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Dearborn Commission on
Disability Concerns
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2005-2006 Annual Report Dearborn Commission on Disability Concerns August 1, 2005 - July 31, 2006 COMMISSIONER ROSTER and TERM OF OFFICE M. Catherine McAdam, Chair 6-1-2000 to 6-30-2009 Dr. Cheryl Kreger, Vice Chair (3-15-2005 – present), Public Awareness and Education Committee Chair 6-1-2001 to 6-30-2007 Dale Swanson, Communication and Awards Committee Chair 6-1-2002 to 6-30-2008 Nancy Bower, Education Committee 4-1-2003 to 6-30-2009 Gary B. Filiak, Access and Visitability Committees 6-1-2001 to 6-30-2008 Mary Hodak, Education Committee 6-1-2001 to 6-30-2007 Mona Ramouni, Communication and Awards Committee 4-1-2003 to 6-30-2007 Sonya Tishler, Access Committee Chair 5-1-2003 to 6-30-2009 John B. McFarlin, Access Committee 6-1-2005 to 5-31-2007 Cyndi Parrelly, Communication and Awards Committee 6-1-2005 to 5-31-2008 William Tennant, Education Committee 6-1-2005 to 5-31-2007 Christian L. Mageli, Commissioner Emeritus CITY STAFF Susan Fitzmaurice, ADA Coordinator and Liaison to the Commission Kurt A. Giberson, Director, Dearborn, DPW Nancy Neubacher, Administrative Assistant, DPW EVENTS Conferences Attended: Commissioner Filiak attended the national institute on Inclusive recreation conference to support or ongoing work with park accessibility. The commission sponsored our ADA coordinator’s attendance at “ADAAG Reborn” sponsored by Great Lakes ADA. These updates are essential for maintaining our high standard of compliance. Chair McAdam presented “Innovative Program Reveals Significant Impact of Culture on Employment Issues” examining disability culture for the National Association for Multicultural Rehabilitation Concerns Arabic Festival 2005: Commissioner Ramouni organized a booth for the first time at the Arabic festival. This resulted from a focus group she organized to find ways to reach out to this community. Information was translated into Arabic, community volunteers assisted with translation at the booth and new alliances were developed. Homecoming 2005: The Commission participated in Homecoming 2005 and again assisted in addressing access and ADA concerns. Updated resource information and brochures were available. Commissioner Gary Filiak continued his participation in citywide Homecoming planning meetings and commissioner Tishler organized our booth. Pathway to Possibilities 2005: The Commission’s third Pathway to Possibilities, Dearborn’s Disability Awareness Day was held on October 20, 2005. We offered a vendor fair of products and services across disabilities. John Kemp a national disability rights advocate and author of “A Different Journey” gave our keynote address. He dynamically engaged his audience with his personal story, and reinvigorated our commitment to continue our efforts. Ford Parenting Network and Ford Employees Dealing with disAbilities sponsored Kelly Orginski, a parent advocate who spoke on Individual Education (IEP) planning and ways to navigate the system. The education committee sponsored a workshop on emergency preparedness. The event was attended by approximately 700 people. Thanks again to commissioner Swanson and the hard work of his committee for making this event possible. Awards 2005: At our reception, once again, featuring home made treats prepared by commissioner Ramouni’s family; awards were presented to business and individuals for their commitment to people with disabilities in Dearborn. We recognized the dedication and energetic work of past commissioners Damian, Hetrick and Thomas. The Most Innovative Local Government Project award was given to Godfrey Udoji, Mohmedyunus Patel, City of Dearborn, and Department of Public Works in recognition of the commitment to making the Michigan Avenue project fully accessible. Mr. Udoji and Mr. Patel have been instrumental in demanding that MDOT address safety issues and ADA compliance as it applies directly to people with disabilities and the Michigan Avenue Project. They have insisted that not only the ADA be adhered to, but that the safety of citizens with disabilities be paramount when even the ADA overlooked needed construction specifications. These men have demonstrated that they have the interests and safety of residents with disabilities uppermost in their minds when it is most important. The Employer of the Year was awarded to Buddy’s Pizza, and its manager David LaDuke. Buddy’s has gone above and beyond in supporting employees with disabilities. They have been flexible in scheduling due to personal needs and transportation availability and are dedicated in improving the lives of others. They have worked well with staff persons with disabilities and provided a good working environment. They have provided their own orientation and training which is a better model than job coaching because it helps ensure integration for the individual with a disability and are quick to deal with any discrimination or derogatory actions by other employees. Buddy’s has been involved in a variety of philanthropic activities and is a strong advocate for customers to get involved in activities that builds up the community. Most Innovative Local Business Project was awarded to the General Federation of Women’s Clubs represented by Beverly Jones for their volunteerism on our behalf and others. The Club has volunteered with the Dearborn Commission on Disability Concerns as greeters, registrars, envelope stuffers, food servers at various venues including Project Healthy Living, Dearborn Senior Conference, Dearborn Senior Fair, Dearborn Commission on Disability Concerns Town Hall Meetings, and Dearborn Disability Awareness Days. The Advocate of the Year award was given to Susan Fitzmaurice for her exemplary work as an advocate for people with disabilities. Susan’s involvement with regard to the Emergency Preparedness Program, together with many other projects, speaks well for her involvement with the community. The recognition by the federal government of her website regarding Katrina Disaster Relief for people with disabilities confirms her effectiveness and her commitment as an advocate for the disabled community. The Educator of the Year award was given to Dr. Kathleen Gabe. She has been working with and for disabled students for 41 years. Dr. Gabe's efforts have spanned the classroom, district, region and state and have impacted students everywhere in Michigan. Dr. Gabe is the type of person who has quietly served over and above what her job required for almost half a century and has done it graciously and quietly, seeking no recognition. Without her vigilance and dedication, disabled students in Dearborn would not have had many of the opportunities that have been afforded them. Town Hall Meeting 2005: Our Town hall meeting was sponsored by the Public Awareness and Education Committee and was held as part of our disability awareness day. It did not generate information regarding local issues as most present were not from Dearborn, but it did give us another opportunity to speak to the importance of such commissions for other cities, and update current projects. Thanks to commissioners Kreger and Bower, Hodak and Tennant for their ongoing efforts. TRANSITION FUNDS and ADA COMPLIANCE Michigan Ave Project: The chair and ADA coordinator had several meeting and email exchanges relative to the Michigan Avenue project to continue to challenge MDOT to meet compliance and provide a safe path of travel for all Dearborn residence. We were instrumental in the city’s ability to move MDOT to a resolution for revisions to be done the summer of 2006. When completed appropriately this will allow for replacement of all essential bus stops. West Village Project: The Chair and ADA coordinator met with Cynthia Grimwade and Chuck Dimagio about this development to assess ADA compliance. From our ADA report in November… The planned townhouses meet ADA guidelines. Only the one-level ground floor units in townhouses must meet ADA requirements …saw the floor plan blue prints and they clearly do. At this meeting it was clear that it was understood that all of those units would have to be ADA compliant as they were all reachable via an elevator. We asked that advertisements clearly indicate the accessibility of these units to market directly to people with disabilities. The commission reviewed the proposed crosswalk across the train tracks from the residential units to the parking structures. The slope in that area is very high. There is no way to make the sidewalk ADA compliant without it being very very long and zigzagging.” If allowed to move forward by the railroad we agreed a variance should be considered. Closed Captioning: CD TV is now close captioning all taped programming. We addressed captioning concerns with the 19th district court after learning their instruction programming was not captioned and it is to be updated. Alternative format: Specific policies were adopted and are now in place. We are still awaiting the delivery of the Braille embosser. Training room: Although this room itself can be made ADA compliant, the commission decided it could not be used for our commission meetings, as there is no accessible transportation by bus to this area. UPDATES AND NEW PROJECTS Communication: Claudia Damian, even after leaving the commission, continues to monitor our 911 calls and we maintain a high compliance. Following a survey by commissioner McFarlin We recognized difficulty in reception of TTY calls and asked the ADA coordinator to do a review with staff. Emergency Preparedness: We met with Lt. Brad Smith who has been charged with emergency preparedness and has initiated a citizen’s emergency response team. Following the Katrina tragedy we took the opportunity to strongly encourage moving forward with this process. Voting: Our active involvement with Michigan Protective and Advocacy setting up consumer evaluation of voting machines did influence the decision of equipment purchased by the state to allow for independent voting by people with disabilities. Commissioner Tishler and the access committee led an active evaluation of voting sites, compiling data later used to secure HAVA funds that was used by the City Clerks office to monitor compliance. We were invited back to assist with poll training and prepared certificates for poll workers who met indoor compliance during the 2005 elections. Thanks to commissioner Tishler and the access committee and our ADA coordinator for their many hours on this project. EDUCATION EVENTS AND TRAINING Chair McAdam was present at the Abilities Expo 2005 and commissioner Hodak and Filiak represented the commission at the Healthy Living Expo and many other senior events maintaining our public presence. Commissioner Hodak continues to be the organizing force arranging volunteer assistance to support our presence at these events. COMMISSIONER RESIGNATIONS Cindy Parelli found after a year's service that she needed to resign to meet the demands of her job. We particularly appreciated her work on the communication committee. ADA COORDINATOR As the liaison to the commission the ADA coordinator continued to support our efforts and specifically was instrumental in completing block grant applications approved for park improvement, audible pedestrian signals, and braille translation equipment. She received the advocate of the year award from the world Institute on Disability and our recognition for her advocacy work following the Katrina disaster. The above detailed work was done in partnership with her employment with the city. This partnership lead to our recognition by Michigan Commission on Disability Concerns in receiving an award for being “an inclusive community.” The ADA coordinator was consulted about parking structure issues, use of parking meters and addressed concerns relevant to the dialysis center and Dearborn citizens. OUTREACH and COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT We continue through our public meeting, ADA coordinator contacts, and events, to reach out to our community. The ADA coordinator and commission chair assisted in addressing service animal concerns, recreation programming, courtroom access, and signage. We were very grateful to new members on our committees and thank Patti Gilbert, Marsha Leutjen, Ndieh Aun, Nina Bryn, Adrenne Wojoniak, Sandy Koppinger, Sobhi Berri for their active participation. Legislation: The Mayor supported the commissions efforts around a visitability bill that passed new section 8 housing requirements, and an upcoming mental health parity bill. He also supported our public efforts to support the passage of the SMART millage. Clearly many state issues impact our local community and we will continue to bring issues to the city for public support when warranted. Thanks to commissioner Tennant for keeping us current with active legislation. SUMMARY In 2006-2007, we will continue to address voting and parking concerns, offer in-services and training, and once again organize a disability awareness event day. Good leadership as recognized in the inclusive community award from the Michigan Commission on Disability Concerns is only possible with constant monitoring and persistence. SPECIAL THANKS There are so many people who help the Dearborn Commission on Disability Concerns do the work we do. We are most grateful to Mayor Guido for recognizing and supporting the hard work of this commission and we look forward to another year of hard work with him as our ally. Kurt Giberson, the Director of the Department of Public Works and his Administrative Assistant Nancy Neubacher support the day to day tasks so important to what we accomplish. The Recreation Department provides essential help to make our Dearborn's Disability Awareness Days activities successful. We sincerely thank our numerous steadfast volunteers who work on committees, who man the table at homecoming, and are at the registration desk during Disability Awareness Day

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