Disability Access News

From correspondents in China
March 21, 2008 12:23am

CHINESE police have rescued 33 intellectually disabled people forced to work at a building site by slave labour merchants after the apparent suicide of a detainee alerted authorities.

The case in Hulan, a city in the north-eastern province of Heilongjiang, echoes a major scandal involving more than 1,000 people forced to work in brutal conditions at brick kilns in Shanxi province last year.

More than 30 captives were discovered crammed in a tiny room in a residential building, the Beijing Times has reported, after students at a neighbouring police college saw a man jump from a seventh-floor window.

``As the students ran over, the man jumped,'' the paper reported.

They found the captives in a ``reeking'' room piled with straw mattresses and shabby blankets.

Police later found many of them ``could not speak coherently, or clearly remember their names or where their families lived''.

One had been held for three years.

All had been rounded up at a train station in nearby Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang province, and were duped into getting into cars by a gang offering work.

They were sent to do manual labour on a building site, and those that attempted to escape were ``beaten and terrorised'', the paper reported.

China announced a nationwide crackdown on enslavement and child labour last year after reports of hundreds of poor farmers, children and intellectually disabled were forced or lured to work in kilns and mines in Shanxi and neighbouring Henan.

ANGUS HOHENBOKEN
Tasmania Mercury

March 20, 2008 12:00am
THE family of disabled teenager Scott Holmes said they were furious at having two weeks of respite cancelled at a day's notice.

Leanne and Chris Smith spoke with the Mercury last week about their frustration at waiting three years for disability day-care funding.

Following a story in the Mercury on March 12 they were pleased to get a call from Disability Services assuring them he had been moved to the top of the priority list.

But the next day Mr Smith received a call from Lutana Disability Services Respite Care Centre informing him respite booked for Scott from March 14-28 had been cancelled.

Scott has the intellectual capacity of a two-year-old and requires constant supervision.

One week out of every month he does not sleep.

Mr Smith this week said he and Leanne had been severely disappointed at having to cancel holidays.

"(Another client) was supposed to be picked up (at the care centre) on Thursday and the family said they wouldn't be coming to pick them up basically."

He said the centre had also cancelled respite for another two people that were going away on holidays.

"Another couple was going to Melbourne and they've been dealt with the same," Mr Smith said.

"I don't know if there are others not being picked up or if they have just over-booked.

"But we know for a fact there are people in there permanently."

What most annoyed the couple, who have two other children at home, was the short notice.

They were initially told the dates were not available and then they were approved, so Mrs Smith had taken time off work and they booked accommodation in Launceston.

Mr Smith said he didn't blame the respite centre.

"Respite's hands are tied, they can't put the kids out on the street," he said.

"The Government needs to be doing more to help them out."

Disability Services director Wendy Quinn denied the family's respite accommodation had been cancelled.

She said there had been a mix-up with a booking and alternative care options were offered to the family.

"No other bookings have been cancelled," she said.

"Families with booked clients were advised of a recent emergency admission of a client with some behavioural issues and some chose themselves to make other arrangements."

By Julian Whittle

DISABLED pass holders will still be able to travel free on Carlisle buses before 9.30am on weekdays – even though pensioners will soon have to pay.

Carlisle City Council is planning changes to its concessionary fares scheme from May to save £124,000 a year.

At present concessions can travel free all day. But from May 1, pensioners will have to pay before 9.30am on Mondays to Fridays although they can still travel free all day at weekends.

The restriction on free travel was to have applied to disabled pass holders too.

But the city council’s executive, meeting yesterday, changed its mind after hearing that some disabled passengers would suffer hardship.

Belah Conservative councillor David Morton, who is registered blind, campaigned for disabled travellers to be allowed to travel free all day.

He said after the meeting: “I know of a 44-year-old man who works three days a week and helps out at James Rennie School for two days.

“He earns £15. If he had to pay bus fares, £9 of that would be swallowed up leaving him with £6 a week.”

At first, bus company Stagecoach argued that it could not distinguish between disabled pass holders and pensioners. But it changed its mind after Mr Morton pointed out that tickets issued to disabled travellers were different.

A report to councillors said there had been “a number of approaches” from disabled people and their representatives. These argued that stopping free travel before 9.30am would hit disabled people attending college and those in low-paid work or with early-morning medical appointments.

The council’s deputy leader, Ray Bloxham, said: “This is a welcome step forward for those people with disabilities that are, in many cases, youngsters going to college or other appointments.”

The council is still planning to curtail free travel for pensioners, however.

It says it has to claw back cash because changes imposed by the government will leave it out of pocket.

From April 1, pensioners and other concessions will be able to travel free off peak anywhere in England.

At present they are entitled to free travel only in the district where they live.

The city council will have to foot the bill if a Carlisle pensioner, for example, travels to Newcastle. And it will have to pay if a visiting pensioner from somewhere else in England takes a ride along Hadrian’s Wall.

Labour has pledged to restore free all-day travel for pensioners if it wins control of the council after the elections on May 1.

Carlisle City Council says pensioners and other concessions will automatically be sent new bus passes valid from April 1.

There is no need to apply direct to the council.

Professor Knoles' Class
Issue date: 3/18/08

Sitting in front of the class, Jeannie Felton laughs and says "My motorized wheelchair makes me stand out in a crowd!" But what really makes Jeannie stand out is her determination to live life to the fullest and use her experience with Multiple Sclerosis to help others.

During the month of March, Jeannie Felton, Elaine Kneeland, and representatives of the Multiple Sclerosis Society visited the composition classes of Professor Lucia Knoles to help students understand the experience of living with M.S. and the importance of raising awareness and money to support those with the disease.

Since being diagnosed with MS in 2001, Felton has had to deal with constant fatigue and pain. She said, "I wake up in the morning tired. I'm never not tired" Sometimes the problem is so bad that she has difficulty even holding up her head or breathing. It frustrates her that by the end of a day, "I can't think well. I can't talk well. I can't even stand hearing someone else talk. I love my dog but sometimes I want to hang him when he barks because I just can't stop it." Felton acknowledges that MS can sometimes lead people into depression, when she said "The dark side is always there beckoning me into the pit."

However, Felton fights to live as full a life as possible. She walks, stretches, and does yoga to maintain her strength. Even though she doesn't always need a wheelchair, she uses one to expand the number of things she can do. Prioritizing is also important, as she explains, "What I want to do and what I'm able to do are not the same. So I have to choose wisely because . . . I don't want a wasted day, a wasted moment."

Humor is an important tool Felton and her family use. When she starts having trouble with her coordination and drops things in the kitchen, her children say to the dog: "Look out, Patches, mama's throwing knives again."

When she feels the need for support, Felton turns to her family, the MS Society, and God. She said, "My daughter was 12 when I was diagnosed, and her response was to learn and understand all about it, and she's been incredibly supportive." Members of the MS society have become a kind of extended family for Felton, who explains, "Some of the most gracious and loving people I know are people who have MS and are in the MS Society."

What helps Felton the most is her perspective on life. When she has problems, she reminds herself, "It's not my fault," and "Tomorrow is always a new day." Her relationship with God lets her see MS in a positive light. She said, "I thought I had [God's] will for me figured out, but he changed the plan on me. I don't pray for him to make me well or to make me walk." Instead, Felton believes that "God can take anything or everything and use it for some good." So now she uses each day to make a difference. She said, "My goal today is the one that was written under my picture in my high school yearbook: to help people. One thing about M.S. is that it's made me better prepared to help others."

Eileen Kneeland is a 45-year-old mother of two college age boys. One day in 1999 she felt ill, and two days later, she couldn't walk. She had been a swimmer and played field hockey at Holy Cross and worked at a hospital after graduation. Now she is living with Multiple Sclerosis.

Since her diagnosis, Kneeland has kept a positive attitude. She said, "When I first got sick I was in Fairlawn Rehabilitation [Hospital] for six weeks learning to walk again. And when I got my first weekend pass, my husband took me out to Tatnuck Bookstore, rolled me in my wheelchair to the doorway and went back to park the car. And I remember saying: 'You're going to park me here? At least you could park me next to the self-help section where I could read something interesting while I wait.' And I remember thinking at least I can laugh."

Kneeland recognizes that the key to coping is making adjustments. At first, she said, "I stayed at home and worked on my art, but I missed people, so I had to get out and keep trying jobs." One thing was holding her back: "It's very embarrassing for me to be in a wheelchair-I'm a very proud person. But then I realized I didn't want to let it keep me from being out in the world." So she asked herself, "What am I going to do to take advantage of my strengths, to help people, to have fun, and to make this an opportunity?" She realized, "This is an opportunity. What you learn from this will affect everything you do."

Now Kneeland works with a district attorney as a victim's advocate and said "now I'm helping other people in a much worse situation that I'm in. Now I'm off to the next adventure."

In fact, MS has helped Kneeland take a more adventurous approach to life. "I think: 'What the hell? What do I have to lose?' I was always afraid of flying, but last year I said to my mother: "Let's go to Ireland. If I'm nervous, I'll take a pill." And now I love flying!" She concluded, "[M.S.] does damage our bodies, but it does not damage our spirits."

Posted By BRENDAN WEDLEY
Posted 12 hours ago

An accessible children's water play facility could be the next project partially paid for by the Tollington Park Endowment Fund, the city arenas, parks and recreation advisory committee decided yesterday.

To get the project approved for funding from the endowment fund, both city council and trustees of the fund must sign off on the proposal.

If approved the fund would pay about $387,000 over the next three years towards the estimated $700,000 water play facility, city staff told the committee.

Coun. Shirley Eggleton supported the recommendation that will go to city council.

"It's something in this day and age that we need. Accessibility is extremely important to the children," she said. "Anyone can play in this facility and join in."

Public works manager Peter Southall told the committee the fund has about $2.1 million.

The city uses the fund's accumulated interest to help pay for eligible projects.

Gordon Tollington established the fund with a $100,000 deposit in October 1995.

Tollington, a retired General Electric engineer, died in 2001. He established the fund to assist in the betterment of all city parks. The Tollington Bridge in Beavermead Park was the fund's inaugural project in 1998. The trust fund contributed $85,249 to the project. The city used $382,257 for the completion of a high-level pedestrian bridge over the Trent Canal to extend the Rotary Trail just south of Trent University.

An accessible children's water play facility would offer outdoor water facilities in the summer for children with a disability, staff state in a report.

Rogers Cove on Little Lake has been identified as a possible location for the play facility.