Contact for statewide program: Leah March, Loan Fund Manager 1.800.828.2714
United Cerebral Palsy of Michigan

Local program: Capital Area Center for Independent Living

PRESS RELEASE
Attn: Community News Editors

LOAN PROGRAM HELPS PROVIDE AFFORDABLE INDEPENDENCE FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

The Capital Area Center for Independent Living is assisting with an innovative program in the Ingham, Eaton, Clinton and Shiawassee areas that makes it easier for people with disabilities to buy assistive technology equipment and devices.
The Michigan Assistive Technology Loan Fund (AT Loan Fund) is a joint effort of United Cerebral Palsy of Michigan, Disability Network agencies throughout the state, and Option 1 Credit Union in East Lansing.
The program provides low cost, fixed-rate loans to qualified applicants to finance the purchase of assistive technology devices and/or services. To participate in the program, applicants must be individuals with disabilities or parents or guardians of individuals with disabilities.
“This program will help people with disabilities buy adapted computers, make modifications to their automobiles or homes, buy hearing and communication devices and much, much more” said Kim McDonald. “With these devices individuals will increase their independence and improve their quality of life.”
The AT Loan Fund was developed as a result of the difficulty people often have when trying to obtain conventional financing to purchase assistive technology equipment. Lenders often will not take such devices as collateral or the amount of the device may be below the minimum amount lent by an institution. The Michigan Assistive Technology Loan Fund has no minimum limits but has a maximum of $30,000.
To obtain an application, contact Kim McDonald-(Program Coordinator, Capital Area Center for Independent Living) or visit the Michigan Assistive Technology Loan Fund website at www.michiganloanfunds.org.

On December 3 the Advocacy Team hosted a viewing and discussion of the movie SICKO. We were pleased to have Michael Harp (representing the insurance industry), Todd Tennis, Ingham County Commissioner, and Marjorie Sandoval, and Ellen Weaver, rehabilitation nurses from CACIL, to assist in our discussion of health care in mid-Michigan and what we can do to improve health care opportunities in the United States.
There were many statements in the movie which gave us direction, my favorite was something like:
“A country that can afford to go to war can afford health
care for all of its people…”
No one knows exactly how many people in the United States do not have health care. More insidious is the question of how many people have health care that will not work when they need it. SICKO is about, some people who have health insurance, or thought they did; people who lost their homes, lost their children and lost each other. These stories are not confined to Michael Moore's movie. They are our stories, we live them every day. What we can do to create change depends on how much we want to create change.
A second favorite statement:
“...with democracy, power moved from wealth to the polls…”
2008 is a major election-year in this country. There are candidates who want to be councilmen/women, school board members, state senators, congressional representatives, United States senators and president of the United States. What do they know of our stories? Will you allow someone to be elected, to represent you, who doesn't know our story? And when they are elected, what will they do about your story, and my story, and all the stories we know so well?
So far, we seem to have a lot of question marks. Before we can get answers from our representatives, we need to let them know what it is that we want. We need to tell our stories, and this is one place we can do that.
In the weeks and months leading up to the November election we are going to introduce you to a family. This family is you and me. They face all the problems that everyday people face in this country. They get sick, they go to doctors, they take medicine, they pay for medicine -- -- sometimes paying for medicine leads to only bad choices. They need a place to live. Can they afford it? They need a job -- with benefits. Will it pay enough? What if they get sick? What if the bus doesn't go there? Are there good schools for the children? Is there enough food for the children? I don't want the children to ask
Santa Claus for pajamas to wear so they'll be warm, or food so they won't be hungry. We can do better. We must remind the candidates-- with democracy, power moved from wealth to the polls.
WE HAVE THE POWER--HERE ARE OUR STORIES...
The OTHER AMERICAN STORY
Tatiana met Leo when she was 18. Three children and 53 years later when she looks at him she still sees the same strong man whose pride and love can overcome all obstacles, well, most obstacles. That five o'clock traffic -- that's a hard one. For herself, when she looks in the mirror it is time that she sees, time in her bright blue eyes, and that strong, determined jaw, time that melts her long graceful neck into her gentle sloping shoulders. Tatiana, she would often say, you are not 18 anymore.
Holding on to pieces of furniture she moves through the house, arranging papers and pillows, picking up towels or socks for the laundry and straightening the beds, making sure her house is in order, as it has always been.
Noon and lunch, it used to be so important. She remembered thinking that when Leo retired they would sit down together and enjoy a slow, lingering meal. It never happened. At first there was too much to do, and now, insulin lunches and heart smart meals don’t lend themselves to gentle conversations of yesterdays and tomorrows.
March 2008.
LET'S TALK POLITICS
So much has happened since last we talked, and so little has changed.
It would seem that Jon McCain has become the front runner and a Republican presidential race, or maybe not. Mike Huckabee continues to inform us that "this is a two-man race."
The Democrats definitely have a two-person race. Hillary Clinton and Barak Obama seem to be equally dividing all of the delegate votes. Some people figured that from this point on, we should have identified a party candidates and are very disturbed and that the race continues among these four people. I think this offers us a great opportunity. We have several months to find out just what each candidate means and what each plan will involve. Tell me what we're going to do in Iraq, how we resolve the economy, and what kind of health care will I end up with? We need to be sure that the questions get asked, and the answers are clear and understandable. This is such a great opportunity for us to really find out what our presidential candidates are about, before they are our presidential candidates.
Meanwhile, our small family, Tatiana and Leo, have been dealing with some small crises of their own. I wish I could tell you they were unique and their experiences, but it's just not true. The holidays have been hard for many people. Go to file
II.
A car pulled into the driveway and the brakes squealed with delight. A few minutes later Leo entered, hung up his coat behind the door, turned to Tatiana and broadly smiled. "I made it home for lunch." he said, walking to the refrigerator and taking out a bottle of beer. Tatiana rolled her eyes. 53 years could not change some things, and at 79 why try?
"Have you heard from Sherona? I hope she and the little one can make it this year for Christmas." Leo stated. Tatiana placed a turene of vegetable soup on the table. She ladled bright orange of chunks of home-grown carrots, green beans and corn into his bowl, walked to the oven, removed a loaf of fresh baked bread and put a slice on the dish beside him. ",he is so far away, I wish she could be closer. It would be nice to see her and the children." Tatiana responded. They ate in comfortable silence. Tatiana looked over to Leo. A small stream of broth trickled down the side of his mouth and he made little gasping, choking sounds. "Leo, Leo. Are you okay? Leo, do you hear me? What is the matter?" She began to panic as she looked into his glassy eyes focused on -- -- nothing. She rose to her feet, almost effortlessly. She ran her hand down the side of his face. "Leo, Leo. Oh my Go, Leo. Talk to me, say something. Oh no, oh no! Call Ahmed, no, call 911." She moved to the phone, and her stiff, unyielding fingers almost nimbly dialed numbers to bring him help.
Ahmed arrived just as the paramedics were removing his father from the House. His mother's frantic call had actually scared this oldest son. He had never heard her get so upset and he knew something terrible must have happened. He got out of the car and walked toward the ambulance. From the corner of his eye he saw his mother appear on the back porch. He turned to meet her as she walked down the steps. "Mom, it's going to be okay." They walked to the ambulance and the drivers said, "It looks like a stroke, we will meet you at the hospital." Tatiana begin to cry, her small shoulders shaking violently. Ahmed put his arms around her. He felt so helpless -- so helpless. They walked to the car and he drove in silence.

Safety Tips for Visiting Professionals

Dealing with hostile/angry clients:
Clients can react with anger because of difficulty in finding help with their situations, emotional pain or discomfort, or fear and anxiety about the results of your visit.

• React and respond to the client in a calm but firm manner.
• To help the client define their anger, verbally acknowledge it. “I understand that you are upset” or “It sounds like you’re really angry about this.”
• Reinforce the positive long-term benefits of your assistance, your commitment to their best interests, and your role as their ally.
• A lower volume of voice can help the client calm down.
• Encourage the client to sit down.
• Rehearse ahead of time what you’d say or do to these situations.
• If situation appears dangerous, leave and call 911.
  
  

I have observed one huge thing since the last newsletter; what happens when your purse is stolen. A few weeks ago it was either taken from the Laundromat or fell off my basket of clothes when I took it out of the car.
Before I even realized that it was gone, someone had charged almost $3,000 on my credit cards and during the next week another $1,000 on gas credit cards I only kept for emergencies and forgot I even had in my purse. I filed a police report and was told that the chances of catching the thief were very low even though I had all the charges and where and when they were made.
It has been a real nightmare and a great deal of running around. First I had to have the locks changed at the house and because I had business cards in my purse we had to have them changed here at CACIL too. I had to go to the bank and get a new debit/Visa card and stop all checks between certain numbers, get a new driver’s license, go back to the police twice to update the report, make a ton of telephone calls, complete a stack of paper work……. But it was nice to know that I don’t have to pay the money back. Oh, and then I received a call from one credit card company saying that someone had tried to open an account using all my information, but they had not opened it as there was a fraud alert with the three credit bureaus. They had all the information they needed since I had stopped at the bank on my way to do the laundry and had a paycheck stub in the purse.
What have I learned from all this and what gems do I have to pass on to you? First of all, don’t put your purse on top of something that you are carrying into the house and keep it with you at all times when out of the house. The credit card companies and the banks are very nice about helping you settle things. You only have to call one of the credit reporting agencies to tell them of the theft and they contact the others. Never carry a check stub in your purse even for a very short time and ask your employer if he can stop putting your whole social security number on your stubs (some places now only list the last four digits). Do file a police report; you have to for the credit card companies. Make photocopies of all the things you carry in your wallet including your insurance cards and try your best not to look at everyone in the neighborhood as the possible thief. I admit that has been hard and my faith in people has been a bit shaken. I’m pretty sure that the purse was taken from the driveway and it would have been so easy to just bring it up to the door. As they say, live and learn. As one of the tenants of an assertive personality states, don’t let how other people act decide how you see the world.
Now, go take everything you don’t need to carry out of your purse or for you men your wallet and make copies of everything. Even though it’s a long shot that this will ever happen to you, as we learned in Scouts, be prepared.

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