Brazos Valley Center for Independent Living

Connecting people to the power of independence

disability

BVCIL Staff Attend Statewide Independent Living Conference

Eight BVCIL staff members attended the Texas Statewide Independent Living Conference in Austin, March 3-5. The conference theme was “Take a Seat to Make a Stand.” We collaborated with folks from other Centers for Independent Living, many representatives from state organizations like DADS and DARS, and lots of individual Texans who have disabilities to bring back to our community information and ideas on advocacy, employment, Medicaid, and many other important issues.

The Crowne Plaza Hotel in Austin, noted for its accessibility, served as the site for this year’s conference. Attendees also had opportunities to interact with several well-known service providers such as the Texas Talking Book Program at their exhibit booths.

cp8Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell issued a special proclamation officially recognizing the dates of the conference as Independent Living Days in Austin.

Although not an actual part of the conference itself, the event culminated in a march of over 2500 Texans with disabilities and friends down Congress Avenue for a rally at the Capitol to stress the importance of state Medicaid benefits.

Teal Sherer: Actor, Producer, Advocate

teal

Teal Sherer is a successful actor and producer in Hollywood with several acclaimed roles on her resume and her own series on YouTube. She also uses a wheelchair. Teal was a featured speaker at the recent Texas Statewide Independent Living Conference, “Take a Seat to Make a Stand,” held March 3-5, 2013 in Austin, Texas. The Texas State Independent Living Council (SILC) hosts this conference each year.

mgl

Teal’s online series, My Gimpy Life (http://MyGimpyLife.com) takes a fun, edgy, and candid look at life as an actor with a disability. Not a documentary, Teal’s production advocates by example, portraying independent living while tackling in situational scenarios issues of accessibility, inclusion, and equal treatment of people with disabilities.

Take a look at Episode 1, “Accessible,” below. Be sure to notice all the independent living that goes on as a foundation to the advocacy about accessibility.

My Gimpy Life, Episode 1, “Accessible”

Great Fun Opportunity to Help Promote Accessible Parking in Texas and Win a Prize!

Parking Mobility is having a fun contest to help promote the importance of accessible parking in Texas for people who have disabilities. Accessible parking helps people who have disabilities maintain their independence by making it easier and safer for them to get in and out of places of employment, do their own shopping, and run their own errands.

Between now and March 11, Parking Mobility is collecting photos of vehicles parked improperly in accessible parking spaces. You can email photos to Mack Marsh at mack@parkingmobility.com.

The three people who send Mack the most photos will each get a $100 gift card to Apple. Also, if you send Mack the names and email addresses of everyone you tell about this contest, every time they send a photo, you also get one point toward winning your own card. Easy!

This contest is not meant to get our neighbors in trouble. Cars in the photos sent will not be given tickets.The point is to help remind everyone why we should respect accessible parking for people who really need to use it.

Here is an example of a photo someone sent Mack:

2/26/13, 4:00 p.m., outside an Olive Garden restaurant.

parking

Have Fun!

National Disability Employment Awareness Month Poster Competition

The Texas Governor’s Committee on People with Disabilities is reaching out to Texas artists who have disabilities to contribute their artwork in a competition to create this year’s National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) poster. The deadline for submissions is Friday, March 15, 2013. For more information, contest guidelines, and submission forms, please visit the NDEAM initiative website at:

http://governor.state.tx.us/disabilities/ndeam/ndeam_poster/

National Disability Employment Awareness Month occurs each October to highlight the importance of diversity in building a strong and creative work force.