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DECEMBER 2009
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to view previous months of the Signs of Independence Newsletter
Mention of any product, service, or event in this newsletter does
not
constitute any endorsement or recommendation by OSCIL.
OSCIL would like to thank Phoenix Property Management, Inc. for sponsoring this edition of Signs of Independence.
If you wish to advertise in the OSCIL newsletter, please contact Susan Eleoff at 738-1013 ext. 13.
New OSCIL E-Mail: Please note our new e-mail address: info@oscil.org.
OSCIL’s FYI Email List: If you wish to add your email address to OSCIL’s FYI email list for timely information on upcoming events and programs, please send your email to email.list@oscil.org . Please include your first and last name and email address. This list will be sent as an undisclosed recipient list to protect consumer confidentiality.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Trinity Rep Accessibility
Holiday Closing Schedule
Safety for Seniors
Leaving the Nursing Home
Gift Cards Wanted
Deaf Services at OSCIL
INSIGHT Program Highlights
Senior Dining Programs
Prescription Assistance
Spinal Cord Injury Guide
RIPTA Bus Pass
FYI
Looking Ahead
The PACE Organization of Rhode Island
SEASONS GREETINGS FROM THE OSCIL STAFF
Trinity Repertory Company has partnered with the Theatre Development Fund to offer seven open captioned performances during the 2009-2010 season. This state-of-the-art technology allows Trinity Rep to provide theater access to a wider community by making performances accessible to patrons with hearing loss.
Open captioning is available for one performance of every show during the current main-stage season. Spoken dialogue scrolls across an LED screen at the front of the theater as the action occurs on stage. Open captioning seats are available for $20. The next open captioned performances are Twelfth Night on February 28, Dead Man’s Cell Phone on March 21, The Odd Couple on May 9, and The Syringa Tree on May 30. All these performances are on Sundays at 2:00 p.m.
It is important that you inform the ticket sales representative in advance that you or members of your party will be using the open captioning service to ensure optimal seating for viewing the screen and stage.
In addition, Trinity Rep is accessible for persons using wheelchairs and other mobility aids. Ample doorways, handrails in theater aisles, elevator service to the stage level of the Chace Theater, and accessible restrooms make it possible to enjoy a performance at the theater. Trinity Rep has courtesy wheelchairs for patron use. Inquire with the house manger. Removable seating in both the Chace and Dowling Theaters allows patrons to be seated with their companions while sitting in a wheelchair. Aisle seats are available as well for those who wish to transfer to a theater seat.
If companion seating is required, the sales representative should be informed at the time of ticket purchase.
For patrons with visual impairments, complimentary reading glasses are available from the house manager. Service animals are welcome in the theaters; however, to ensure that your seating location provides ample space for your service animal, please inform the ticket sales rep in advance.
Assistive listening devices, which allow users to increase the volume of the performance to a comfortable level, are available free of charge and can be requested at the box office or reception desk. The Chace Theater features a new infra-red system; the Dowling offers an FM system. Both use hand-held receivers and are available with headphones or neck loops for patrons using a hearing aid with a T Switch.
For more information, call the box office at 351-4242 or visit www.trinityrep.com .
The OSCIL office will close at noon on December 24th and will reopen on Monday, January 4, 2010.
OSCIL’s Home Sweet Accessible Home initiative, funded through a Tufts Health Plan Foundation grant, focuses on helping seniors prevent falls and injuries in their homes. Seniors age 60 and older with limited incomes may be eligible for this program. Below are some examples of adaptive equipment and minor home modifications that can increase safety and independence in the home:
Grab or support bars
Interior and exterior rails
Bed rails
Tub transfer benches
Raised toilet seats or safety frames
Hand-help showers
Rollators (walker with seat and brakes)
Widening doorway openings
Tubcuts
Commodes
Threshold wedges
Reachers
Through home visits and careful assessment of individual needs, OSCIL staff will identify and provide equipment and modifications to make your home safer and more accessible. Funding is limited. Please call OSCIL to learn more at 738-1013 ext. 13.
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Do you have a relative or friend in a nursing home who no longer requires a nursing home level of care and who is motivated to get back into the community?
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Do you know someone in a nursing facility who is capable of living a more independent life but who needs help such as equipment or support services to reach this goal?
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Do you know someone who is “stuck” in a long-term care facility because of the lack of affordable and/or accessible housing?
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Do you know about OSCIL’s Community Living Option? Please call OSCIL at 738-1013 ext. 13 to learn more about this program.
OSCIL’s Community Living and Housing programs assist individuals transitioning from nursing facilities and relatives’ homes into their own apartments. Often consumers are on fixed incomes and do not have resources to set up a household. If you wish to support this program, OSCIL would greatly appreciate gift cards to area grocery or discount stores. Please contact Lezlee Shaffer at 738-1013 ext. 28.
OSCIL offers a full range of services to consumers who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing. Independent Living Specialist Bonnie Abols provides peer support, advocacy and independent living skills training to the consumers with whom she works. Teaching how to self advocate is an essential part of our Deaf Services program.
Skills training is tailored to meet individual needs and may include budgeting and banking, using public transportation, household organization, very basic computer training, communicating and training in the use of adaptive equipment such as TTY’s, video relay phones, and alerting devices. Bonnie collaborates with OSCIL’s Housing Advocate to assist consumers who are looking for affordable housing.
OSCIL’s Deaf Services citizenship training works with persons whose primary communication mode is American Sign Language. The use of picture communication is a teaching aid in this program as well as in OSCIL’s driver education program, which helps consumers to prepare for the written test.
Another area of service to the Deaf community is parent training. Bonnie works one-on-one with parents to teach basic parenting skills. Her understanding of Deaf culture proves invaluable in this area.
In addition to the above services, OSCIL has an adaptive smoke detector program that allows for the purchase and installation of special adaptive smoke detectors for persons who are Deaf or who cannot hear a standard smoke detector when hearing aids are removed. OSCIL staff and volunteers ensure that the Shake-Awake vibrating smoke detectors are properly installed. Persons who do not meet eligibility criteria are given information on where to purchase these detectors.
Through OSCIL’s home modification and equipment program, some consumers are eligible for low cost hearing aids and adaptive equipment, such as alerting devices, which enable consumers to function more independently. Funding is limited and consumers must meet income eligibility criteria.
OSCIL’s Executive Director Lorna Ricci conducts sensitivity trainings to nonprofits, businesses, hospitals, and interested groups on Deaf and disability awareness. In addition, Bonnie Abols is available to train housing managers and resident services coordinators in the use and availability of communication devices for persons who are Deaf.
To learn more about OSCIL’s Deaf Services, call the OSCIL office at 738-1013 ext. 13. If you wish to meet with Bonnie Abols, please call to schedule an appointment in advance. You may contact Bonnie directly in one of the following ways:
Email: bonnie.abols@oscil.org
TTY: 738-1015
Videophone: 1-866-765-7020
Fax: 738-1083
INSIGHT offers a variety of programs and services for people who are blind and visually impaired to build skills and confidence. Below are highlights of some of the opportunities offered at INSIGHT:
Support groups held throughout Rhode Island welcome new members. A staff facilitator focuses each meeting on a defined topic. There may be guest speakers.
A therapeutic group offers education and emotional support for those who are newly dealing with vision loss or experiencing a significant change in vision.
A book club, utilizing books on tape, offers interesting discussions.
Computer training is available in JAWS or ZoomText for individual or small group instruction.
Essential daily living skills training helps promote independence and self-confidence.
A low vision clinic matches consumers with appropriate optical aids.
Satellite programs in Westerly, Woonsocket, and Newport by the vision rehabilitation team offer seminars and activities to those with vision loss.
To learn more or for a schedule of programs, call INSIGHT at 941-3322 or email insightri@gmail.com . INSIGHT is located at 43 Jefferson Boulevard in Warwick.
Westbay Community Action’s Senior Dining Program is for anyone who is 60 years old and above who would like to enjoy lunch at Chelo’s next to the Warwick Mall Food Court. This is a voucher program. A choice of entrees is offered and each is served with side dishes and includes fresh fruit and a choice of soft drink, coffee, tea or milk. Dessert and tip are not included in the voucher.
Vouchers cost six dollars and can be redeemed for lunch Monday to Friday. You may obtain a voucher at Westbay’s administration office at 224 Buttonwoods Avenue in Warwick or call Carolyn McDonald at 732-4666 ext. 142. Additionally, you may purchase vouchers at the Pilgrim Senior Center at 27 Pilgrim Parkway in Warwick or call Peggy at 468-4076.
An evening dining program is presented by Westbay Food Service at the Pilgrim Senior Center each Tuesday at 5 p.m. For persons age 55 and older, the cost is a six dollar donation and for family and friends under 55, the cost is eight dollars. Reservations and payment are required one week in advance. Meals are served promptly at 5 p.m. To make your reservation, please use the same contact information described above for the lunch program.
Since the launch of the Partnership for Prescription Assistance in 2005, over three million Americans have found programs that can help them pay for prescriptions. More than 2,500 brand-name and generic medications are covered. If you do not have prescription coverage and cannot afford your medications, call 1-888-477-2669. A specialist will answer your questions and help you apply. Additional details are on the web site at www.pparx.org .
The Partnership for Prescription Assistance is a collaboration of America’s pharmaceutical companies working together with the health care community to help people in need. Montel Williams is the national spokesman.
Yes, You Can! A Guide to Self-Care for Persons with Spinal Cord Injury, Paralyzed Veterans of America’s most popular publication, is now available in an expanded and updated fourth edition.
Written for people who are newly injured with spinal cord injury (SCI), the guide can serve as a reference to help persons gain knowledge, confidence, and power to address important issues related to living with spinal cord injury. This edition is organized into four main topic areas: how SCI affects your body, maximizing your function, coping and living with SCI, and staying healthy after SCI. Lists of resources are included as well.
Yes! You Can is on the Paralyzed Veterans of America web site, www.pva.org under publications and can be downloaded at no charge. You may order this publication by calling (800) 555-9140. The cost is $6 for members and $20 for nonmembers, plus shipping and handling.
A new income verification process to qualify for a no fare RIPTA bus pass is now in effect. Seniors and adults with disabilities no longer have to travel to DEA offices in Cranston for income verification. Now this is being done at RIPTA’s Photo ID office located at One
Kennedy Plaza in downtown Providence. Income verifications will be done from
8 a.m. to noon and from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday.
RIPTA Photo ID office will accept the following documents for proof of income:
Medical Assistance card
RI Pharmaceutical card (Group 8018 only)
Social Security annual award letter
SSDI award letter
·Federal income tax return
For additional information, contact RIPTA at 784-9500 ext. 604.
Social Security Update: The disability income thresholds have increased slightly for 2010. Trial work period earnings have been raised to $720 a month. Substantial gainful activity for individuals who are not blind is $1,000 a month and remains at $1,640 a month for those who are blind.
Thrift Shop Relocates: The Donate Shop has relocated to 1932 Warwick Avenue in Warwick. Hours are Wednesday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Household items, clothing, and bedding are sold at very low prices (fifty cents to five dollars). Donations of items in clean, good condition are accepted as well. The telephone number is 738-6663.
New Store Opens: A new Goodwill Store has opened on Route 1, 115 Washington Street, in South Attleboro. Goodwill is a nonprofit organization offering job training programs and work opportunities for individuals with disabilities, while selling donated and new clothing and household items to persons looking for budget-saving shopping. The telephone number is 508-399-7601. Hours are Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 6 p.m.
Agency Name Change: Kent House has changed its name to Bridgemark Addiction Recovery Services. All the services remain the same – only the name has changed. Bridgemark assists clients coping with drug and alcohol addictions by offering both outpatient and residential programs. Additional services include anger management, problem gambling treatment, services for the Deaf, family therapy, and more. Visit www.bridgemark.org or call 781-2700.
Toy Guide: The annual ToysRUs Toy Guide has a wide variety of toy options for kids with physical and cognitive disabilities. The guide is in stores and on the web site at www.toysrus.com . Click on the Differently-Abled category at the bottom of the home page.
RIPIN Update: The Rhode Island Parent Information Network (RIPIN) has relocated to 1210 Pontiac Avenue in Cranston. The new telephone number is 270-0101. If you have a question about your child’s education, health care, or need access to other RI services, call the RIPIN Resource Center.
New Apartments: Bourne Mill in Tiverton is a new apartment community which includes affordable (project-based Section 8) and market rate apartments for residents of various income levels. Some units are handicap accessible. There is a waiting list for the affordable apartments. Visit www.bournemillri.com or call 625-9702 to request an application.
HOW YOU CAN SUPPORT OSCIL’S PROGRAMS AND SERVICES
TAX DEDUCTIBLE DONATIONS
With the end of 2009 just a few weeks away, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to OSCIL in preparation for filing your 2009 income tax return. Donations made before December 31, 2009, may be deducted on your 2009 return. These donations enable OSCIL to provide quality services to consumers throughout Rhode Island. For example, a one hundred dollar donation will pay for the cost and installation of a bathroom grab bar. Please remember that no gift is too small.HONORARIUMS AND MEMORIALS
Give a gift to OSCIL in honor of a friend or loved one to support OSCIL’s work in the community.BEQUESTS TO OSCIL
A bequest, stated in your will, conveys to OSCIL a specific dollar amount or percentage of your estate. For further discussion, please contact Lorna Ricci, OSCIL’s Executive Director.MEMBERSHIP
OSCIL’s membership year runs from May 1 through April 30. Membership fees are a great way to show support of our programs. To receive a membership application, please call Carol McKenna at 738-1013 ext. 10.
VSA ARTS OF RHODE ISLAND FUNDRAISER: MARDI GRAS BALL
Saturday, February 13
6:00 p.m. to midnight
Rhodes on the PawtuxetThe 18th Annual Cajun & Zydeco Mardi Gras Ball features Louisiana bands, cash bar, and Cajun and Creole food for sale. The ball is costume optional, and there is no dress code. A portion of the proceeds will benefit VSA Arts of Rhode Island. Tickets are $30 in advance and $35 at the door. For further info, call 783-3926 or see www.mardigrasri.com.
OSCIL SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE IN FEBRUARY
In April 2010, OSCIL will award two $1,000 educational scholarships. Applicants must be Rhode Island residents with significant disabilities currently enrolled or planning to enroll in a post-secondary education program. This may include an academic, trade, or vocational program. Preference will be given to merit, economic need, and career goals. Scholarship applications will be mailed out in February and will be on the OSCIL web site, www.oscil.org. For more information, call Carol McKenna at 738-1013 ext. 10.
The PACE Organization of Rhode Island
The PACE (Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly) Organization of Rhode Island strives to preserve and sustain the independence of frail seniors who wish to remain in the community. Since 2005, PACE helped over 300 participants remain at home by providing access to comprehensive community-based services. In order to be eligible for PACE, a person must be 55 years of age or older, meet the nursing home level of care requirements of the RI Department of Human Services, and be able to live safely in the community. If someone has Medicaid only or is eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid, one may receive care from PACE at no cost. An individual on Medicare would pay a monthly premium. PACE serves the entire state except Block Island and Prudence Island.
The PACE interdisciplinary team works with clients and families to develop personalized care plans. PACE participants receive adult day services with on-site primary care, access to medical specialists such as dentists, optometrists, psychiatrists, and podiatrists, medication management, therapeutic activities, nutritious meals, round-the-clock emergency services, medical equipment and other services as needed. The adult day program is complemented with homecare services. Enrollees receive transportation to and from the PACE Center and to outside medical appointments. The PACE Day Center is located at 225 Chapman Street in Providence. The telephone number is 490-6566 (1-877-781-7223 toll-free). Early in 2010, PACE will expand services into Westerly in partnership with Westerly Adult Day Services to better serve healthcare needs of seniors in Southern Rhode Island. Visit www.pace-ri.org .
