Brazos Valley Center for Independent Living

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Part 2 of the Governor’s Committee on People with Disabilities Annual Survey: Impact of the Aging Population

The Texas Governor’s Committee on People with Disabilities conducts an annual survey on an aspect of living in Texas with a disability.  This year the Committee is interested in examining the impact of the aging population across our ten issue areas, which are: access, communication, education, emergency management, health, housing, recreation, transportation, veterans and workforce.

 

Today, people are living longer and the U.S. population in general is increasingly older.  Beginning in 2005, Texas has experienced the largest annual population growth of any state.  Seniors, those over 65 years of age, are projected to more than triple in size from 2010 to 2050, approaching 7.9 million. The age category including those 45 to 64 years of age is projected to be the second fastest growing age group, growing 55% by 2050 to a population of over 9.3 million.  Much of the population growth in Texas is projected to come from the large urban counties of Harris, Dallas, Tarrant, Bexar, and Travis, but the fastest growth is projected to occur in the suburban rings surrounding these counties.  (data from Texas State Demographer reports)

 

About the Survey (s):

This year the survey will be divided into two parts.  Part 1 was made available for the month of July.  Part 2 is now available for the month of August.

If you haven’t taken Part 1 of the Aging Related Disabilities Survey, go to: http://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NS3VHY7  (July 1 to July 31)

 

Alternative formats are available in large print, Spanish or can be voiced out by phone with assistance of staff.  For any alternative format, email or callStephanie.Myers@gov.texas.gov or 512-463-5739.

 

Si a usted le gustaría aprovechar esta encuesta en español por favor envíe un correo electrónico a Stephanie Myers @ Stephanie.myers@gov.texas.gov

 

**Local Mayor’s Committee’s on People with Disabilities, Centers for Independent Living, and Area Agencies on Aging are encouraged to share the survey email and link with their local communities.

 

GCPD Annual Survey: Impact of the Aging Population

GCPD Annual Survey: Impact of the Aging Population
Governor’s Committee on People with Disabilities Annual Survey: Impact of the Aging Population

 

The Texas Governor’s Committee on People with Disabilities conducts an annual survey on an aspect of living in Texas with a disability.  This year the Committee is interested in examining the impact of the aging population across our ten issue areas, which are: access, communication, education, emergency management, health, housing, recreation, transportation, veterans and workforce.

 

Today, people are living longer and the U.S. population in general is increasingly older.  Beginning in 2005, Texas has experienced the largest annual population growth of any state.  Seniors, those over 65 years of age, are projected to more than triple in size from 2010 to 2050, approaching 7.9 million. The age category including those 45 to 64 years of age is projected to be the second fastest growing age group, growing 55% by 2050 to a population of over 9.3 million.  Much of the population growth in Texas is projected to come from the large urban counties of Harris, Dallas, Tarrant, Bexar, and Travis, but the fastest growth is projected to occur in the suburban rings surrounding these counties.  (data from Texas State Demographer reports)

 

About the Survey (s):

This year the survey will be divided into two parts.  Part 1 will be available during the month of July.  Part 2 will be available for the month of August.

 

 

Alternative formats are available in large print, Spanish or can be voiced out by phone with assistance of staff.  For any alternative format, email or call Stephanie.Myers@gov.texas.gov or 512-463-5739.

 

Si a usted le gustaría aprovechar esta encuesta en español por favor envíe un correo electrónico a Stephanie Myers @Stephanie.myers@gov.texas.gov

 

**Local Mayor’s Committee’s on People with Disabilities, Centers for Independent Living, and Area Agencies on Aging are encouraged to share the survey email and link with their local communities.

Local Beep Baseball Heads to World Series

From KAGS website:

A local baseball team is days away from playing in the World Series. The BCS Outlaws Beep baseball team held their final practice before heading to New York for the World Series…

Except for the pitcher and catcher, beep baseball players are blind and hitters only run to first or third depending on which one beeps once the ball is hit.

One player says playing for the Outlaws is about more than competing and going to New York for a World Series.

“It gives me an opportunity to be with my family and my kids and be out here with the people that I work with. You know my passion is working with the visually impaired, so I never thought that I would actually play. But I am and I enjoy it and we’re getting a lot of new young faces and new people coming out and that’s what we want”, Crystal Stark said.

 

See the webpost here.

A Celebration of the 25th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act

On July 23, 2015 from 10:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. (Eastern Time), the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the U.S. Access Board will present “A Celebration of the 25th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act” available as a live stream broadcast on ADA.gov.

Speakers will include Attorney General Loretta Lynch, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Vanita Gupta, EEOC Commissioner Chai Feldblum, Senator Bob Dole, Senator Tom Harkin, and Representative Steny Hoyer. 

NPR’s Joe Shapiro will moderate a panel of people with disabilities, who have seen their lives changed because of enforcement actions that the Justice Department and the EEOC have taken to ensure that the civil rights of people with disabilities are upheld.  In addition, Bob Williams will read “Doing Justice,” a poem he wrote for this event.

The live stream broadcast on ADA.gov will include captions and audio description.  To access the event on July 23rd, go to the link to the broadcast. 

A re-broadcast will be available starting on July 25th, also at ADA.gov. 

BVCIL’s Beep Baseball Team, BCS Outlaws — Headed to World Series

IN THE NEWS!

“Every strike brings me closer to the next home run.” 

― Babe Ruth

Like baseball – life is about hitting what is pitched to you and moving forward. Aaron Stevenson, a student in the Work and College Opportunities (WACO) program, is up to bat and he’s hitting homeruns!


Aaron came to Texas A&M University this summer for the five-week program in order to gain the skills, opportunities, and independence experience he would get as part of the WACO program for Texans who are blind or visually impaired. The program provides an opportunity for those in its program to experience what it is like to go to school and work part time as independent young adults. Each student has been assigned a job site, a job coach, and will regularly attend a class under the supervision of mentors.


Aaron was born with a genetic condition, Alport Syndrome, and in middle school had to have a kidney transplant from his Aunt Denise; this condition caused his vision and hearing losses. This didn’t slow Aaron down; he went on to play basketball in middle school and was a middle linebacker for his high school football team.


After joining the WACO Program, one of Aaron’s DBS counselors mentioned the BVCIL Beep Baseball team and Aaron decided he wanted to become a part of the BCS Outlaws.
On July 26 – August 2, Aaron and eleven other BCS Outlaws will be going to the 2015 National Beep Baseball Association World Series in Rochester, New York.
Beep baseball is a sport played mostly by people with visual impairments or blindness but can be played by people who do not have an impairment as all players, minus the home-base catcher and pitcher, must be blindfolded. A game is played for six innings and has three outs per inning. There is not a second base – first and third bases have speakers and are placed a hundred feet down their respective lines. Each base contains a noise unit that gives off a different buzzing sound when activated; the batter does not know which base will be turned on until the ball is hit. The ball itself has a loud, distinct beeping sound so that both the batter and field catchers are able to find it. After the batter makes contact with the ball, the base operator activates one of the bases. The runner must identify the base that is buzzing and run in that direction before the ball is thrown to the base. If the runner safely gets to the base, a run is scored. A batter is allowed four strikes and only one pass ball. A ball must travel at least forty feet to be considered fair – less than forty feet and it is a foul ball.
Aaron stated that the most challenging thing is determining whether to run right or left (first or third) because of his hearing aids; he said it’s hard to tell which direction the buzzing sound is coming from. Aaron is quite athletic and can bat hard, giving him more time to determine where he needs to go and run “as fast as he can.”


Aaron’s goal is to continue his education with a Ph.D. in Kinesiology and he has the right “go for it all” attitude to do just that.
Aaron remarked that if he had not come to the WACO program at Texas A&M he would not have known about Beep Baseball and the other opportunities available at Texas A&M University.
BVCIL has sponsored the BCS Outlaws since 2014. BCS Beep Baseball is expected to become their own private nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization in a couple of years. If you are interested and would like to learn more or to become a part of the BCS Outlaws team, contact Josh Contreras at 979-776-5505 ext. 103 or at josh@bvcil.org.
WACO is a partnership between the Center on Disability and Development (CDD) at Texas A&M University, the Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services (DARS) Division for Blind Service (DBS), and the Brazos Valley Center for Independent Living (BVCIL).


Each partner assists with various aspects for the program: The CDD provides the dorms as well as trains the mentors who help with the program; BVCIL interviews and places students in jobs for which they will provide job coaching along with transportation to and from their work places in their Connector and Transporter, an accessible van and bus newly implemented as part of their transportation program; DBS counselors provide training and classes to help students to be successful and reach their goals as independent adults. For more information, you may contact the CDD at 979-845-4612 or BVCIL at 979-776-5505.