Become a self-advocate

The Arc Disability Self-Advocacy Brunch

By Timothy Redd
Today I attended the Disability Self-Advocacy Brunch and Discussion Forum presented by The Arc of the Mid-South at the Benjamin Hooks Library.  There were a number of panelists who all echoed the sentiment that although people with disabilities are different we are all the same.  

One of the most captivating speakers for me was Professional Disability Consultant and MCIL Board Member Lou Conley. Ms. Conley share her experience of growing in Mississippi and feeling part of everything thanks to a supportive family. She told how the support changed when she started attending school in Memphis. She was one to not disclose her disability and struggled through school because she read lips.

Lou shared how in 1998 she became the University of Memphis’ first deaf student and overcame the learning barriers at college. Although school was hard she didn’t give up and 14 years later she graduated by taking one class at a time.

After completing her undergraduate degree she did not feel she was living out her purpose. Lou Conley went on to attend Auburn University where she received a second degree on a full scholarship with a 3.5 grade point average. With two degrees Ms. Conley was still not working. She told the audience that she was broke because nobody would give her a chance. Employer’s did not hire her because of disability. Lou told us about being depressed and how she wanted to get rid of labels.

Today; however, Dr. Lou Conley told the group how she remained persistent and got a job,  she has just recently finished a post doctorate degree.

Dr. Conley said MCIL’s Executive Director, Sandi Klink  has been an inspiration  and encouraged Lou to speak out.  

“I want to remove labels,” said Dr. Conley, “and encourage everyone to let people know that you have abilities and are not defined by the word disability.”

Dr. Conley closed with “disability is your possibility.” She encouraged everyone to believe in themselves and believe that what you want is possible. Ms. Coley hopes to change the way people with disabilities are seen in Tennessee and has her heart sat on becoming state representative or senator.

I left the forum encouraged to continue to self-advocate. Many times our community won’t speak up for many reasons. Here at MCIL we teach the best advocacy is self-advocacy.

Self-advocacy is learning how to speak up for yourself, making your own decisions about your own life. Self-advocacy is learning how to get information so that you can understand things that are of interest to you and finding out who will support you in your journey. It is important to know your rights and responsibilities, problem solving, listening and learning to be a good self-advocate. A self-advocate may also reach out to others when you need help and friendship.

It’s important as person with a disability to advocate to make sure you are not left out or overlooked. You have to say what you need to move forward to overcome barriers. MCIL has some tips on being a self-advocate on our website at:

Memphis 3.0 Looks at Mid-town

Memphis Comprehensive Plan needs your input

By Tim Wheat
Over 80 people gathered at the Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church to plan the next 30 years for Memphis. The out-of-state consultant group made many glossy maps of the core of Memphis and asked the residents to note the things we liked, did not like and what could be opportunities for positive change on the map.

The individual tables were asked to place red dots on the areas of concern, green dots on positive areas and yellow dots where there is opportunities for change in our city. My table choose Overton Park as our main positive in the core of the City, but we also liked Cooper-Young and the Memphis Center for Independent Living.

Most of the tables mentioned Overton park, but my table also noted the lack of sidewalks in the park, few accessible routes and the bus shelters with no bus stops and no sidewalks. We found Lamar and Cleveland areas in need of improvement. However, we also put the Trolley on the map. Not because the Trolley is an asset of Memphis, but because it does not run. We felt that few communities would tolerate the administrative incompetence that would sink so much time and money into the system and still fail to meet simple delivery dates.

I was mostly disappointed to learn that the Madison Trolley is not even scheduled to be running until 2019. That information is from the bumbling group that said the Main Street Trolley would be running before the end of 2017.

Caesar, who was the spokesman for our table, said that it was hard to find negatives in the city that we love, but we found that poor pedestrian infrastructure as the main problem. It is fun to think of the great ways we can improve our city, but it is also clear that Memphis has some basic improvements to make so that people can simply cross the street to enjoy many parts of the city.

The other 9 tables had many of the same ideas as we had but they also mentioned MCIL and accessibility as needs for our community. The downtown area and many streets were mentioned by the other groups. One table adopted the theme of “Make Memphis Great Again!” And they suggested that the goal should be to meet everyone in the city. The colosseum and lots of other Memphis landmarks were mentioned but the largest absence was no one had mentioned the Big River Crossing.

Our table even saw it as a problem because of the eight people at the table, only three had been to it. It is really a bike path and not pedestrian friendly, there are no bathrooms and the rail makes the view for someone using a wheelchair into more than a mile of aluminum fence.

Memphis 3.0 says they are a comprehensive plan or guidebook for growth and improvement for our city. They wish to hear from you. You can be part of the process: first you may call Memphis 3.0 at 901-636-6601; you may also email them at info@memphis.point0.com; visit their Facebook page at Facebook/Memphis3point0 or you can visit their website at: http://www.memphis3point0.com

RevUp the Vote

By Allison Donald
On Wednesday January 24, 2018, the Memphis Grassroots Organization Coalition and Abyssinian Baptist Church Pastor Earle Fisher held their monthly Memphis and Shelby County Collaborative Meeting.

Representatives from Memphis for All attended along with Margaret Box member of Indivisible Memphis, Sarita Alston the field organizer for the Tennessee Democratic Party of West Tennessee. Several other community members representing a wide range of organizations were also there.

The purpose of this nonpartisan group is to advance current initiatives related to voting. The organization is working to increase political involvement in Memphis and Shelby County. The group also wants to register, educate, and empower citizens to improve the social and political conditions in Memphis and Shelby County.

“The work of the collaborative also aims to combat voter apathy,” said Earle Fisher, “which hinders turnout, because voters think their vote doesn’t matter.”

This partnership could be very beneficial in starting the RevUp the vote initiative in Memphis which aims to increase the political power of the disability community while also engaging candidates and the media on disability issues. There are over one million people in Tennessee living with a disability and when we arrive on Election Day to vote, we want what every other voter wants- the ability to cast our ballot privately and independently.

Overall, people with disabilities nationally are registered to vote at near the same rate as non-disabled voters with a 2.3% gap between the groups. However, the gap of those registered who voted was 82% of people with disabilities, while 88% of people with no disability were registered and voted.

For people with disabilities in Memphis we need to be a part of the political conversation. We need our issues regarding healthcare, the lack of affordable accessible integrated housing, and full community integration to be a focus of the candidates. The people’s lives that it effects on an everyday basis cannot continue to allow these elected officials to drop in during a canvassing cycle with empty promises. We must be informed of the issues so we can hold these candidates accountable and empower ourselves through the ballot that is what democracy looks like.

The next meeting of the Memphis and Shelby County Collaborative will be in February if you would like information on how you can attend you contact me at 901-726-6404 or by email Allison@mcil.org.

The Big Freeze 2018

Ice isolation in Memphis and how to dine when you cannot get out

By Timothy Redd
Today I am back to work after being out over a week because of the big freeze. Time alone is good but being forced to stay in the house and not being able to get out because of an ice covered ramp gave me cabin fever. Isolation, frustration, agitation, boredom and anger are just a few things I felt.

During the big freeze my heat went out twice, thankfully it was fixed almost immediately in both cases. I called my office several times about salting and clearing my ramp and the walkway. They took their precious time and a maintenance person finally showed up Friday afternoon with a shovel to clear the ice debris after I made a call to the corporate office.

It is imperative that one is prepared for inclement weather. I was not as prepared as I should have been because I really didn’t foresee being in the house over a week. I’m so glad that we live in an age where technology can solve many of the problems isolation can cause.

My issue was a need for food. Thanks to Uber Eats and Instacart I was able to eat well. I’m sure you have heard of Uber Eats, if not let me tell you about it. Uber Eats is a food delivery platform that makes getting great food from your favorite local restaurants as easy as requesting a ride. Uber Eats is an app that connects you with a broad range of local restaurants and food, so you can order from the full menus of your local favorites whenever you want and a driver delivers food piping hot to your door. There is a 5 dollar delivery fee added to the cost of food plus tax which was not bad at all in treacherous winter weather, it allowed me to eat well and stay safe and warm in my home.

While Uber Eats was great it’s quite costly eating out daily; for all practicality purposes I have to tell you about another app that I used. Instacart saves you a trip to the market. Instacart delivers groceries in as little as an hour by connecting you with personal shoppers in your area to shop and deliver groceries from your favorite stores. It allows you to shop from anywhere using your computer, iPhone or Android device.

You can even schedule to have your groceries delivered in as little as an hour, have them delivered later in the day or week, or choose a pickup time, or pick up your groceries at the store. I will be definitely using Instacart again because it’s super convenient and I would suggest you try it out, the first order delivery fee is waived.

Why are you staring at me?

By Allison Donald
I can’t remember the last time I gave a damn about someone staring at me in public because of my disability.  If someone is staring at me while I am grocery shopping, at the mall, or having lunch with my coworkers it has more to do with them than it does with me. 

I have grown to accept and embrace my uniqueness and you should too.  People with disabilities do not deserved to be stared at while in public simply, because we have body parts that work differently. 

I do realize that not every person with a disability is as comfortable in their skin as I am, which makes it extremely difficult to deal with a stranger staring while you are going about your life.  Some people can’t help themselves. There is always going to be someone who is gawking at you with a confused look on their face wondering what happened to you. Sometimes people have asked me if I were an accident. 

If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me these questions I would be able to pay off my student loan.  I find these questions invade my space. They are rude and presumptuous.  Frankly, if you are not family or a close friend the reason why I am a person with a disability is none of your business.

The rudeness and stares from typical people gets on my nerves. It also makes me and other individuals with a disabilities feel like we are someone who is to be pitied. Or for that matter, people who see me as an inspiration, bothers me even more. 

Are you staring, because you don’t know how you would deal with being a person who is visually impaired or a wheelchair user? Are you staring, because you can’t believe that a person with a disability is living, working, and playing in the community just like other people and you are inspired by my very presence? 

I don’t feel I have to explain myself and other people with a disabilities shouldn’t either. Because you want to stare a hole through us we a too busy living our lives.

Instead of staring, take a minute to come up to me and introduce yourself and I will do the same. After all that is how conversations begin.

Monuments to Bigotry

Memphis has removed some of the monuments to bigotry in our city but what about the steps that keep us out of the mainstream of everyday life?

By Allison Donald

Once again history was made in Memphis when the city council voted unanimously to remove the confederate statues of Nathan Bedford Forrest and Jefferson Davis. For those people who were chanting “bring them down” as both statues were being lowered to the ground never to loom over Memphis again. Those statues were a constant reminder of the pain, oppression, and barriers many African Americans face in the city.

I watched the live Facebook feed of Jefferson Davis dangling from a crane, I saw the on lookers were cheering and I saw the sense of relief in Tammy Sawyer’s the head organizer of the TakeEmDown901. I could hear the relief in her voice as she spoke to the crowd and I could feel the joy of those at the event late at night. 

The experience of watching those monuments came down put a lot of things in perspective for me. It showed me that when Memphis comes together, the city can be great. I also began to wonder if people with disabilities have addressed the barriers that keep so many of us on the outside looking in. The monuments to inequality that still keep our community from being included.

I work on Madison Avenue right down the street from the University of Tennessee Health Sciences Park the former perch of the Nathan Bedford Forrest statue. Around the corner is a T-mobile store where I went to get my phone serviced. 

On this particular day I was with a friend who said as she stepped over the speed bump that is directly in front of the entrance “are you going to be able to get up here?”
In order for me to get into the store I had to step onto the speed bump and then use the step to enter the store.
We both knew that if any of our coworkers who use wheelchairs had come with us then they would not have been able get in the store through the front entrance. There was not a ramp or any sign identifying an alternate entrance for individuals who use mobility equipment. 

Even though I was able to get into the store the step is a barrier and as a person with a disability I don’t like being excluded from my community in any way.

That step is not a 5,500 pound monument that has cast a shadow over Memphis, but it is a barrier that symbolizes the lack of progress of full participation into the community for people with disabilities. 

That single step is a shrine to bigotry that must be removed in the same way the statues of Nathan Bedford Forrest and Jefferson Davis were in our city.

Facts about housing and people with disabilities

A New Report shows the difficulty of housing for people with disabilities

The Technical Assistance Collaborative (TAC) and the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities Housing Task Force have released a new report, Priced Out: The Housing Crisis for People with Disabilities, documenting the housing affordability crisis experienced by the lowest-income people with disabilities across the United States. Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a federal program that provides income to people with significant and long-term disabilities who have extremely low incomes and savings.

• In 2016, the average annual income of a single individual receiving SSI payments was $9,156 — equal to only 20% of the national median income for a one-person household and about 22% below the 2016 federal poverty level.

• The national average rent for a modest one-bedroom rental unit was $861, equal to 113% of the national average monthly income of a one-person SSI household. This finding confirms that, in 2016, it was virtually impossible for a single adult receiving SSI to obtain decent and safe housing in the community without rental assistance.

• In Tennessee there are 125,127 SSI recipients who get a monthly payment of $733. That puts the average one-bedroom apartment rent at 87% of the individual's income. 

• The national average rent for a studio/efficiency unit in 2016 was $752, equal to 99% of monthly SSI. In 13 states and the District of Columbia, areas with the highest housing costs, the average studio/ efficiency rent exceeded 100% of SSI income.

• Often, statewide average one-bedroom rents were higher than monthly SSI payments, including: The District of Columbia (206%), Hawaii (188%), Maryland (167%), New Jersey (151%), New York (145%), Virginia (139%), California (138%), Massachusetts (133%), Delaware (125%), Washington (123%), Illinois (122%), Colorado (117%), New Hampshire (117%), Florida (116%), Connecticut (114%), Oregon (113%), Vermont (113%), Rhode Island (108%), Texas (103%), and Pennsylvania (103%).

• In four states — New Hampshire, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Vermont — and the District of Columbia, one-bedroom rents exceeded 100% of SSI in every single housing market area. More than 163,000 people with disabilities receiving SSI lived in these areas in 2016.

• In 220 housing market areas across 40 states, one-bedroom rents exceeded 100% of monthly SSI. Rents for modest rental units in 26 of these areas exceeded 150% of SSI.

• As a result of this housing affordability crisis, millions of non-elderly people with disabilities reside in homeless shelters, public institutions, nursing homes, unsafe and overcrowded board and care homes, at home with aging parents, or in segregated group quarters.

• Learn more at http://www.tacinc.org/knowledge-resources/priced-out-v2/.

Here in the Memphis area the most important thing we can ask for housing programs to include preferences for people with disabilities. Espicially a preference for helping people coming out of institutions will be a huge savings of our support funding. We can also save by helping people with disabilities to get housing and stay out of expensive institutions. MCIL will continue to demand this and to work for coverage by Medicaid and other sources for services that support successful tenancy. When people with disabilities and older Americans can get the services they need in their own homes, the funding recycles in the community rather than funneled out-of-state.