deposited into a participant's IDA account may be tax deductible in Oregon. You can use IDAs for: • Purchasing your first home. • Going back to school or getting skill training, • Starting and expanding a small business, • Repairing or modifying your primary dwelling, or • Purchasing equipment or technology in support of your employment plan. To learn more about how to start an IDA please find a participating non-profit working in your area by visiting http://ida.neighborhoodpartnerships.org/participants/nextsteps. Once you’ve found a non-profit near you, contact them and let them know you’re interested in participating in the IDA Initiative. Time sure goes quickly. I have now been here for 6 months and I am still amazed at all the services we offer and the wonderful people - staff, volunteers and consumers - I have met here. During this busy time, we have been taking a look at the services we offer and seeing what needs to be improved and what services we should add. We want to expand our information and referral services, refresh our volunteer program and offer new groups and skill training. We will continue with current programs, of course, but we want to be looking at new ideas to expand what we already have. One of our ideas, for example, is to host a monthly speaker or discussion group on a variety of topics helpful to our consumers. We welcome your input with group ideas, skills you would like to learn and topics you would like covered too. We appreciate your comments on the evaluations we sent you and we take your thoughts into consideration when discussing our improvement plans. You are also encouraged to write, call or e-mail your ideas to me. I can be reached via email at may@ilr.org and you can leave a message on my voice mail at 503-232-7411 extension 334. Finally, a few thoughts on winter. It is easy to feel stuck inside, therefore it's important to reach out to others to find activities that you enjoy during the rainy and cold season. Write plans to call someone on your calendar, come to ILR events and work at doing fun things that you enjoy; put those on your calendar too so you have a plan and events to look forward to. Make sure you have extra food and supplies in case you are unable to get out for a while. If the weather seems bad, call ahead about your appointments to be sure they are open. For example, if PCC is closed, ILR is too. And we have a new extension, extension 500, that you can call to see if we are closed. Just call 503-232-7411 and hit 500 when prompted for the extension. Are you riding LIFT or fixed route on these dark winter days? Do you know how to make sure you get picked up? How to make sure you get the right bus? When riding LIFT you may want to ask your Reservationist to go over the addresses and times with you a second time. Sometimes they can make mistakes and this can mean you do not get your ride. Verifing these reservations can save everyone a lot of trouble. It is also possible to get on the wrong bus by accident. Talk to the driver: if you have a new driver, introduce yourself. Then ask if they have you today as a passenger. This can help ensure you're getting on the right bus! If you are waiting for a fixed route bus, you will want to have a light or bright clothing on, or something easily visible at night so that you can be seen at the bus stop. Some drivers will give you little bright glowing buttons to hold up when you see the bus coming. The fixed route buses now have an announcement that says what line they are and to which destination they are going. Listen for this, because it can be a great help to you. Occasionally, there may be some serious issues with fixed route buses and as passengers we need to notice and call or email customer service. Whenever there is an issue on a bus, be it Fixed Route or LIFT, we need to contact customer service and let them know what happened. You will want the day, date and time you rode, the vehicle number (this is a 4 digit number up by the driver) and where you were going. Then describe the problem briefly. Of course you can also describe something good a driver did or how much you appreciate the buses or LIFTs you ride. This is called commendation and it’s a fun and wonderful way to appreciate the hard work those drivers do! Rent Well Graduates Another Rent Well class has graduated. Ten out of eleven received diplomas. They will all be looking for housing, most subsidized housing, one a place to rent with others. They have learned about the different kinds of housing and they also had lots of fun in the class. Some graduates already have subsidized housing but wanted to learn something about their rights as tenants. All have learned many things about their rights as tenants and about their landlord’s responsibilities. Everyone made a Housing Portfolio that they can show a prospective landlord when they are ready to move. This portfolio has references, information about their income, a budget, a mock apartment application, and identification. It may also contain information about reasonable accommodations they need, members of their family, classes they have taken and service and companion animals they plan to have living with them. The next class will start in January and will go for 7 weeks. If you would like to sign up, call Lina and leave your name and phone number or email lina@ilr.org. She will then call you for an appointment. After four years of holding "A Roll in the Park" along the Eastbank Esplanade near OMSI, Independent Living Resources rolled west this year to Washington County and The Tualatin Hills Nature Park in Beaverton on Friday, September 10th. The new location was a hit with people and drew some participants from Washington County who had not previously attended "A Roll in the Park." The event featured a carnival format which began with lunch from Subway and a program honoring volunteers and celebrating the previous year at ILR. An outdoor plaza backing to the nature park accommodated about 80 participants with an nearby vaulted great room and kitchen supporting the event. ILR consumers, volunteers and staff enjoyed a "roll" and "walk" through the nature park following lunch. This was followed by an afternoon of face painting, chair massages, chair yoga and interpretive nature walks through the park by a park guide. Professional photographer Carla Christian once again offered her services for the event and we are enjoying her new photos from the event. Look for some of them to be on display around the office soon. ILR announced at the event this year's Scott A. Lay Disability Advocacy Award recipient for 2010. Ruth A. McEwen, a long-time Salem advocate received the award in a Keizer ceremony held in late October. (see story page one) The setting was peaceful and relaxed with birds singing in the background and Todd providing complementary keyboard melodies. The new location and format was well received by participants and many enjoyed the more relaxed afternoon in the park that this year's event provided for everyone. Looking to the future, event volunteers and staff are exploring the prospect of having a Summer Block-Party in ILR's new neighborhood for 2011. We'll keep everyone posted about what develops! By now most of the ILR community has learned of my guide dog Reuben’s recent illness and his passing due to cancer this last July. I want to take a few moments to thank all of you for your kind words, cards and stories of how he touched your lives. It meant a lot to me that so many were touched by his spirit. My time for mourning has past and I am beginning my adventure with my new guide dog, Neesha. I know all of you share in my enthusiasm and will want to get to know her as you did Reuben. I need to ask all of you to remember that she is a young dog coming into a new and busy environment. Please give us time to adjust and develop as a team. It will be very helpful if you can avoid talking to her or making eye contact with her at first. As our bond develops and her confidence grows, I will be glad to introduce her to you but this will need to be done over time. Thank you all for loving my boy Reuben and understanding my new dog and I will need time to form that same tight bond. With this in mind, I thought some of you might enjoy reading some of what Guide Dogs for the Blind has to say about meeting a guide dog team: "As tempting as it may be to pet a Guide Dog, remember that this dog is responsible for leading someone who cannot see. The dog should never be distracted from that duty. A person's safety may depend on their dog's alertness and concentration. It is okay to ask someone if you may pet their guide. Many people enjoy introducing their dogs when they have the time. The dog's primary responsibility is to its blind partner and it is important that the dog not become solicitous. A Guide Dog should never be offered food or other distracting treats. The dogs are fed on a schedule and follow a specific diet in order to keep them in optimum condition. Although Guide Dogs cannot read traffic signals, they are responsible for helping their handlers safely cross a street. Calling out to a Guide Dog or intentionally obstructing its path can be dangerous for the team as it could break the dog's concentration on its work. It's not all work and no play for a Guide Dog. When they are not in harness, they are treated in much the same way as pets. However, for their safety they are only allowed to play with specific toys. Please don't offer them toys without first asking their handler's permission. In some situations, working with a Guide Dog may not be appropriate. Instead, the handler may prefer to take your arm just above the elbow and allow their dog to heel. Others will prefer to have their dog follow you. In this case, be sure to talk to the handler and not the dog when giving directions for turns. A Guide Dog can make mistakes and must be corrected in order to maintain its training. This correction usually involves a verbal admonishment coupled with a leash correction, followed by praise when the dog regains focus and correctly follows a command. Guide Dog handlers have been taught the appropriate correction methods to use with their dogs. Before asking a question of a person handling a dog, allow them to complete the task at hand. Remain calm in your approach and mannerisms and never tease a dog." One thing we often have to use in our online interactions is a password. For practically everything you want to do-banking, message boards, online shopping, social media-a password is required. Unfortunately, many people don’t take the time to work out what would be a good password for them and this can be problematic. There are people online who will use your information for unpleasant purposes and having a solid password can help deter them. Things can get complicated however, because to be as secure as possible you want to have different passwords for different sites. So how do you come up with some solid passwords? First, avoid things that are easily knowable. For example, your name, birthday or anniversary, your pet or child’s name or birthday. These are very poor choices because they usually contain knowledge that is a matter of public record or have information that is frequently shared with friends or coworkers. To avoid this, you want to select a sequence of characters that you can recall which is unrelated to your personal information. Second, stronger passwords have a combination of letters (A-Z), numbers (0-9), and symbols, such as # or *. While this may make choosing a password you can remember more difficult, imagine how hard it will then be for someone who doesn’t know you to guess it! For example, the password of “Options” becomes much more difficult when it is spruced up and “?oPtio4ns” is used instead. You can get as complicated as you like, of course, but even small changes can make it far more difficult for strangers to use your data. Third, experts suggest that passwords now be six characters or more. This can lead to some very long passwords which may be difficult to remember and in addtion, it is suggested that you create a new password for everything you do! That can be difficult to remember and use. There are two things you can do to help you in these situations. Some of you may decide to write your passwords down. This is not a horrible idea but if you do it, make sure you put the written passwords down somewhere safe! Do not keep the list around your computer because it will be too easy for possible mischief makers to find. Also, make sure that the email address associated with you on sites you use is up to date. Often, if you cannot remember your password, it will be emailed to you. This is very convenient and helpful but potentially troublesome if the information is sent to an email address you no longer use! Finally, you can do things like associate passwords with a phrase you use frequently: for example, “A broken clock is right twice a day” could become the password ‘abcirtad’, using the first letter of every word in that phrase or ‘anksteay’ using the last letter. Add in a number or a symbol-or better yet both-and you have a password that is extremely secure but that you will have a memory trigger to help you remember! Having a secure password is an extremely important tool in safeguarding your interactions online, so use these tips to help protect yourself and your information. Those of you who call or come into the ILR offices regularly are very familiar with the wonderful reception staff we have enjoyed over the past year. We have had Carolyn, Helen, Lynn and Roseanna from the Seniors Make Sense program, partnering in job skill training and development. The ILR program has ended for these four and they are exploring their next steps toward employment. Barbara has joined the ILR staff (see below.) A special send-off was held on October 29th to say a special thank you and wish them the best in their future endeavors! We have brought three new staff people into the ILR fold and it is time to introduce them to all of our readers. Maliea Yakymi is our newest Work Incentive Coordinator. Maliea is currently in her final quarter of study at Portland State University and will have her master's and be a Certified Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor by 2011. Maliea previously worked in the Long Term Disability department for two years at The Standard Insurance Company. She is a native Oregonian and grew up in Northeast Portland and enjoys many outdoor activities like hiking and backpacking. She also enjoys singing and is a member of the Grant High School Royal Blues alumni choir. We welcome Sondra Dutra as our new office manager and executive assistant. Sondra comes to us with 20+ years of administrative experience as office manager at The Bike Gallery and she is happy to be settling in to life here at ILR. Learning how things work in a new place and getting to know the staff has been most enjoyable. Sondra is a native Oregonian and loves being a wife, mom and grandma. She enjoys local theater, concerts and car club activities with her husband John. Barbara came to work at ILR through the Seniors Make Sense training program in July 2008 and is the newest member of the ILR staff as of November 1. She is a Portland native but has lived in Colorado, West Berlin, Germany and Oklahoma. Barbara graduated from PCC in 1977 with an Associate Degree in Accounting and worked in the downtown Meier & Frank store for 19 years in the traffic and purchasing departments. Her duties will be in program/office support and reception. Join us for a Healthy Lifestyles Workshop for People with Disabilities! The Healthy Lifestyles Workshop is a three day workshop packed full of fun and support. The best part of the experience is that it is absolutely free! This workshop will help you explore what wellness means to you, set your own wellness goals, learn from your peers and make new friends. There will be opportunities to experience yoga, non-impact aerobic exercise (NIA), and massage. Enjoy a support group once a month for 6 months after the workshop. Healthy Lifestyles will be held at Independent Living Resources’ beautiful and spacious new location at: 1839 NE Couch Street, Portland, Oregon 97232. The next workshop will be held in March 2011. Sign up today! Register with Sarah Gerth by calling 503-232-7411 ext. 325 or via email at sarah@ilr.org. TBI Group ILR hosts a support group for individuals with traumatic brain injury, called Crossroads. We meet the second and fourth Friday of the month from 1pm to 3pm. The first hour addresses various topics of interest to the group, followed by discussion and sharing of each person’s story and progress in recovery. For more information and to join the group, please contact Sarah Gerth at 503-232-7411 ext. 325 or sarah@ilr.org. Upcoming topics and speakers include: Feb. 11-Joyce Kerley from Emanuel Hospital: Handling Stress and Anger Feb. 28-Progressive Rehabilitation Association: Cognitive Rehabilitation and Memory Strategies Access Recreation Trails Event Access Recreation is developing universal guidelines to make outdoor trail information more accessible and we need your input! Join us for a nature walk and roll at Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge on June 10th from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Light snacks will be provided. Contact Georjena Moran at (503) 887-7453 or accessrecreation@yahoo.com for more information and to let us know if you’ll be joining us! ILR’s Spring Recreation Events By Patricia Kepler, IL Specialist & ILR’s Recreation Maven! Please RSVP to Patricia 1 week in advance for all events. Announcing the ILR Shoppers Club The ILR Shoppers Club will meet at 9:30 a.m., the fourth Monday of every month. Join us as we traverse malls, department stores and specialty shops. For more information contact Patricia or Cathy. Tuesday January 18—Movie Day Join the ILR recreation group for an afternoon at the movies. Exact time and showing to be determined. Friday February 4—Young Adult Social A special night for men and women from 18-30. Join us for music, refreshments and great friendship. Please RSVP to Patricia. Thursday February 10— Rose Garden Arena Tour We will leave ILR at 11 AM, returning by 2:30. Space is limited so RSVP. Monday February 21—Oregon Symphony The Oregon Symphony has graciously provided ILR with a block of tickets for their Monday, February 21st performance. ILR is closed in honor of Presidents day, so participants will be met at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. Please RSVP to Patricia if you would like to attend. The brilliant violinist Jennifer Koh returns to present two dazzling solos - the famous Barber concerto you probably already know and love, plus a small gem by Bartok you're going to love to discover. Monday March 21—Spring Party It is the first day of spring and what better way to start the season than with a party? Come join the staff and friends of ILR for a fabulous celebration of spring. Please RSVP to insure enough food is available. April 11-15 2011-Hearing Voices Story Tellers Festival Exact Date and Time to be announced. Join us as we return to the story tellers festival. The schedule for this year’s events is not yet available. Stay tuned for more information. Friday May 20—ILR Movie Night Join us for an evening of movies on the ILR big screen. Bring $5 for pizza. Evening begins at 5 PM. Please schedule return Lift rides for 8:30. Do you have ideas for the recreation group? Please contact Patricia to let her know. Call her at (503) 232-7411 extension 312 or email patricia@ilr.org. Return Service Requested Page 16 NW Independent Living Matters Winter 2010 Page 15 Page 18 NW Independent Living Matters Summer 2001 Page 19