Cheers to 20 years!

2002-2022

Say GAY and DISABILITY

As we know, there are over 50 million persons with disabilities in the United States. The disability population spans all colors, ethnicities, and socio-economic status, but did you know how gay disability is?

According to a 2012 study published by the American Journal of Public Health found that gay people were more likely to be disabled than straight people:

• About 25% of heterosexual women, 36% of lesbians, and 36% of bisexual women were disabled.
• About 22% of heterosexual men, 26% of gay men, and 40% of bisexual men were disabled.
• Among lesbian, gay and bisexual adults, 36% of women and 30% of men were disabled.

“Freedom is too enormous to be slipped under a closet door” – Harvey Milk

Fredriksen-Goldsen KI, Kim HJ, Barkan SE. Disability among lesbian, gay, and bisexual adults: disparities in prevalence and risk. Am J Public Health. 2012;102(1):e16-e21. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2011.300379

Work Hard Dream Big

We will add another section next month.

Over the last twenty years, we have focused on many important elements of community living for persons with disabilities.

Over the next year, I will reflect on each one of these issues and the progress that we have made in the past twenty years.

• Voting – Ensuring accessible voting as well as outreach into the disability community.

• Housing – Ensuring accessible multi-family housing and ensuring that accommodations are provided to ensure that persons with disabilities could use and enjoy their homes like anyone else.

• Safety – Providing communication tools and training to prevent harm to persons with intellectual or developmental disabilities when encountering first responders.

• Effective Communication – Defining effective and equal communication access for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and ensuring that medical needs are met, and employment opportunities are maintained.

• Freedom of Choice – Providing the ability to have the right to control one’s future is an issue in which all persons have a right, and is often denied to persons with disabilities. This includes protecting the rights of parents with disabilities to have and raise children throughout the dependency process, in addition to ensuring freedom from guardianship services whenever possible.

• Institutionalization and Medical services – Forced the closure of nursing homes that serve medically fragile children by ensuring provision of adequate services in homes.

• Animals for Persons with Disabilities – The choice of what to do to assist a person with a disability is that person’s choice, and animals have been used to assist persons with disabilities for years, and it is only growing.

• Education access – All persons are entitled to an equal access to an education. This includes a program to ensure an adequate education, or appropriate accommodations that measure each person’s intelligence, instead of disability. 

• Expanding Disability Inclusion in the Legal Profession – Ensuring that, as a profession, the doors to the courthouse are open to all persons with disabilities, and that persons with disability who want to be lawyers are given a fair opportunity to do so.

• Public Accommodations – People with disabilities have the right to physical access and freedom from unduly restrictive qualification rules so everyone has the right to equal use and enjoyment of all places of public accommodation. 

Interacting and communicating with one another is an essential part of being a member of a community. For members of the Deaf community (with a capital D), there is a culture among people who are Deaf, which includes social activities, Deaf clubs, history and folklore, rules, and norms. Most of all, it is a common language, American Sign Language, which is a three-dimensional expressive language. As an attorney who represents people in the Deaf community, I become involved when the Deaf world clashes with the hearing world. When companies or governments that are legally required to provide interpreters or captioning and fail to do so. Even though the obligations to federally funded entities are fifty years old, and the obligations of private entities and employers are over 30 years old, unfortunately, this clash of cultures occur on a daily basis.

The law can only go so far. The law cannot require a person to socialize or communicate with any other person that they choose not to communicate with. So, while schools, doctors, elected officials, or theaters are required to provide interpreters, there are the basic rituals of community life that people who are deaf are often excluded from. This includes weddings, funerals, birthday parties and meetings. While there is no requirement, some people hire sign language interpreters to interpret for their Deaf guests. However, at times, a family member or friend may know some ASL and may be recruited to be used as an interpreter. At other times, there is no communication. 

The below is a passage from Nile DiMarco’s new book, where he introduces himself as a Deaf man -

I’m Nyle DiMarco. I once dreamed of becoming a math teacher, but life took me on a different path. I won the America’s Next Top Model and Dancing with the Stars reality TV show competitions less than half a year apart. I’ve advocated for disability rights in a United Nations conference and given a keynote speech at the Human Rights Campaign National Dinner. I run a foundation and a production company.

I am also Deaf.

It’s a fact that’s shaped every aspect of my life. The way I experience the world. How I learn new stuff. How I interact and communicate with others, including in English and ASL, the languages I’m fluent in. The community and culture I was born into, and the people I surround myself with and have come to trust.

And, especially, how others perceive me. Anytime I meet someone new, I know the first fact that registers in their heads is that I’m Deaf. Sometimes it puts me behind the eight ball and I have to work a hundred times harder to overcome—and change—the negative stereotypes and stigma surrounding that fact. And other times people think it’s nothing short of amazing, and it’s all I can do to prove that I’m just an ordinary person who happens to communicate primarily using their hands.

Deaf Utopia - A Memoir—and a Love Letter to a Way of Life, By Nyle DiMarco, Robert Siebert

While I do think that Nyle is amazing, it is from what he accomplished as any human being and moreover in hearing culture as a Deaf man; however, no person should be required to bear the burden to change negative stereotypes and to delete the phrase “deaf and dumb” from hearing society’s audist history.

Last month, I introduced you to the concept of the inclusion fund to pay for ASL interpreters, this month, I will tell you how to access this fund – both for the Deaf community to get an interpreter paid, and for the hearing community to ensure that your Deaf guests are included.

Purpose and Rules –

1. The fund is to pay for ASL interpreters where there is no legal obligation to pay for interpreters OR for a first job interview where requesting an interpreter may affect the person’s chances of getting the job. This fund is NOT for businesses or professionals who have a legal obligation to get interpreters for their business. Examples of events that this fund should pay for are parties, weddings, funerals, group meetings, etc..
2. The geographical limits are for events in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach County;
3. The interpreter must be nationally certified and be in good standing with RID (or BEI or EIPA Certified interpreter with a score of at least 4.0 or higher); and
4. The interpreter(s) will be paid $ 55.00 per hour and does not include travel.

How to access the fund:

1. If you do not already know an interpreter, or your deaf guest does not provide you with any names, you can go onto the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf Search page, and you can find an interpreter in your area. Ensure that the Category of “Certified” is chosen, as well as “Freelance” Status. Hopefully, in the future, some agencies will allow interpreters to participate in this program.
2. Contact the interpreter and advise them of the assignment and ask them if they are available and would be willing to do the assignment from this fund. If an event is longer than two hours, or involves specialized skills, you may need additional or different interpreters, but the interpreter who you call should be able to give you more guidance.
3. In order to get paid, the interpreter would need to send the following information to Brian Johnson, at the Center for Independent Living in Broward at BJohnson@cilbroward.org:

1. Date of assignment
2. Name and address of interpreter, or interpreters if a team was used
3. Copy of RID card or other proof of certification as required
4. Tax Id number or W-9 form
5. Name of the Deaf person(s) the interpreter was for
6. Type of event
7. Location of event
8. Time spent in ½ hour increments.

If the assignment follows the four rules above, then Brian will send the interpreter(s) payment for their services.

IMPORTANT – this fund only has $ 15,000.00. We would like this fund to continue indefinitely, and if you or anyone would like to donate to ensure that Deaf people can be included in all events, please send a donation to the Center for Independent Living of Broward, and indicate that the donation is for the inclusion fund. Their address is as follows:

4800 N. State Road 7, Suite 102

Fort Lauderdale, FL 33319

Tel: 954-722-6400

For more information on the legal duties of lawyers and other professionals to provide effective communication for the Deaf, please see my article in the Florida Bar Journal - “What we got here is failure to communicate”: the legal, ethical, and monetary considerations of effective communication.

For additional press coverage on this fund, please see:

Daily Business Review – Jan 31, 2022 - 'Contumacious Disregard': South Florida Judge Hits Greenberg Traurig Client With Contempt Order

NBC6 News - Feb 22, 2022 - South Florida Hospital Fined Following Deaf Patient's Lawsuit

Sun Sentinel – March 22,2022 - Cleveland Clinic ordered to pay $16,000 fine in lawsuit by deaf school teacher

Palm Beach Post – March 28, 2022 - 'I felt like an animal': Deaf woman wins suit against hospital for refusing to provide interpreter

Florida Bar News – April 5, 2022 - Settlement Funds will be used for Interpreting Services for the Deaf

NBC6 News - April 15, 2022 - Deaf Patient's Lawsuit Leads to More ASL Interpreters

Join us for three trainings.

The first will be on Monday, March 21 the topic is housing and how to live integrated in the community.

The second will be on Monday, April 11 the topic is Disability and Abuse: how gun violence and animal abuse connects to domestic violence.

The third will be on Monday, May 23 the topic is Effective Communication and how to reduce barriers by using technology.

“Victory is always possible for the person who refuses to stop fighting.”

I recently watched the HBO documentary, “Tony Hawk: Until the Wheels Fall Off.” The film chronicles the life of professional skateboarder, Tony Hawk, and his rise to fame through skating. It recounts his days as a young man when he discovered skateboarding, follows his career through a time when skateboarding lost its popularity, and he became broke and then made a huge comeback and an almost meteoric rise to stardom. His success was mostly due to being the only one to complete the first documented “900” skateboarding trick back in 1999. He is now regarded as one of the most influential skateboarders of all time.

Much of the film focuses on Tony’s attempts to land this “900” trick, which took years and years of tries, falls and even broken bones. All to be successful at one trick. The “900” is a 2½ revolution aerial spin performed on a skateboard ramp. You begin to see in the film that through the years, Tony had an almost obsessive “never give up” attitude about landing this one specific skateboarding trick and he applied this thought process ultimately to his career as a professional skateboarder. Although the odds were stacked against him so many times, Tony says, “I never saw myself failing. I became obsessed. I was like a machine.”

I actually watched the film a couple of times. Not because I love skateboarding. Not because I am some big Tony Hawk fan, or even really care that much about the life of a skater. I watched it twice because seeing Tony’s determination taught me a lesson in my own life about perseverance. It was a lesson that I really needed right now. After five years of being a wheelchair user, I have managed to stand on my own and to walk again using a walker. It took five years of intensive, almost daily working with two physical therapists and on my own (a lot) to actually become functional on my feet once again. Not just walking, but I worked to live my every day on my feet once again. As a paraplegic with a spinal cord injury and hydrocephalus, I persevered against all of the odds. I stayed focused and kept my eye on the prize. Now that I’m up, I am hoping to take the next step. Walking with a cane. So far, I have been able to drop the walker and walk with a cane in my physical therapy clinic, and I can stand now without any assisted device or help. But, honestly, the fatigue has been starting to set in. After so many years, it has become exhausting. Physically and emotionally. And that’s when the doubt starts to creep in. And the fear, too. It makes it so difficult to stay focused on a goal when you become consumed by the fear of failing and the exhaustion of not being there after so long trying to get there. I start to not work as hard and ultimately lose sight of why I’m doing all of this in the first place. At this point in my journey, I feel like I’m starting all over again, even though the goal is still the same as it was years ago: To walk independently.

Tony Hawke’s story of persistence and perseverance, though, inspired me. In those early years working to get out of my wheelchair, I, too, like Tony, had my sights set on a goal and I never saw myself failing. Failure was not an option for me, and I’ve been successful getting to this point with that mindset. Now I just have to go a little further. And this film has inspired me to do just that. I can’t let that fear of failure, that question of “Can I actually do this,” “When will this happen for me” take over and keep me from achieving my dream.

I read somewhere that, “Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did.” And I think that is so true here. Now is the time to kick out the doubts and let the focus come back in, just like I’ve done for the past five years. In the words of Tony Hawke, who stepped on a skateboard at age 9, turned pro at age 14, and was widely thought of as the best skateboarder in the world by age 16, “I was determined, and that carried me through all the years. I was not willing to give up; even against all odds learning a new, more advanced skate move, I would keep chipping away at it. Some of these tricks I’ve developed have taken years of practice and failed attempts, but that never deterred me. It was worth it to make it once.”

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. We know that sexual violence within the disability community continues to be a hidden epidemic.

Here are a few statistics:

83% of women with disabilities will be sexually assaulted in their lives

80% of women and 30% of men with developmental disabilities have been sexually assaulted more than 10 times

Just 3 % of cases are ever reported

We have a guest writer this month, who wants to remain anonymous, but is willing to share her own lived experience with sexual assault. Here is her story.

The Elevator door was stopped by his large hand. He stepped in, along with his sidekick, as he looked me dead in my face. Up until then, he had always been kind to me with an element of flirtation mixed in. However, this time was different, there was no trace of kindness, or respect, to be found in his gaze. My heart pounded as he asked; “So, is it true what Danny has been saying about you?” I giggled, hoping to rid the situation of tension as I replied, “Wouldn’t you like to know.” He scoffed and said, “Don’t worry, I will.” Unsure of what that meant, I just shrugged my shoulders as the door opened up to my floor. I wheeled out as I felt his gaze follow me.

The next day, I couldn’t get the weird encounter off my mind. So, like any naive small-town girl in her twenties who now lived in a big city, I called my most trusted confidant. A girl I had known for, about, two months. We had shared secrets and laughs before. So, I felt she was trustworthy. When I had finished telling her the story; she informed me of a little ritual that the guys I had spent every day with, for the last three months, liked to call “initiation. This was when they brought a girl to the laundry room and had their way with her. I was appalled and intrigued. Coming from a small town I had never heard of such a thing. Before I had moved, there was very few people who had shown any interest

in me as more than, just, a friend.

At that exact moment, my phone rang, it was my mother. She told me that a group of boys had knocked on the door and were looking for me. I asked her if she told them, where I was? She did. Shortly after, the door of the roof, where I was, swung open. A herd of men walked towards me. We talked, briefly, like nothing had changed.

This quickly changed as one of them stepped behind me and grabbed my arms from behind. I wriggled hoping to break free, but, his grip was strong. He began moving my chair with the movement of his legs as he held tightly to my arms. I screamed and laughed, trying to mask how nervous and scared I was. They all, including my trusted confidant, told me to calm down.

We made our way to the laundry room. They circled around me and told me to prove myself to them. Not knowing what they meant, I looked at them perplexed. Things quickly started to make sense, as they each unzipped exposing themselves to me. I screamed to leave but it did not help.

They began forcing themselves on me and I resisted but, again, it didn’t help. When they were finished, they unlocked the door and I wheeled out with my head down. I couldn’t believe what had just happened to me.

The next day, I did my best to avoid them. However, like any well skilled lion they found the Gazelle they had wounded the night before. I, immediately, tensed up. They tried to act like nothing had changed. They asked me for a hug and when I refused, they asked what was wrong. My confidant jumped in and said, “She’s upset about last night.” They turned to me and apologized, swearing it would never happen again. I, naively, believed them. I wish, I hadn’t because the same event happened twice after. That summer, is one that will always make me feel like I was in some nightmare version of the Wizard of Oz. Where Dorothy is surrounded by nothing but Flying Monkeys and Wicked Witches. No friendly munchkins, tin men, or scare crows. Luckily, many years later, I became an advocate. Now, I have been able to use my story to help bring awareness to episodes like this that happen to millions of people with disabilities throughout the country.

We, as a community, must listen, pay attention and develop relationships that build trust and lead to programs and supports that meet the needs of survivors with disabilities.

That is the goal of the Miami Inclusion Alliance and we are working toward that goal every day. 

Accessibility & Inclusion Resources

Nonprofits and social ventures have the power to advance the equity of people living with disabilities. This initiative serves to connect Miami’s leaders with key accessibility and disability inclusion organizations to increase awareness and cultivate welcoming spaces within Miami’s social impact ecosystem. 

We continue to amplify these collaborations by partnering with local organizations that offer their services and by supporting nonprofits and social ventures in budgeting for these services to welcome individuals of all abilities into their programming.

Here’s what’s on the menu

STIPENDS

SERVICES

TEAM TRAININGS

DIG is standing with the YWCA South Florida and signed on to be a part of their Stand Against Racism Social Justice Challenge.

The 2021 Challenge is centered on how racial inequities impact economics, education, criminal justice, and public health.

The Stand Against Racism Challenge is designed to create dedicated time and space to build more effective social justice habits, particularly those dealing with issues of race, power, privilege, and leadership.

Stand Against Racism FAQ's

Disclaimer: The information in this article is for general informational purposes only. The information presented in this article is not legal advice or a legal opinion, and it may not necessarily reflect the most current legal developments. You should seek the advice of legal counsel of your choice before acting upon any of the information in this article.

Asset Building for Individuals with Disabilities

Public benefit programs for people with disabilities, especially Supplemental Security Income (SSI), are not aimed at increasing assets and independence for people with disabilities as a result individuals with disabilities often have very limited income and few, if any, assets. The intent of asset-building initiatives is that as individuals develop assets, they will be able to move out of poverty and remain out of poverty. Many asset-building services for people with disabilities will NOT cause loss of critical SSI disability cash payments and essential health insurance such as Medicaid and Medicaid waivers.

Types of asset building services for people with disabilities:

• IDAs: Individual Development accounts
• ABLE account
• Work Incentives from SSA: WIPA program and work incentives like PASS, Plan to achieve self-support and Self-employment/entrepreneurship
• Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
• College Savings Accounts
• Financial literacy education
• Specialized Trusts used for specific purposes: D4A, D4B, D4C

Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) One federally-supported IDA program is the Assets for Independence (AFI) program. The AFI IDA program is a discretionary grant program authorized under the Assets for Independence Act of 1998.  AFI Individual Development Accounts are an important tool in asset building for low-income people. AFI projects assist client families to save earned income in IDAs-- special matched savings accounts.  For more information and to find a agency close to you, please visit https://prosperitynow.org/map/idas  Clients can use their IDA savings and matched funds to acquire one of the following assets:

• A first home,
• Capitalization of a small business,
• Post-secondary education or training.

ABLE accounts will allow more individual choice and control over spending on qualified disability expenses and limited investment decisions, while protecting eligibility for Medicaid, SSI, and other important federal benefits for people with disabilities.

States have started to develop their own legislation to implement the federal law. As a result, in over half of the states, ABLE Act legislation has emerged in the past several months. To assist individuals with disabilities, their families, and advocates in tracking their states’ progress, for more information about ABLE accounts in Florida contact ABLEUnited. http://www.ableunited.com/ Phone 888-524-ABLE (2253) for account assistance, our Account Specialists will be available: Monday – Friday, 9 am – 6 pm, ET the Florida Relay Service provides communications assistance to individuals with hearing, speech or vision disabilities. Dial 711.

Work Incentives Planning and Assistance: The Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999 authorized Social Security to award grants, contracts or cooperative agreements to provide community-based work incentives expertise to beneficiaries of Social Security or Supplemental Security Income benefits based on disability. The goal of the WIPA program is to enable beneficiaries with disabilities to make informed choices about work, and to support working beneficiaries to make a successful transition to self-sufficiency. WIPA project can help with the process to apply for a PASS Plan. A Plan to Achieve Self-Support (PASS) is a work incentive that allows a SSI beneficiary to set aside income or resources for a specified period of time in order to pay for items or services needed to achieve a specific work goal. Under an approved PASS, an individual may set aside income or resources to pay for education or training, job coaching or other support services, transportation, job-related items, equipment needed to start a business, or just about anything else needed to achieve an occupational goal. To find more information visit:   https://choosework.ssa.gov/blog/2017-02-09-meet-employment-team-wipa-and-pabss

Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) – Refundable federal income tax credit for low-income workers. EITCs enable many low-income tax filers to receive a refund from their payroll taxes on their annual income. To claim the credit, it is necessary for individuals to file their income taxes and apply for federal and / or state EITCs. Some facts:

• SSI and SSI-Medicaid - EITC payments are excluded from the resource test for nine months following the month the refund is received.
• SSDI - there is no asset limit.
• State Medicaid – This can vary by State so please check with your local Medicaid office.
• Food Stamps – EITC payments are excluded from the resource test.
• Federally assisted housing – interest accrued on your EITC payments may count as income.
• Cash assistance programs – These can vary so please check with your local office.

For more information about Earned Income tax credit visit www.irs.gov/eitc

College Savings Accounts or 529 Plans – Special savings accounts enable families to save for the costs of college at an accelerated rate. Assets in 529 plans are not considered “countable resources.” Likewise, distributions from these plans are not counted if they are, in fact, used for qualifying educational expenses. https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0501140150

Financial Literacy: Skills and knowledge that successfully enable low and moderate income individuals to become part of the mainstream financial system by learning to effectively manage their finances, participate in banking services, and save for assets and other financial goals. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) recognizes the importance of financial education, particularly for people with little or no banking experience. That's why they created Money Smart, a training program to help adults outside the financial mainstream enhance their money skills and create positive banking relationships. Check this financial literacy training resource: Money Smart Curriculum http://www.fdic.gov/consumers/consumer/moneysmart/overview.html

Qualified Income Trust/ Miller Trust/Income only Trust/D4B Trust:  Who needs a Qualified Income Trust? You need a QIT if your income before any deductions (such as taxes, Medicare or health insurance premiums) is over the limit to qualify for the Institutional Care Program (ICP), Institutional Hospice, and Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) or the Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) waivers. For detailed information: https://www.myflfamilies.com/service-programs/access/docs/qualified_income_trust_factsheet.pdf

Pooled Special Needs Trust or Individual trust/D4C Trust: is an asset protection strategy which is specifically for aged and disabled Floridians. Provisions for Pooled Trusts were established pursuant to Federal Law, 42 U.S.C. §1396p(d)(4)(C) to help the elderly and persons with disabilities who want to set aside funds legally and ethically while maintaining eligibility for public benefits such as Medicaid and Social Security Disability. The funds placed in a Pooled Special Needs Trust are used to improve quality of life and pay for life enrichment items or necessities that are not covered by other programs. The use of a Pooled Trust allows the individual (Trust Beneficiary) to deposit an unlimited amount of their own money in the Pooled Trust, keep their government benefits and still benefit from the assets held in the Trust.

Agencies providing Pooled Special Need Trust services in Florida: AGED, Inc. Alpert Jewish Family & Children Service, ARC Jacksonville, ARC South Florida, Center for SNTA Administration, Charities Pooled Trust, Commonwealth Community Trust, Disabled and Alone/Life Services for the Handicapped, Inc., Family Network on Disabilities, Guardian Trust. National Foundation for Special Needs Integrity. For more information about Special Needs Trust: https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0501120203

I believe that if we all work together on education, support, and advocacy we can make asset buildup a reality for people with disabilities and low-income families.

Lesly Quintanilla Lopez     305 453 3491

The wallet card is a tool to be used by a teenager or an adult with a disability.

Currently, we have developed cards for persons with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) or intellectual disabilities. 

We have finished our new caregiver card.

You can start ordering them online on our website.

Access The Vote Florida (ATVFL) is a state chapter of AAPD’s REVUP Campaign. REV UP stands for: Register! Educate! Vote! Use your Power!

We will be meeting by Zoom every Friday at 11am. The first Friday of the month will be a full chapter meeting and the other weeks will be committee meetings.

Email Olivia at oliviab@drflorida.org to get on our mailing list.

The chapter is a statewide coalition of organizations and self-advocates that are working to raise awareness about issues that impact persons with disabilities, encourage people with disabilities to participate in the voting process, and educate elected officials on issues important to persons with disabilities.

The video below was created as a virtual presentation for the 2021 Family Cafe.

The video will explain who ATVFL is, what we have done so far, and what we plan to do in the future.

The presentation will encourage self-advocates to join and become involved.

This event is on hold until it is safe to meeting in person again. However, if you are looking for something fun to do, you should check out My Squad. A new program sponsored by the City of Coral Gables. You can text (305) 978-1196 (text preferred) for more information.