Disability News

Disability and Health - The Week that Was - September 26 - 2008

A selection of weekly news topics of interest to seniors and the disabled regarding world disability and health news for the week ending September 26 2008.

Disability and Health News - Weekly Round Up

Seniors

BENTON CITY - Seniors are beside themselves, after receiving a notice on that their rent is nearly doubling at the medium and low-income Desert Rose Terrace facility. Most of the residents depend on social security, and it this economy, they say they are already having a hard time making ends meet. Many will have to move out. The housing is subsidized by the federal government.

The first of the 78 million baby boomers started receiving Social Security retirement benefits this year, and the Census Bureau estimates almost 8,000 of them are turning 60 every day. Changing food preferences are among many adjustments that senior center directors nationwide expect to make in the next decade as they balance the wishes of their elderly stalwarts with those of baby boomer newcomers. Other changes take more planning, such as coordinating exotic vacation trips or scheduling appointments with Social Security representatives to help "young" seniors make the transition from working life to retirement.

Police say a well-dressed man posing as a New York City employee robbed more than a half dozen elderly people by convincing them they hadn't paid their water bills. The suspect didn't even have to enter the Brooklyn homes to rob his victims. He showed an official shield and demanded cash while threatening to have the water shut off immediately if they didn't comply.

According to Beth Cameron-Kilbridge, a grandparent’s desire to tell those stories may be as easy as putting them to paper. Cameron-Kilbridge acknowledges that the hard part is often that grandchildren don’t show an interest in their grandparents’ lives. She suggests grandparents think back to things they did for the first time, such as riding in an airplane, and people will often recall times they’ve gone overseas in the 1930s and ‘40s, for example.

More than one out of 10 US consumers ages 99 and older surveyed by Gfk Roper Public Affairs & Media for Evercare said they used the Internet, and 7% used e-mail. The US Census Bureau says there will be more than 100,000 Americans aged 100 and older by 2010, and baby boomers will increase those numbers for at least the next 30 years.

Canada - Stephen Harper received a letter from the Coalition of Seniors Advocates, which includes former Calgary alderman John Schmal. In the letter, the group asks for changes to Old Age Security payments, demanding increases mirror rises in the cost of living. This year's adjustment gave seniors only a 0.7 per cent boost, about $3.52 more a month. The seniors also want taxes on government pensions and Old Age Security reduced to 50 per cent. Currently, they're fully taxable. The Liberals promised to increase the Guaranteed Income Supplement for low-income seniors by $600 a year and lower taxes on pension income.

Canadian researchers found that of patients having joint replacement surgery at one Toronto hospital, black and Asian men and women perceived the surgery as riskier than white patients did. The research team, led by Dr. Rajiv Ghandi of the University of Toronto, surveyed 1,609 patients who were scheduled to have hip or knee replacement surgery.

California- Arnold Schwarzenegger abolished the Senior Citizens Renters' Tax Assistance—a 40-year-old program that gives rebates to low-income elderly tenants of up to $347.50 a year. He also took $41 million out of a similar tax credit program for low-income homeowners.

The latest item that can be added to seniors and persons with disabilities, a human airbag to protect your head and bottom in case of a fall.

General

HUNTINGTON - The public is invited to attend special events scheduled in Huntington on Thursday, Oct. 2, as part of National Disability Employment Awareness Month. A "Walk and Roll" parade will begin at 9:30 a.m. on 4th Avenue and 12th Street and end at the Big Sandy Superstore Arena. Anyone interested in participating in the parade should call Tina Taylor-Smith at 304-412-4986.

Palin puts the needs of people with disabilities on the national agenda. People with disabilities and their families are struggling alongside the rest of America, and sometimes the difficulties are amplified for our families, the programs and services that people with disabilities rely upon will be stretched. Sarah Palin's nomination has brought Down syndrome, and disability in general, into the forefront of the American consciousness. Suddenly the needs of people with disabilities became a headline-grabbing campaign issue. Sarah Palin has promised to be a friend to the parents of children with disabilities.

Nearly every Long Island Rail Road employee applies for and receives a lucrative disability pension, costing taxpayers millions of dollars each year. But exposing corruption and cronyism at the cash-strapped railroad has proved difficult.

MANSFIELD - Richland Newhope Industries Inc. will observe National Disability Employment Awareness month in October. This year's theme is "America's People, America's Talent, America's Strength." "Employees with disabilities make significant contributions to their community through community employment," said Amanda South, Richland Newhope's director of adult services. "We are dedicated to developing the skills and abilities of this virtually untapped workforce to meet the needs of both community employers and employees with disabilities."

The Sutton twins wanted to fly planes for United Airlines, but without their strong eyeglasses to see, they didn't meet the company's requirements. The women claimed discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act, but they lost their fight in the U.S. Supreme Court in 1999. The justices ruled that people whose conditions were corrected by medical intervention, including medication or eyeglasses, were not disabled and therefore not protected by the act. This week, President Bush signed an amended act designed to, among other things, ensure that even those with correctable disabilities can seek legal shelter. With his father looking on, President Bush has signed legislation expanding the protections afforded by the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act. The bill signed extends the coverage of the landmark 1990 law to include those who use medication or other devices to treat impairments.

Australia - With Victoria's mental health system struggling under unprecedented demand, the State Government will seek at least a quarter of the $800 million in federal funding on offer to the states and territories this week to improve the nation's mental health services. A Council of Australian Governments meeting in Perth on Thursday is set to decide who gets the funding over the next five years as part of an overhaul of aged care and disability services.

Alaska - Anchorage resident Joseph H. Laird, 65, died Sept. 24, 2008, at Providence Alaska Medical Center. "Joseph, Alaska resident and local business community leader, was a tireless advocate for people with disabilities and mental illness," said Suzanne Fairbanks, close friend and fellow Anchorage Community Mental Health Services board member. "In addition to his advocacy for people with disabilities and mental illness, Joe's helped numerous people through trying times.

Canada - A visually impaired federal government employee, said he's offended by the common federal election practice of having a poll clerk vet the ballots of blind voters to make certain they're marked correctly. He said that supervision violates his right to vote in private. Next month's Canadian federal election will mark the first general election where voters can use a special new Braille sleeve to read and mark their ballots.

Florida - It's said that a society is measured by how it treats its weakest members. If that's the case, Florida falls short. That's because the state has cut funding, and also mishandled funding, for disabled Floridians and their families. The Family Care Council held a public meeting Friday to discuss with state Rep. Denise Grimsley and state Sen. J.D. Alexander's legislative aide cuts to state funding that benefits local people with disabilities. In particular, the funding affects disabled people's ability to have some kind of transportation and personal assistance when going out into public.

Montana - Many people with disabilities live on a $637/month federal SSI benefit, an amount that is about 75% of the poverty level. When two unmarried SSI recipients live in the same household and share expenses, each continues to receive a full $637/month SSI benefit. However, when two people with disabilities of the opposite sex marry, and one or both receive SSI, their combined benefit as a couple ($956/month) is reduced to 75% of the total of their two individual benefits($637/mo + $637/mo = $1274/month) As a result, SSI recipients with disabilities who wish to marry like their typical peers, in accordance with social convention and/or their faith, hesitate to do so, or choose not to marry at all rather than risk the loss of precious dollars needed for basic food and shelter, as well as for disability related expenses.

BFAD director Leticia Gutierrez said dairy products from New Zealand were removed from the list of banned milk products as she announced that partial results of the tests on some milk brands will come out next week.

New Zealand's income gap doubles and the uneducated poor are falling further behind. New figures show the income gap between families of unqualified and qualified parents has more than doubled over 25 years. A Christchurch social agency says the figures are a symptom of many people being scared to take on education.

Email article    Print