E-news for Week Commencing 30 July 2007
It is with regret that Disabled Peoples International (DPI) announces the passing of Maria Eugenia "Maru" Antunez Farrugia on 19 July 2007.
Maru was well-known in the international disability community as an advocate for disability rights, an accessible society, and the rights of women with disabilities. She worked on the United Nations’ Panel of Experts, in the Mexican President's Disability Office, for DPI, Rehabilitation International, and as a Board Member for Libra Accesso. She also participated in several Ad Hoc Committee meetings for the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, as government expert and representative of civil society. Her dedication and passion will be missed. Our thoughts are with her family and colleagues.
Human Rights
After years of being weakened in the courts, Congress is coming to the rescue of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the bipartisan civil rights protection law first signed in 1990. Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Representative James Sensenbrenner introduced the ADA Restoration Act 2007 on July 26, the 17th anniversary of the ADA. This vital legislation will restate and clarify the intent of Congress to keep the promise of the ADA.
The actions of the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) certainly support the need for action in supporting the rights of people with disabilities in the USA. On 3 July 2007, hundreds of people who are blind or visually impaired took to the streets, some tapping the ground with white canes in a civil rights protest march. “We are here to march for independence for blind people across America,” said Larry Streeter, a school principal from Raleigh, North Carolina.
They made demands for improved education and employment. “The blind have a 70 percent unemployment rate, and we have a 10 percent rate of being taught to read and write Braille in our schools in this country," said NFB president Marc Maurer, a lawyer from Maryland.
If you want to sign the petition to support the ADA Restoration Act, please go to
http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizationsORG/adawatch/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=589&t=roadtofreedom.dwt
Health Care and Decision Making
The Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal’s Summer issue is now available. It focuses on mental health recovery and system transformation.
A paper by Patricia Deegan discusses an innovative approach to support shared decision making regarding the use of psychiatric medication. This includes a peer-run decision support center, as well as a software program to support the activation of medical staff and clients in shared decision making. Please read http://prj.metapress.com/app/home/issue.asp?referrer=parent&backto=journal,3,21;linkingpublicationresults,1:119989,1
Advocacy
Resources for Children with Special Needs Inc. is offering a series of free workshops for families in Bronx, New York, USA titled “What’s Out There and How to Get it” from November 2007-April 2008. For more information, please go to http://www.resourcesnyc.org/rcsn.htm or contact Gary Shulman at gshulman@resourcesnyc.org
Call for Papers
The Center for the Study of Diversity in Science, Technology, and Medicine at The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA requests submissions of Abstracts for a Conference titled “What is the Use of Race” to be held April 25-26, 2008. Abstracts are due 15 October 2007. For information, please go to http://web.mit.edu/csd/WUR/Call%20for%20Papers_files/Call%20for%20Papers-1.pdf
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