Continuing from our successful collaboration with Austin Public Health and HACA  in distributing PPEs last Saturday, ADAPT will be distributing 23 oz sanitizer bottles from noon to 3 pm or until supplies are gone.

When: this Friday 2/5 noon to 3 pm (or till we run out.)

Where: ADAPT Office  1100 S IH 35 Austin, TX. 

Last week’s event was a big success despite the dreary weather.  Austin Public Health (APH) arrived with boxes of supplies for local home health agencies to give to their attendants.  The agencies had been contacted in advance and had asked for a certain number, yet oddly some did not bother to show up.  None the less others did, and their attendants will receive the supplies.  PACT contacted their members who also came to collect supplies, and PACT and ADAPT offered them to the people we have been mailing supplies to since last summer. In addition, members of the public who wanted supplies were welcomed.  The Housing Authority of the City of Austin, HACA, hosted the drive through event in their parking lot and we are most grateful for their generosity. The APH was very organized and most generous to offer this help.  Disgracefully, the state has done little to nothing to assist and assure attendants have the PPEs they need to protect their own health and the health of the people they assist. 

Click here for a story on the event last Saturday.

PACT Logo

The Personal Attendant Coalition of Texas (PACT) is pleased to work with Austin Public Health COVID-19 Response Team who are holding a FREE PPE distribution Event!

Community Attendants 

Saturday January 23, 2021 

11 am to 3 pmT

Housing Authority Parking Lot and Garage

1124 S IH 35 frontage road

Next to the ADAPT office 

Masks and Social Distancing Required

For more information call 512-650-6543      

ADAPT gathers on sidewalk at 11th & Congress by the Capitol for press conference

To celebrate Freedom Day, Martin Luther King’s birthday, a small but stalwart band of ADAPT folks gathered in front of the Texas Capitol in Austin for a press conference to support getting people out of nursing homes and into community living with Money Follows the Person, MFP. Nursing homes have been shown by COVID 19 to be death traps for way too many, and that nursing facilities and other institutions are not the way to provide services to people with disabilities and older Texans. Yet for decades Texas leadership has ignored this reality and continued to build up that system and only begrudgingly provide community alternatives.

ADAPT luck was on hand, as Cathy and Ron Cranston spotted the Governor posing for a picture on the Capitol grounds.  They were able to pass on our message to one of his body guards and yell to him as he turned tail and hustled inside.  Despite his disability, Governor Abbott has little regard for the plight of his fellow Texans with disabilities, as has been shown time and again.

ADAPT of Texas and the Personal Attendant Coalition of Texas (grassroots disability rights organizations) have been fighting to end the institutional bias in long term services and supports  for people with disabilities since 1990. 

Call the decision makers below and tell them we want the Texas Legislature to reform the long term services and supports system by:

• Directing HHSC to use the federal Money Follows the Person funding to get and keep people with disabilities and older Texans out of nursing facilities and other institutions;
• Increase wages and benefits of Community Attendants to $15 per hour;
• Fund the Diversion of people with disabilities and older Texans from nursing facilities and other institutions;
• Assure Community Attendants get adequate PPE and are a priority for vaccinations;
• Assure support services and housing are separate.

Gov. Greg Abbott      Messaging – 512.800.843.5789, 512.463.1782

Switchboard – 512.463.2000 

Lt. Governor Dan Patrick – Office – 512.463.0001   Messaging – 512.463.5342

Speaker of the House Dade Phelan – Office – 512.463.1000

Speaker Pro Tem Joe Moody of the Texas House of Representatives – 512.463.0728

Senator Jane Nelson – Chair of the Finance Committee – 512.463.0923

Sen Lois W. Kolkhorst – Chair Senate Health & Human Services Comm 512.463.0118

In this “hunger games” roll out of the COVID vaccine it’s not easy to find where to go, even if you are eligible in the priority system.  This handy website seems to have some good info though, so we are sharing it in hopes of making your search easier.

www.https://tdem.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=3700a84845c5470cb0dc3ddace5c376b

click here

If you go there you can type in your address and a list will pop up of places to try and sign up for the shots.  It shows how far away they are and how many of which vaccine they have.  It’s probably a little behind real time info but much better than nothing. 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE-MUST SIGN UP

Due to high demand, we may experience technical issues and your submission may not go through. If you receive an error message, please try re-submitting.

If your symptoms are very bad, immediately go to a clinic or hospital, or call 9-1-1

(symptoms include chills, confusion or hallucinations, cough, diarrhea, fatigue, headache, muscle aches or pain, new loss of taste or smell, shortness of breath or trouble breathing, sore throat)

Use this free online tool to schedule a no-cost COVID-19 test or to pre-register for vaccination for you or a loved one at a local Austin Public Health facility.

The City of Austin is committed to compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Reasonable modifications and equal access will be provided upon request. If you cannot access a location because of problems with transportation, internet, email, or computers please call 512-972-5560.

Please note: The information you give is private and confidential by law and will be maintained in confidence.

• You will not be asked about your immigration status.
• The assessment, test, and vaccine are free.
• Completing a vaccine pre-registration does NOT guarantee that you will receive the vaccine or be guaranteed a scheduled vaccine appointment.

Before you start

Here are a few things to keep in mind:

1. To help keep your information secure, please create an account. Per Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) requirements, you will need a separate email address for each person seeking a test or vaccine, including children.
2. You will need to answer a few questions about symptoms, travel, and contact you’ve had with others to determine if you need testing.
3. If you and/or a loved one qualify for a COVID-19 test or vaccine, you will be able to schedule the location, date and time.

If you would like to schedule testing or pre-register for the vaccination, please click the button below to create an account.

You MUST Create an account

https://covid19.austintexas.gov/s/?language=en_US

Delco Activity Center

Sports complex in Austin, Texas

 4601 Pecan Brook Dr, Austin, TX 78724

Nancy Crowther

ADAPT/PACT

For those of us that use personal attendant services, we all know that getting our services set up takes a bit of time.  It may take around 2 to 3 months at the most. However, for someone that is a vent user, 3 months can make a difference between staying in the community and becoming institutionalized.  Fortunately, Ms. L had her family to help her while she waited for her services to begin.

Ms. L contacted ADAPT of Texas/PACT for help in getting her attendant services set up due to an excessive amount of time the state and home care agency were taking. Below is a history (in her words) of the length of time it took while she worked alone.

 2013-Applied in Dallas area

January 2015-moved to San Antonio and had to reapply

November 2016-notified slot was available but was temporarily out of state and could not accept. Asked to be put at back of waiting list, but was not clear if that happened. Turns out I WAS NOT put back on waitlist

December 30, 2019-asked to be placed back on waitlist

August 2020-inquired about waitlist status to find out I was booted off the waitlist with no notice. With some advocating, I was put back on the waitlist. As of August 30, 2020, there are 40 people ahead of me on waitlist in Region 8, but I desperately need services now.

PACT started pushing the state and home care agency in August. Movement to obtain Ms. L’s attendant services began to happen quickly. Happily, Ms. L started receiving her personal attendant services in November 2020.  Thank you PACT and ADAPT of Texas!

Certainly, Ms. L’s experience shows how red tape can get in the way of a person with a disability getting what they need to live independently.  During the whole experience, the agency and the state were pointing their finger at each other. Yes, we are human, and errors happen, but for people with disabilities human error can cost someone their freedom or even their life.

Do not work alone. Advocacy works best working with others.  We are so grateful this story has a successful conclusion.

If you or someone you know need assistance, be part of the solution!

Contact PACT at ADAPT of Texas at 512.442.0252.

by Cathy Cranston 

Austin, TX, Earlier this summer organizers from ADAPT of Texas joined a workgroup with the Governors Committee on Persons with Disabilities to address a lack of equitable service being provided to persons using fixed-framed wheelchairs (Electric chairs and scooters) in TNC rides (UBER-type service).

TNCs claim to be a platform that connects people to ride services and not a transportation provider. As early as 2015 WAVs (wheelchair accessible vehicles) were available on these platforms in Houston, Austin, and Dallas. Outside of these cities, TNCs refer people with disabilities who request a WAV ride to alternate providers such as taxicabs or paratransit services, if available. Paratransit service is not a viable alternative to TNC service for most passengers with disabilities. Passengers with disabilities must go through a complex and lengthy eligibility process to potentially receive paratransit services in their community. Service areas, destinations and operating times are limited compared to TNC service. Paratransit is not a demand-response service and rides must be scheduled a minimum of 24 hours in advance. Texans who use fixed-framed wheelchairs have found on-demand ride services are unreliable.

Hopefully the report of this workgroup will be available to the public soon, and improvements to existing service can be made during this legislative session.

By Nancy Crowther

.In Oct., 2020 the Texas Behavioral Health Council, which oversees the Texas State Board of Social Worker Examiners, at the suggestion of the Governor of Texas changed its CODE OF CONDUCT to no longer prohibit social workers from turning away clients on the basis of disability, sexual orientation or gender identity.

ADAPT of Texas sent out the following press release:

ADAPT of Texas Calls for Texas State Board of Social Work Examiners to Resign

ADAPT of Texas is disgusted by the Texas State Board of Social Work Examiners (TSBSWE) total capitulation to Governor Abbott’s demand that the Board change its code of conduct to allow social workers to discriminate by refusing to serve people based on disability, sexual orientation or gender identity.  ADAPT calls on the Board to resign.

“What the hell is good is a social worker if they can just say ‘I don’t serve your kind’?” asked Heiwa Salovitz.

Social workers help people with disabilities with many aspects of their lives, especially when people first become disabled or experience some transition in their lives related to their disabilities.  They help people apply for benefits and services, they help with hospitalizations and discharges from institutions, with finding housing, with protective services, with behavioral health (such as addiction rehabilitation, counseling), with obtaining food assistance, with re-entry after an injury related to military service, and so much more.  In many instances they serve as gatekeepers to and from these vital services.

“The fact that the Texas Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers is against this move, shows the absurdity of this maneuver” said Nancy Crowther, ADAPT Organizer and social work degree holder.  “They might as well stick a knife in the heart of the profession” she added.

“If this is the caliber of people examining and licensing social workers in Texas, they should all resign” said ADAPT member Stephanie Thomas.   

While people with differing gender identities and sexual orientation are not necessarily people with disabilities, ADAPT of Texas thinks their inclusion in this license to discriminate is equally appalling.  When you need a social worker in your life you are almost always at a vulnerable point in your life and to have Social Workers licensed to ban you based on labels is terrible policy. Has Texas really sunk this low?  I hope not” said Jennifer McPhail.  “This Board needs to go.”

~ ~ ~

Epilogue: The State Board of Social Work Examiners met on Monday, October 19^th in response to the outrage brought on when they voted to accept the Governor’s request to exclude protections of persons with disabilities and the LGMBQ community. Social workers themselves were outraged and spoke out against the change. The fury and outrage filled the public participation capacity (500) of the ZOOM aired public meeting. After a closed-door session, the verdict was revised to reverse the position and decline the recommendation of the governor.  ONWARD IN POWER!

by Nancy Crowther

In Memory
of
Frank Lozano

WHEREAS, The Senate of the State of Texas honors and commemorates the life of Frank Lozano, who died July 25, 2020 at
the age of 70; and
WHEREAS, Frank Lozano was a treasured Texan whose fierce
advocacy for disability rights had a.positive impact on the lives
of countless individuals in this state and across the country, and
WHEREAS, Born on July 13, 1950, Mr. Lozano was totally blind and was a longtime organizer for the advocacy group American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today, also known as ADAPT; and
WHEREAS, He played an important role in establishing the Atlantis ADAPT office in Dallas before working for the organization in Denver and Colorado Springs; he left Colorado to return to his work in Texas, where he was instrumental in the success of the Desert ADAPT chapter in El Paso; and
WHEREAS, Despite his blindness, Frank was a warrior and was
fearless in confronting those who would hinder efforts to make
communities accessible for citizens with disabilities; he was a
firm believer in nonviolent protest, and he practiced it with creativity and resourcefulness, even in the face of arrests and police mistreatment; and
WHEREAS, A. man of courage and determination, he gave unselfishly to others, and his commitment to equality and social
justice will not be forgotten by those who were privileged to know him and to share in his life; now, therefore, be it
PROCLAIMED, That the Senate of the State of Texas hereby
extend sincere condolences to the many who are bereaved by the
loss of Frank Lozano; and be it further
PROCLAIMED, That a copy of this Proclamation be prepared in
honor of the life of Frank Lozano.

Rodriguez

[signed Jose Rodriguez]
Member of the Texas Senate

I hereby certify that the
above Proclamation was adopted._

[signed Pasty Spaw]
Secretary of the Senate

Austin’s RENT Assistance Program will now:

• Provide up to six months of full contracted rent payment for rent incurred between March 1, 2020, through December 31, 2020. This includes rent that is due now, rent that is overdue, and future rent during this time period.
• Conduct random selection drawings at noon every Friday through the end of the year, or until the funds are expended. All applications, regardless of when they are submitted, will continue to be given equal chance in the selection process.
• Households will be allowed a one-time certification of eligibility (instead of monthly) at the time applications are submitted.