| MAPPSG Organized JULY 1995 |
POST-POLIO SUPPORT on the Alabama-Florida-Mississippi Gulf Coast |
PPPSG Organized MARCH 2000 |
KEEPING MAYBERRY IN OUR FUTURELarry Ready reports Think about Mayberry, North Carolina! You might remember that after school Opie would drop in on his father at the Court House, and Andy could walk home for lunch. Each citizen knew all of their neighbors, Floyd, Otis, Gomer or Goober; and they spoke to each other on a daily basis. Of course Mayberry was mythical and a long time ago, however it is emblematic of one of the newest and hottest ideas in architecture and city planning. Those concepts are the basis of what has been called ?New Urbanism? and it was a centerpiece on a conference on civil rights held recently in Mobile. The International Association of Official Human Rights Agencies, a non-profit organization based in Washington, DC held their 2010 conference at the Battle House Hotel. The title of the program was ?The Human Rights Agenda- 2010 and Beyond?. I had the opportunity to attend one of the three days as a representative of MAPPSG. The advance program indicated that the conference would address all forms of discrimination and promote equal treatment of all people regardless of race, disability, sexual preference, religion or ethnic background. The day I attended was very heavy on talks by representatives of the NAACP and other traditional civil rights organizations. There was an ongoing workshop over the three days of the conference focused on fair lending in Housing, this seemed to be the primary goal along with making decisions on best practices in the political process. Resolutions were passed regarding:
After looking in on several of the workshops to locate discussion on the rights of people with disabilities, I was surprised to find that the most interesting and relevant portion was a luncheon speech by Stephen Glassman, the first openly gay person appointed to state wide office in Pennsylvania, and Jonathan Bernstein, formerly of the Anti-defamation league. The subject, to get back to Mayberry, was the new urbanism and it?s affect on people with disabilities. The New Urbanism web site lists as the primary advantage of this design: Walkability
My question was ?how does a person in a wheelchair access a 30 inch high porch?. I did not get an answer before the allotted time was up. A ramp would need to be 30 feet long for a manual wheelchair and that might cramp a 10 foot deep front yard. Perhaps ObamaCare will provide us all with porch lifts? These were committed and dedicated people who believe in the work they do. I came away with the opinion that the rights of people with disabilities will need to be promoted by those of us without other agendas. Our best advocates are likely to be?US! |
| MOBILE AREA POST-POLIO SUPPORT GROUP meets the 4th Saturday each month except November & December at 1 pm West Regional Branch Mobile Public Library |
PENSACOLA POST-POLIO SUPPORT GROUP meets the 3rd Saturday every month at 10 am Baptist Towers Lobby 1717 North E and Avery Streets, Pensacola, Florida |
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Notes from the MAPPSG Meetings October 2010 Meeting Our speaker for October was Dr. Diana Sturm of The Delta Institute. The institute offers Emotional Freedom Technique and mind body treatments. These energy techniques are The Delta Institute's Healing Ministry. She provided interesting and useful handouts.
Attendance: Patsy Adams, Sylvia Bern, Laurence Byrd, George Fassig, JoAnn Fassig, Julie Ford, Rus Ford, Charles Gollott, Clara Norsworthy, George Norsworthy, Ed Weller. March 2011 Meeting Our discussions today centered around a publication included in the March 6 Sunday paper- --Senior Resources. Info is good for 12 months. Articles described various programs and the benefits they offer seniors. Although many of these services require certain criteria or qualifications in order to receive them, others are available to anyone. Wellness programs are sometimes covered by insurance. Two places in Mobile offer a low cost lunch:
Chara Brown visited. She is moving to a new location but can still be reached at 471-1581 or 433-4900 -new no. Chara told us about the services she is over and how she can help us because we are a support group sponsored by Goodwill Easter Seals..If you need to borrow wheelchair, walker etc you may keep it as long as needed, no charge. More info later. Julie Ford shared Post-Polio Health newsletter. Good articles! Attendance: Patsy Adams, Sylvia Bern, Chara Brown, Victoria Brown, Carmen Durtch, Julie Ford, Rus Ford, Carol Weller, Ed Weller. |
Notes from the PPPSG Meetings October 2010 Meeting Our October meeting was small but fun. Tina and Mary brought sausage balls which we all loved. They come from Crestview and we are surely glad they do. Mary told us of her trip on the train to go on a cruise to Alaska. She met a doctor from India who knew a good deal about post-polio. He spoke to Mary's husband who was amazed at the information and even diagnosed a lady on the train with post-polio. We are everywhere. It is great when we get to travel. I think of the effort it takes for us to handle travel. At home we can set up to deal with our everyday life, but when you start to think what you will need to take to travel, you begin to wonder if it is worth it. Getting away does help put life in prospective. Even our trips to camp can be rejuvenating. |
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