ATTENTION BLIND AND LOW-VISION STUDENTS!

National Federation of the Blind Engineering Quotient (EQ) Program

Are you or do you know a blind or low-vision teen who wants to spend their summer learning, meeting new people, and having a great adventure? Join the National Federation of the Blind at our NFB EQ program. NFB EQ is a jam-packed week of fun and learning. Participants spend each day engaged in activities designed to strengthen their knowledge of engineering as well as their problem-solving abilities. In the evenings, participants hang out with the 29 other teen participants while exploring the local community and participating in various recreational activities. Throughout the week, participants will forge new friendships while increasing their engineering knowledge, problem-solving abilities, self-confidence, and independence. 

TO LEARN MORE AND TO APPLY, VISIT

https://nfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=9954&qid=2126807

THE SPECS

WHO: 30 blind and low-vision teens currently enrolled in grades 9-12 in the United States.

WHAT: A week long summer engineering program for blind and low-vision teens.

WHEN: Participants will travel to Baltimore on July 29 and they will travel back home on August 4.

WHERE: The National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute in Baltimore, Maryland.

WHY: To meet new people, learn new things, and have an exciting adventure!

HOW: APPLY NOW! APPLICATIONS ARE DUE MAY 1, 2018.

HOW MUCH: There is no registration fee for this program. Visit our frequently asked questions web page for more details:

https://nfb.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=9955&qid=2126807

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• To be eligible to apply students must: be enrolled in grades 9-12 during the 2017-2018 school year in a school (public, private, charter, residential, or home school) in the United States, be blind or have low-vision, and be available to attend the entire program.
• Participant's transportation to and from the program will be arranged by the National Federation of the Blind. Students will travel to Baltimore on Sunday and will travel home on the following Saturday.
• This is a residential program; students will stay in dormitories at the National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute and all meals will be provided.
•  In the evenings, after the conclusion of the instructional day, students will be engaged in various social and recreational activities.

WHAT ARE PEOPLE SAYING ABOUT EQ?

"NFB EQ gave me more confidence to keep doing what I want--no one can stop me! The program opened my eyes to even more options in the field [of engineering] and it gave me some confidence that I can do some mechanical stuff that I didn't think I could do before." - Michael, Texas

"At the program, I learned that there is accessible equipment--I can use equipment that is close to what sighted people use, like Braille rulers and click rules. At school the tools for measuring in science aren't always accessible to me." 

- Lilly, Alaska

"I increased my drawing skills at NFB EQ. The tactile drawing board helped me, because I could feel what I drew. Visualizations also have gotten easier [going from drawing to model to prototype]. In engineering, you have to picture an idea in your mind and then draw it before you can build it. When you draw it, you can really see how it's going to come together." 

- Trey, Kentucky

"I am amazed at how the people involved in organizing this program made everything so easy for us. From organizing logistics to making sure the schedule was running smoothly for the students--the whole event was very successful. The staff's warmth and attention to detail really eased my mind and made me feel good about leaving my son at the program for the week." 

- Mark (father), North Carolina

"I was looking for a rigorous, highly academic science program that promoted and modeled independence and the National Federation of the Blind was offering everything I was looking for. Still, I was hesitant. What if it wasn't a good use of my students' resources, or what if they weren't safe? My fears were unwarranted, from start to finish. NFB made the health, safety, academic rigor, social experiences, and general well-being of our students paramount. Every detail was professionally planned and handled, ensuring that every moment, for every student, was as meaningful as it could possibly be." 

- Laura (teacher of the visually impaired), Kentucky

QUESTIONS?

Send them to:

  STEM@nfb.org
(410) 659-9314, extension 2418
National Federation of the Blind
200 East Wells Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21230

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1712887. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

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.