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Month: January 2018

January 31, 2018
Paulette Southerly
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SILC Open for Applications

Posted in Advocacy, Disability, and Public Awareness

January 3, 2018

Interested Persons:

Are you a person with a disability who wants to get involved and make a difference? Do you have a family member with a disability or do you work to improve life for people with disabilities? The West Virginia Statewide Independent Living Council (the Council) is recruiting new members to fill vacancies for terms beginning July 1, 2018 and you should apply!

This federally mandated Council works closely with the Centers for Independent Living and monitors, reviews, and evaluates the implementation of the State Plan for Independent Living.

The Council seeks to maintain diversity of representation including disability, age, ethnicity, and life experiences. If you or someone you know would like to apply for membership on the Council, please return a completed application form (enclosed) by February 9, 2018.

Please feel free to duplicate this notice and the application form and share them with as many individuals as you wish. This information is also available on the SILC Web site at: www.wvsilc.org

Please review the responsibilities carefully and apply only if you are willing to fulfill them.

All applications will be reviewed and considered. Nominations selected by the Council will be submitted for appointment by Governor Jim Justice. This process can be lengthy and new members are not always appointed before the terms begin in July. We appreciate your patience. If you have questions or need further information or assistance, please feel free to contact me.

Sincerely,

Ann Watts McDaniel

Executive Director

January 31, 2018
Paulette Southerly
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WVABLE Launching Soon

Posted in Disability, and Public Awareness

In February 2018, the West Virginia State Treasurer’s Office will launch WVABLE, a program designed to give people with disabilities more independence and financial security.

WVABLE is made possible by the Achieving a Better Life Experience in West Virginia Act, also known as the West Virginia ABLE Act. Once the program is launched in early 2018, individuals with disabilities will be able to save and invest up to $15,000 per year without losing eligibility for public benefit programs such as Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Individuals who developed disabilities before the age of 26 may be eligible to open an account.

For questions!

If you have questions please contact us at WVABLE@wvsto.com or 304-340-5050.  Please see http://www.wvtreasury.com/Savings-Programs/WVABLE

January 11, 2018
Paulette Southerly
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NWVCIL’s Youth Club!

Posted in Advocacy, Disability, Group, Outreach, and Public Awareness

Starting January 29, 2018 from 6 pm – 8 pm @ the CIL and will continue every fourth Friday of the month! This will serve youth with disabilities, ages 18-24 in the Morgantown and surrounding area. This club will offer: Peer Support Independent Living Skills Training Build Relationships And… The opportunity for ownership over the club…. which means, YOU plan activities on what YOU want to learn, see & do! For more information please contact Riley Freeland @ 304-296-6091 or rfreeland@nwvcil.org
January 8, 2018
Paulette Southerly
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NPR Series on Sexual Assault and Intellectual Disabilities

Posted in Advocacy, Disability, and Public Awareness

At a moment of reckoning in the United States about sexual harassment and sexual assault, a yearlong NPR investigation finds that there’s little recognition of a group of Americans that is one of the most at risk: adults with intellectual disabilities. The series starts on Monday, January 8 and runs through January 18th.

Jan 8: Morning Edition. Correspondent Joe Shapiro talks about the series with host Steve Inskeep

Jan 8: All Things Considered: The epidemic of sexual abuse of people with intellectual disabilities. Numbers obtained by NPR show they are sexually assaulted at rates more than 7 times those for all adults without disabilities.

Jan 9: Morning Edition: A visit to a Sex Ed class for people with intellectual disabilities. They talk about how they want relationships, but how the sexual violence of their past often gets in the way.

Jan 10: All Things Considered: On cases that go unnoticed when people have difficulty communicating.

Jan 16: All Things Considered: Police and prosecutors are often reluctant to take these cases. NPR goes back to Essex County, New Jersey, where the first case to get widespread attention–in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, 25 years ago–was prosecuted. And look at what prosecutors have learned since.

Jan 18: Morning Edition: Therapists Nora Baladerian and Karyn Harvey talk about the stunning violence in the lives of their clients.

Jan 18: All Things Considered: Self-advocates speak–thoughtfully–of the effects of sexual violence. This piece is entirely in the voices of people with intellectual disabilities (plus Joe Shapiro).

There will be print stories (with photos and art) on-line at www.npr.org.And the radio stories can be heard there.