Access Alaska

• Recognizing Domestic Violence and Abuse
• Personal Safety and Reporting
• Screening Providers

Thursday, March 27th and Friday, March 28
Time: 9:00 - 1:00 pm
Access Alaska
526 Gaffney, Suite 100
Fairbanks, Alaska

This Free, two day training is designed for consumers…family members and care providers will also benefit and are encouraged to attend.

To Register Contact:
Lorraine Trask or Cassi Berry (907) 479-7940

If you require a reasonable accommodation, please let us know no later than March 21, 2008 so we may be able to fulfill your request.

This training is sponsored by grant funding awarded to the State of Alaska, Governors Council on Disabilities and Special Education from the Department of Justice, Office of Violence Against Women (Grant #2004-FWAX-K033).

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More here.

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Physical activity is extremely important for individuals with MS, and yoga is now recognized as an excellent means of MS management, whether the individual manifests little or no outward signs of the disease, or whether they spend most of their time in a wheelchair. Shelly Carlson, the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation and Access Alaska along with the Fairbanks MS Support Group is sponsoring Yoga classes for people with MS. These classes are free for those with MS. No experience is necessary and the classes are designed to include those of ALL abilities.

Every Wednesday 5:30 - 6:30 at Access Alaska - Fairbanks 526 Gaffney Road Suite 100, Fairbanks, AK

Call Access Alaska 479-7940 or Shelly Carlson 457-8195 for more information.
Visit www.yogainchairs.com for more information.

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On Tuesday August 28  Access Alaska is pleased to sponsor the Anchorage stop on The Road to Freedom Tour. The Road to Freedom, a project of ADA Watch and the National Coalition of Disability Rights, is a year long, cross county bus tour and multimedia exhibit, highlighting the history of the ADA. The exhibition vividly reveals the struggle for disability rights, past and present.

What’s Happening and Where?

All events are at Out North, 3800 DeBarr Road, Anchorage.

4 PM – 10 PM Films and Photo Exhibit

• Films from the UAA Disability Support Services Lending Library and the the Reel Eyes Showcase of Films running continuously in the theater (films are captioned)
• The Photos of Tom Olin, social documentarian and photojournalist, in the gallery

The late disability rights pioneer Justin Dart had the highest praise for Olin and his work. Dart said, “Tom Olin is a great, dedicated patriot and photographer of our movement. His contributions will live long after the pyramids of the pharaohs have crumbled to dust.”

6 PM Press Conference

• With Jim Ward, Tom Olin and others in the gallery

The landmark Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) – passed with overwhelmingly bi-partisan support in Congress over 15 years ago – was created to ensure that people with disabilities could access the same services as those without disabilities. For the most part, the ADA has been a success, resulting in greater community integration of people with disabilities and further protections against unlawful discrimination.

 

With all of its successes, court decisions have resulted in stripping many of the protections Congress intended the ADA to provide. Barriers to equal access to places of business and public services remain more than 15 years after passage of the ADA. The Road to Freedom tour seeks to alert Americans to these problems and the need for Congress to pass ADA Restoration, effectively returning the protections that have been eroded over the years. Congressman Don Young has co-sponsored the ADA Restoration Act 2007 H.R. 31915.

7 PM – 8:30 PM Social

• Join Access Alaska, Jim Ward, Tom Olin and our other sponsors; Out North, AARP and UAA Disability Support Services in the gallery for an evening of fine wine, conversation and amazing photography.

That's 4 PM to 10 PM - Tuesday August 28 at Out North, 3800 DeBarr Road, Anchorage. Education, Art, History, Film, Good Friends and Fun, what more can you ask?

Please let us know if you have any special or disability-specific requirements so that we can make your evening as enjoyable as possible.

For more information contact:

Doug Toelle

Access Alaska

800-770-7940

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On Monday, August 6th, join us at the Alaska Native Heritage Center for a night full of Alaskan experiences. From 7:00 to 9:30 pm, there will be a silent auction, with proceeds going directly to benefit people with disabilities around the state and assist to offset celebration costs. The night will begin with entertainment by the Alaska Native Dancers, music, dancing, drinks and the entertaining speaker, Ryan Knighton that is sure to captivate the audience with his comical and amusing flair.

This year, we have invited a national speaker, the star of the best-seller book Cockeyed, Ryan Knighton, to travel to Anchorage to share his message of success with his own unique motivational, candid flair. Ryan Knighton will make you forget any stereotype you may have of the “disabled motivational speaker.” He’s not a mountain climber, rodeo rider, long-distance swimmer or hang-glider. He’s a creative writing teacher. And it is that gift for storytelling, drama and clarity of communication that makes his speeches so compelling, entertaining and uplifting. In his talks he shares the story of his progressive and irreversible descent into blindness. His story is one that engages both the hearts and the minds of his listeners, allowing them to laugh at the seeming frailty and unpredictability of the human condition, while at the same time offering a message of hope, courage, and a first-hand account of the extraordinary power of curiosity and humor in surviving, succeeding, and traveling beyond our own expectations.

TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW!!

$10.00 FOR PRESALE
$15.00 AT THE DOOR
UAA Students and Faculty 50% off
To purchase tickets
or for more info email: mystie@atla.biz

More on Ryan Knighton
Ryan Knighton home page
Documentary about Ryan Knighton
CBC interview
Written by Ryan Knighton about his wife

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SeniorCare provides $120 a month to low-income seniors (singles over 65 with annual incomes of less than $16,133 and couples with annual incomes of less than $21,641). Most recipients use the benefit for utilities, food, rent, or medications. Recipients of the assistance program as well as senior advocates are expected to make comments. Legislators have also been invited to attend.

WHAT: Public rally in support of the SeniorCare program
WHERE: Access Alaska Offices, on the corner of “A” and W. Fireweed
WHEN: Thursday, June 14, 2007 from 11:30 am – 1:00 pm
WHO: Seniors and senior advocates

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By Kathy Fitzgerald
When: April 27, 2007
Time: 9:30 until 2:30
Where: FRA Library Room
805 Airport Rd
Fairbanks, AK

Advocacy skills help you resolve your issues and make things better! This workshop is for individuals who wish to strengthen their advocacy skills and improve the lives of Alaskan Trust Beneficiaries.

Presenter: Kathy Fitzgerald
RSVP: Heather Hwang at 272-8270 or Noel Murray 456-8901
Funded by the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority

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Open to the general public. Community providers from both disability and victim advocacy fields, as well as individuals with disabilities and their family members are strongly encouraged to participate.

Our first video viewing and group discussion will be at:

Date and Time:
April 5, 2007 from 11:30am-1pm
Agency:
Victims for Justice
1057 W. Fireweed, 1st floor conference room
Videos:
“Serving Crime Victims with Disabilities: Meet Us Where We Are” AND "End the Silence"

If you have any questions or would like to request a reasonable accommodation to fully participate, please contact Christine King at 264-6241 (V), 264-6206 (TTY), or by email at anckk@uaa.alaska.edu. Pre-registration is not required. If you would like to receive a certificate of attendance, please contact Christine King.

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There will be sign language interpreters and volunteers to help Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and Deaf-Blind enjoy the programs and events. There will also be golf carts or wheelchairs to help people who might have trouble walking over all those paths. The Zoo’s gift shop and coffee shop will be open. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will staff an information table and kid’s tent.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Accessibility Team, with help from the Alaska Zoo, Access Alaska, and the Assistive Technologies Library of Alaska (ATLA), hope this will be a Mother’s Day you, your family, and your friends will never forget. Bring your cameras and come relax and enjoy International Migratory Bird Day at the Zoo. For more information, e-mail karen_laubenstein@fws.gov or laura_whitehouse@fws.gov

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WITH SHARON MIRANDA

Saturday, March 31, 2007 8:30a.m. – 4:30p.m.

Does the sound of fingernails on a chalkboard set your teeth on edge? Learn what gives deaf people that same feeling while they watch interpretations transpire. Join this humorous, relaxed session to learn about the annoying errors that are commonly perpetuated during the production of American Sign Language. Participants will focus on the clarification of miscues that occur with concepts/context, subject and objects, locatives, verb inflections, numbers, classifiers and more. We will observe, discuss and improve translations from English to ASL. Certified interpreters, pre-certified interpreters, ASL 201/202 students and deaf people are invited to attend. Registration, at the door, will begin at 8:00a.m.

This workshop will be presented in American Sign Language. No interpreters provided. Please contact us if you need other accommodations

PLACE: Access Alaska Fairbanks 526 Gaffney, Suite 100, Fairbanks, AK

COST:
$30.00 AKRID Member
$55.00 Non-Member
$10.00 ASL Student & Deaf AKRID Member
$35.00 ASL Student and Deaf Non-Member

RID CEUs have not been processed for this workshop. Interpreters who wish to earn 0.7 RID CEUs are encouraged to contact Julie Simon julie.simon@thelanguagedoor.net The paper work and a check ($10.00) are due one (1) week PRIOR to the workshop to complete a PINRA.

CONTACT: Peggy Dargan PDargan@accessalaska.net or Anne Dawson dawson@asdawson.com

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It is vital that developmental disability service agencies in Alaska maintain adequate funding to support the individuals who rely on them for support. In recent years drastic cuts to base grants and the elimination of critical programs have weakened the system and diminished the minimal safety net that remains for crisis and emergencies. Today, a majority of community agencies are facing another year of rate freezes whiles costs such as heating fuel, housing, worker’s compensation, health benefits and supplies continue to grow.

The Key Coalition, which has been advocating through the Key Campaign for 20 years and is dedicated to working for all individuals and families who experience disabilities; developmental, physical or complex medical conditions. The Coalition is committed to preserving the current community service system as it pertains to quality, adequate funding and consumer choice. It is also dedicated to eradicating he statewide waitlist for all community supports.

This year, the Key Coalition of Alaska’s platform for Key Campaign XX focuses on four issues. These issues are maintaining and enhancing our Medicaid community disabilities system, enhancement of early intervention/infant learning program, reducing the wait list and identification and diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders.

More than 300 people will speak to Alaska legislators in Juneau, asking them for assistance. Another year of reductions or rate freezes will clearly jeopardize the remaining infrastructure of community supports, bringing them to a critical point of irrevocable erosion. They will remind the legislators that their budget is not only numbers, but people lives.

What can you do? Contact your legislators and tell them how important it is to keep families together; to help children grow toward self-sufficiency and independence; and provide meaningful work and recreational opportunities for individuals who experience a disability. Community members can contact legislators by sending a Public Opinion Message (POM) via the internet at http://legis.state.ak.us.poms/, or by calling or mailing them. Or you can join in person and rally. Simultaneous rallies will occur throughout Alaska on March 7, 2007. Rally and contact information for each area is provided below.

Juneau

Hope Community Resources
Barb Nath (564-7451/227-8169)
bnath@hopealaska.org
Dinner/Candlelight Vigil: March 6, Centennial Hall, 6:00 p.m.
Rally: March 7, steps of the legislative offices, Noon

Fairbanks

Fairbanks Resource Agency, Nancy Tarnai (456-8901)
nancy@fra-alaska.net
Dinner/Candlelight Vigil: March 6, Fairbanks Lutheran Church, 1012 Cowles, 6:00 p.m.
Rally: March 7, Fairbanks Visitor Center Log Cabin, 11:30 a.m.

Anchorage

Hope Community Resources, Kris Jez (564-7434)
kjez@hopealaska.org
Rally: March 7, Town Square, 5th & E Streets, Noon
Luncheon: March 7, The ARC of Anchorage, 2211 Nichols Street, 1 p.m.

Wasilla

Hope Comunity Resources Inc., Rebecca Marinelli (357-3750)
rmarinelli@hopealaska.org
Rally: March 7, meet at Pizza hut, Parks Hwy & Crusey St., Noon
Luncheon; March 7, Pizza Hut, noon

Kenai/Soldotna

Hope Community Resources, Lynece Knutson (260-9469)
lknutson@hopealaska.org
Rally: March 7, Soldotna City Hall, Noon

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For more information, contact Mike Mitchell at 258-0465.

Is the disability community represented on this committee?

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Print out the flyer and registration form from www.uaa.alaska.edu/resourcesolutions. Fax the completed registration to 786-1700. For more information, contact Jane Oakley at 907-786-6374 or Meg King at 907-786-6372 or email Jane at janeo@uaa.alaska.edu.

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The Midnight Sun Assistive Technology Conference will provide the opportunity to see first hand the latest in assistive technologies (AT), practices, and services for people with disabilities. The conference will serve as a unique opportunity for vendors, professionals, private individuals, and service providers to exchange and gather information on the world of AT. Whether you are an AT supplier, service provider, or are just interested in seeing the latest in AT, you’ll want to join us in the land of the Midnight Sun for this one of a kind opportunity, all while visiting the beauty of Alaska.

Website link: http://www.akatconf.com
Email: information@akatconf.com

Questions: Coordinators Inc. (907) 646-9000

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For more information, contact 907-382-6623 or sue@akcenter.org.

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For more information or to register, contact Dora Wainwright at (907) 786-6319, FAX: (907) 786-6312, or fndew@uaf.edu.

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Call Access Alaska to inquire about transportation.

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Call Access Alaska to inquire about transportation 479-7940, TTY 474-8619.

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The ADA Partner’s Project is the Alaskan affiliate of the Disability & Business Technical Assistance Center (DBTAC Northwest). The ADA Partners Project’s mission is to provide technical assistance and training on the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other disability related laws and regulations. Services are directed and available to all entities covered by the ADA – individuals with disabilities, employers, businesses, state and local governments, and other interested citizens.

TO REGISTER: Space is limited, you must register to attend. Please contact Mike Friend at the address below to reserve a seat. Please include your name, address, phone number or email address, and the title of the session you would like to attend. Please include any accommodations you may need to access the session or materials at least 7 days prior to scheduled session. Every attempt will be made after this date, but cannot be guaranteed. Late registrations will only be accepted as space allows. Prior to sessions, you are invited to submit questions to: dbarton@accessalaska.org

Mike Friend
Access Alaska
121 W. Fireweed Lane, Suite 105
Anchorage, AK 99503

Email: mfriend@accessalaska.org
Phone: (907)248-4777
Fax: (907)248-0639
TTY: (907)248-8799

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Presenter: David Barton, ADA Partners Project Coordinator - Access Alaska

THURSDAY, January 25, 2007
3:00PM - 4:45PM
BP Energy Center
900 East Benson Boulevard
Anchorage, AK 99503
Spruce/Willow Room

The ADA Partner’s Project is the Alaskan affiliate of the Disability & Business Technical Assistance Center (DBTAC Northwest). The ADA Partners Project’s mission is to provide technical assistance and training on the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other disability related laws and regulations. Services are directed and available to all entities covered by the ADA – individuals with disabilities, employers, businesses, state and local governments, and other interested citizens.

TO REGISTER: Space is limited, you must register to attend. Please contact Mike Friend by FRIDAY, January 18, 2007 to reserve a seat. Please include your name, address, phone number or email address, and the title of the session you would like to attend. Please include any accommodations you may need to access the session or materials at least 7 days prior to scheduled session. Every attempt will be made after this date, but cannot be guaranteed. Late registrations will only be accepted as space allows. Prior to sessions, you are invited to submit questions to: dbarton@accessalaska.org

Registration contact:
Mike Friend
Access Alaska
121 W. Fireweed Lane, Stuite 105
Anchorage, AK 99503

Phone# (907)248-4777, Ext. 216
Fax# (907)248-0639
TTY# (907)248-8799
Email: mfriend@accessalaska.org

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