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Taking the Lead in Advocating for the Civil Rights of Individuals with Disabilities in Dutchess County
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Spring 2021\Newsletter of Taconic Resources for Independence, Inc. (TRI)
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Dear Friends, Colleagues and Supporters of TRI,
Welcome to our Spring issue of TRIathlon. In addition to keeping you informed about our upcoming workshops, community events and new projects, each issue of TRIathlon will provide an in-depth overview of one of our seven advocacy programs. This issue will feature our Special Education Advocacy Program, which provides supports and resources to Dutchess County families of students with disabilities to make informed educational decisions. Two of our Special Education advocates, Karen Lynch and Jennifer O’Neill, are profiled in the article; their advocacy work at TRI is enhanced by not only their professional, long-time expertise, but by their personal life experience as parents of children of disabilities as well. TRI’s Peer Advocate and Group Facilitator, AJ Anderson writes about his work as the coordinator of our LGBTQ support group, the first of its kind in Dutchess County. TRIathlon will also serve as a community forum where our partners in the human rights field will be invited to contribute perspectives about their work and share personal stories. Long-time disability rights advocate, Mel Tanzman - whom some of you met at our ADA 30 virtual event – is our guest contributor for this issue. Mel offers his views about the fight for disability rights and its similarity to the fight for civil rights of other marginalized populations. Our Community Leaders to Watch section will provide an update about John Rossi (featured in the Winter issue) and his ongoing advocacy to address accessible parking issues in the Village of Rhinebeck.
As Dutchess County’s leading disability rights organization, TRI serves as a prominent voice to represent the needs of our local disability community. Are you experiencing access barriers in your community? Are there issues of interest that you would like to read about in TRIathlon? We want to hear from you, so please drop us a line at: tri@taconicresources.org or call 845.452.3913.
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To Check out TRI Programs and Services Click on the Links Below |
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TRI Events
SSI//SSDI While Working 3/10,3/23,4/21
Plan ahead! Don’t risk an overpayment from Social Security! Understand how you can earn more income without risking your benefits.
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Special Education Parent/Caregiver Forum 3/18 @ 6:30pm
The group welcomes any parent/caregiver or individual in a parenting or caregiver role seeking support and positive school-related and parenting strategies for children and adolescents with special needs.
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Advocacy Updates
COVID-19 Accessible Resources for People with Disabilities Microsite
Led by the Center for Inclusive Design and Innovation (CIDI) at Georgia Tech, this project focuses on delivering accessible messages of critical health importance about COVID-19 to people with disabilities, their families, and caregivers. The target... Click Here for More.
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New Find Shelter Tool
HUD recently released the Find Shelter tool, which provides information about housing, shelter, health care, and clothing resources in communities across the country to help those in need. Optimized for mobile use, the tool provides mapping and contact information for these community resources, as well as printable posters and palm cards that can be displayed to direct people to the tool. An FAQ flyer is available.
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CDC, Ed Department Issue Guidance On Reopening Schools To Students With Disabilities
Federal officials are laying out a roadmap for safely reopening schools to in-person learning complete with details on how to serve students with disabilities. Click Here to read this article
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TRI Program Highlight
Special Education Advocacy
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Our Special Education Advocacy Services |
“Jennifer O’Neill took the time to listen to my concerns. She made me feel confident that through her services, I could help my son be successful in his ICT program. She gave me hope…” -Parent of a child with a disability
Opportunities, goals, education and support - this is what our two Special Education Advocates, Karen Lynch and Jennifer O’Neill, offer students with disabilities and their families and caregivers. Our advocates meet with students and their families/caregivers to provide the tools and resources to help them independently navigate through the Dutchess County school system. Their focus and objectives are to help parents/caregivers and students remove the historic barriers and numerous challenges from pre-school through transition after high school, so that our unique learners can meet their desired potential and have full inclusion within our schools and the community at large.
Karen and Jennifer assist families to understand their rights under the Individual with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and NYSED, Rules of the Regents and Regulations of the Commissioner of Education (Part 100 and Part 200), and Guidance and Policies of the US Education Department. Once families and students are informed of their rights under these programs, they are better prepared when attending their Individualized Education Program (IEP) or 504 Plan school meeting. We are pleased to report that this past year alone, our Special Education program provided services to over 250 families and their children with disabilities in Dutchess County!
As parents of children with disabilities, Karen and Jennifer have utilized their personal experiences in their work as advocates to engage in community organizing and assisting parents to navigate the public school system. This personal experience allows them to meet your needs with care, compassion and personalized support. Their support services include advocating at CSE/CPSE, Team, Program Review or Transition meetings, as well as Superintendent Hearings or Manifestation Determination CSE meetings. Karen and Jennifer can also assist with supports, access, and applications to community resources such as the Office of People with Developmental Disabilities and Secondary Education and College or Career Paths.
In addition to the one-on-one services Karen and Jennifer provide, they also offer monthly parent support groups and a variety of student, parent and community-centered workshops, which cover topics including, but not limited to: educational rights and current policies/guidance, school district’s responsibilities...
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If you are a parent of a child with a disability and have any questions about your child’s rights to an appropriate educational experience, please call our office at (845) 452.3913 or go to our website: www.taconicresources.org and fill out the parent-intake form via the link on our Special Education Advocacy Services webpage. Our advocates can also be reached by email and mobile phone at:
Karen Lynch
Mobile phone 845-249 8293
Jennifer O’Neill
Mobile phone 845-217-7893
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Meet the Special Education Advocacy Program Staff |
Karen Lynch, Special Education Advocate |
Karen is a Special Education Advocate that has been working at TRI for over 13 years. She has a son in his late 20s on the Autism spectrum, which has provided her with over 25 years of experience navigating Dutchess County school systems. Although she has a degree in business administration, she has spent most of her life working in human services and says "I believe this is where I am supposed to be." Formerly facilitating special education parent groups in a church and then for the Mental Health Association, she has supported thousands of parents over the years.
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"Do the best you can until you know better.
Then when you know better, do better."
Maya Angelou
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Jennifer O'Neill, Special Education Advocate |
Jennifer is a Special Education Advocate at TRI. She is dedicated to helping families advocate for special needs children so they have access and opportunity to quality education and positive life experiences. She offers her knowledge of the CPSE and CSE processes to assist families to navigate and understand the special education process and has done so in many capacities through her advocacy work.
Jennifer was a co-founder of the Arlington Central School District Special Education PTA, trained as a Special Education Parent Advocate...
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Educational Advocacy at Work
-Written by a Parent and Consumer of TRI's Special Educational Advocacy Services
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My son has a rare medical condition that means many aspects of his life are far from “normal.” Over the years, I have become accustomed to advocacy with medical professionals and insurance companies. As he has gotten older, the need for advocacy has extended into the classroom.
In many instances, we have enjoyed the support of teachers and school nurses who cared about my son and made genuine efforts to support and include him. These early efforts in middle school set up a strong 504 plan that both protected him and allowed him the most normalized school experience... Click Here for more on this parent's experience
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" If a child cannot learn in the way we teach...
we must teach in a way the child can learn." -Ivar Lovaas
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Steps to Being a Strong Parent Advocate
- Do you have access to your child’s IEP? Have you seen it? Do you understand the testing? Do you know how to get a copy? Have you highlighted your main concerns?
- Have you consulted with TRI’s Special Education Advocates to discuss special education issues or attended a TRI parent training workshop or support group providing information to help you know you are not alone?
- Have you reviewed any resources on the special education process, requesting Individualized Education Program (IEP) changes and your rights as a parent?
- Have you contacted the person in your child’s school, directly involved, regarding your concerns?
- Have you brought the issue to the attention of your school’s director of special education/pupil personnel services, or the building principal?
- Are you clear about what you want to accomplish at the IEP/504 annual review meeting?
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COVID 19 Safety Tips for
In-Person Learning
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How can you increase your child's safety from COVID 19 while in school? The video above was issued in February 2021 by the CDC. It has no sound but has closed captioning and is presented in American Sign Language. It is part of an effort to make COVID19 information available to all regardless of disability. |
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Dance for Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month |
The NYS Office for People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) is inviting YOU to help raise awareness about developmental disabilities by participating in Dance for Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month. Share a short video of yourself (as a person with a developmental disability) dancing alone or with others in your home or outside to a song that you think inspires inclusion or togetherness. You can send your video to communications.office@opwdd.ny.gov
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DISABILITY RIGHTS ARE HUMAN RIGHTS |
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Over the next year, TRI will be reaching out to human service/rights/advocacy organizations in Dutchess county to coalesce around shared, fundamental civil rights issues of impact to marginalized communities. We hope that by cultivating partnerships with these organizations and community leaders, we can develop a strong one voice coalition to bring issues of concern to our local public officials. We are launching this effort with an article by Mel Tanzman, a prominent disability rights advocate for over 35 years and former executive director of Westchester Disabled on the Move, an affiliate Independent Living Center in Yonkers, NY. Mel’s article will highlight how the fight for disability rights intersects with the civil rights battles of other groups. |
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Black Lives Matter and Disability Marginalization-
Same Struggle Same Fight
By Mel Tanzman
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I am sitting here one day after Administration supporters attacked and occupied the US Capitol and tried to subvert the Democratic process. It caused me to reflect on disability and how we face multiple discriminatory attitudes. This is the concept of intersectionality: “Intersectionality is an analytical framework for understanding how aspects of a person's social and political identities combine to create different modes of discrimination and privilege. Examples of these aspects are gender, caste, sex, race, class, sexuality, religion, disability, physical appearance, and height.” (Wikipedia) Many of us share the experience of being discriminated against and our presence can bring feelings of fear, disgust, and mockery (see the inartful and disgusting imitation of a reporter with a disability by a politician). When we eat out in public many object to having to watch drooling or eating in a manner that is not traditional. We are inconvenient reminders of human frailty: “I would end it all if I had to live like that”. People of Color, those with non-traditional sexual identities and people with disabilities should not dare to live outside of institutions or our own neighborhoods- out of sight, out of mind. Click Here for More.
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LGBTQ and Persons with Disabilities
By AJ Anderson
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Embracing self-identity, loneliness, fear, abandonment and depression: these are the challenging issues many LGBTQ individuals cope with on a daily basis. Adding to these challenges is finding a safe and supportive place where LGBTQ peers can share their stories and experiences with one another. The LGBTQ + Abilities support group at Taconic Resources for Independence, Inc. (TRI) offers such a place, and is the first of its kind in Dutchess County.
The objective of the LGBTQ+ Abilities Discussion & Support Group is to acknowledge that regardless of our disabilities, gender preferences and sexual orientation, we are different people with different abilities. I, AJ Anderson, facilitate the peer-led group in partnership with both TRI and the Hudson Valley LGBTQ Center located in Kingston, and it provides a safe space for everyone to express themselves openly and freely with no restrictions. As a 29-year-old gay man living with Cerebral Palsy, I offer peer support to group participants and am proud to say that I have been in their shoes as both a person with a disability and a member of the LGBTQ community.
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Join TRI’s LGBTQ+ Abilities Discussion & Support Group Meeting |
Taconic Resources for Independence (TRI) runs the first LGBTQ+ ABILITIES Discussion and Support Group in Dutchess County. TRI partnered with the Kingston based Hudson Valley LGBTQ Community Center to form the group, which is open to all members of the LGBTQ+ community, including people with disabilities. The group meets virtually on the 2nd Tuesday of each month from 5:30-7:30.
Agique Anderson (AJ), group facilitator says, “Topics range from disability identity, self-advocacy, gender Identity, to living independently. In addition to discussions, the group will present educational videos and incorporate games. We provide a safe space for everyone to express themselves freely and openly.” Click Here for More
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Community Leaders Update:
John Rossi
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Former Village Trustee, John Rossi, who Demanded Investigation to Ensure Village Compliance with ADA now runs for Mayor of the Village of Rhinebeck |
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"One of the most important lessons I learned is the fact the ADA is a civil rights law and all of us, particularly those in local government, cannot become the inclusive communities we aspire to be without fully considering the needs of everyone.”
-John Rossi, Former Rhinebeck Village Trustee
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John Rossi’s term as Trustee on the board of the Village of Rhinebeck ended in September of 2020 but it did not end his desire to serve the public. In the fall, John assembled a small team of volunteers to help his campaign for the Village elections taking place this March 16th. In preparation for the March election for Mayor, Rossi, and others, started collecting signatures to establish a new Independent party. The party is named Rhinebeck Common and Rossi, a Democrat, is part of a slate advocating for nonpartisan politics. The party’s website asserts “our common interest is for local government to be Inclusive, Responsible, and Transparent. We must work for you.”
“I like the message of coming together and most particularly the need to be inclusive to all, and that most certainly includes folks protected by the ADA” said candidate Rossi.
Rossi has promised, if elected, he will continue to advocate for the rights of persons with disabilities and compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
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COVID 19 Update for Persons with Disabilities |
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Millions of people have safely received a COVID-19 vaccine -
Excerpted from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - Safety of COVID19 Vaccines
Over 76 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine were administered in the United States from December 14, 2020, through March 1, 2021.
COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective. COVID-19 vaccines were evaluated in tens of thousands of participants in clinical trials. The vaccines met FDA’s rigorous scientific standards for safety, effectiveness, and manufacturing quality needed to support emergency use authorization (EUA). Learn more about EUAs through this video by Clicking Here.
Millions of people in the United States have received COVID-19 vaccines, and these vaccines will undergo the most intensive safety monitoring in U.S. history. This monitoring includes using both established and new safety monitoring systems to make sure that COVID-19 vaccines are safe.
Results are Reassuring
· pain or swelling at the injection site,
· a headache, chills,
· or fever.
These reactions are common. A small number of people have had a severe allergic reaction (called “anaphylaxis”) after vaccination, but this is extremely rare. If this occurs, vaccination providers have medicines available to effectively and immediately treat the reaction
As of February 15, 2021, New Yorkers age 16 and older with certain UNDERLYING CONDITIONS qualify for the vaccine. For more information on UNDERLYING MEDICAL CONDITIONS and the necessity for receiving the vaccine CLICK HERE.
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In Dutchess County, For Proof of Eligibility with Qualifying Underlying Health conditions you will need:
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Sign-up for Appointment Notifications
To be added to the notification list for appointments at Dutchess County POD locations, you MUST complete the COVID-19 Vaccination Information Request Form. You only need to complete this form once. Learn more about the form. Sign up now by clicking on the blue button.
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Increase your Disability Awareness
Check these out in the upcoming months!
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Advocacy Inclusion Independence |
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Taconic Resources for Independence, Inc.
82 Washington Street, Suite 214
Poughkeepsie, NY 12601
(845) 452-3913 TEL
(845) 485-3196 FAX
(845) 345-8416 Video Phone for Deaf/Hard of Hearing
(845) 485-1110 TTY
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