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Home / Albums / Tag curb ramps 3
- ADAPT (17)
The Denver Post - Monday April 5, 1976 [Headline] Reader Opinions - Open Forum "There is no hope for the satisfied man." Frederick G. Bonfils [Subheading] Miracles for Disabled Occur At Atlantis Community Project To the Denver Post: THE COMMISSION on the Disabled is, and has been, a strong backer of the Atlantis Community, lnc., located in the Las Casitas Housing Development at 2965 W. 11th Ave. In recognition ol the commission's support, this letter will attempt to bring readers up to date on the activities and accomplishments of Atlantis. Atlantis is, by design and philosophy, an alternative to nursing home living for the disabled people of the state. It also serves as a model for independent living for the disabled. Further, and possibly most important, Atlantis serves the community at large and reminds the able-bodied people of the area that the disabled are not as disabled as some of society might think, and that the disabled do not all live in hospitals, never to see the outdoors again. In June of 1975 the Early Action phase of the Atlantis Community opened its doors to 14 severely disabled persons, utilizing seven housing units in the Las Casitas Development. These 3-bedroom units were converted to 2-bedroom units with wider doorways, ramped entrances, widened hallways and other modifications to facilitate movement by occupants in wheelchairs. These apartments can now be used by either disabled or able-bodied occupants. Each resident has his own room and a shared living area with one other resident. There are attendants around the clock to attend to any medical or physical problem which might arise. Atlantis has effected changes in the community beneficial to all of the community, not only the disabled; changes such as the lowering and ramping of curbs and sidewalks between the buildings of Las Casitas. The ramped curbs can be used by bicyclists, mothers with baby carriages and women with shopping carts, to say nothing of the elderly out for a walk. The sidewalks are also used by everyone. So an improvement for the disabled is, in fact, an improvement for us all. Atlantis has been and will be instrumental in creating awareness in the Denver area, not just at the Early Action site itself. The Early Action phase of the Atlantis Community is now. Looking forward into tomorrow is the Atlantis Pre-Planning Program. This program, funded through the Community Development Act in the amount of $80,000 will, over the next 12 months, attempt to answer many questions concerning the disabled population of our city, and make recommendations directed to an equalized status of the disabled in relationship to the able-bodied community. Many areas will be researched to compile the data needed for long range recommendations. Some of the areas include statistical information, medical, legal (i.e., legislative and regulatory), social services, housing, transportation, etc., financial and physical planning, as well as where to obtain funding for the implementation of the final recommendations. The final document, complete with possible site locations, will be distributed to all federal, state and city agencies dealing with the disabled. For the most part, when a person is admitted to a nursing home it means that he is virtually committed to this home. Almost [all of the money given to the] disabled person go directly to the nursing home, with the exception of $25 per month "personal needs" money that goes to the individual. This means that the individual is penniless by any accepted standards, and at the mercy and whim of the home. For instance, you are told when you will bathe, when you will eat, when you will go to bed, etc. You only have the choice of whether you will see a movie or not, you do not have the choice as to what movie you might wish to see. There is entirely too much idle time; time in which to prove to yourself that you are in fact worthless. There is no privacy and most of the time you wonder if even your thoughts are your own. After spending several years in a nursing home this writer can speak for the validity of the above statements. The Atlantis Community is an alternative to nursing homes, in that Atlantis gives the same care, but when you want it. When it is convenient for me to have my bath, I call the attendant and am helped. The majority of the time I can eat when I feel like it. I have no set bedtime. When I know there is a movie I want to see there is a van to take me there. I have a choice! More importantly, my dignity has been returned to me. I am a contributing member of the fine city of Denver. I work on the Hot Line at Early Action and will also be involved in the Pre-Planning Program. I have freedom and independence, and am responsible for my own finances. I am a person. I cannot help that I am not an able-bodied person, but I am able! It is not the intent of this writer to imply staff members at Atlantis perform miracles, they do not. They just allow them to happen. One example would be a young lady, who, after brain surgery to remove a tumor, languished in nursing homes for 14 years. The surgery had left her childlike and unable to talk. While in the nursing homes she was considered to be simply a custodial care case. She did not seem to care whether her area of the room was cleaned, or even it her personal belongings were kept straightened. However, upon her arrival at Early Action, she immediately took charge of cleaning and straightening her apartment. She became so conscious of the cleanliness of her apartment that during a time when she was ill and had to depend on someone else to do the housework, she became very upset one day to find bread crumbs on the kitchen table. This young lady is also proof of the strange contradiction Early Action staff and residents are discovering; that better medical care is possible outside the nursing home. Upon her new doctors' recommendations, she started receiving physical therapy. something the nursing homes thought was a waste of time in her case. As the result of progress made while receiving therapy, orthopedic surgery was indicated, which she is recuperating from at the time of this writing. Her doctors feel this surgery will enable her to walk. Miracles at Atlantis? You decide. Progress and better care with new lifestyles? Definitely! Ms. Carolyn Finnell Atlantis Early Action Resident - ADAPT (147)
The Handicapped Coloradan, December, 1983 [Headline] Access institute Has Grant to Train 12 Disabled Activists A new Denver based group received a grant to train disabled activists from across the country in the techniques needed to make their home cities accessible to persons with disabilities. The American Lutheran Church has given the Access Institute $8,000 to start a pilot program. Three disabled persons from each of four cities will be selected for the initial program. Grant applications are currently out to the Hunt Alternative Fund for $5,000 and to the Campaign for Human Development for $100,000. Institute founders hope eventually to create a network of advocacy groups across the country. Access Institute is in part an outgrowth of the American Disabled for Accessible Public Transportation (ADAPT), a group formed this past summer in Denver to lobby bus companies and the federal government to equip all public transit systems with wheelchair lifts. ADAPT attempted to assist similar groups in other cities to push for accessible transit systems but has so far met with disappointing results. ADAPT founder Wade Blank said leaders of the disabled community in Chicago were reluctant to involve themselves with "outside agitators" while another group in Salt Lake City "folded when two newspapers editorially attacked them." The two sponsoring organizations behind the Access Institute say they believe their training program will prevent such problems in the future. Formal training for the participants will be the responsibility of the Community Resource Center (CRC), while non-classroom fieldwork will be handled by the Atlantis Community. Atlantis and CRC have worked together in the past. Five staff organizers at Atlantis received their training from CRC, whose training techniques are based on grassroots procedures developed by community organizer Saul Alinsky. In its 10 year history Atlantis has attempted to move away from the traditional "individual advocacy" method of dealing with inequities where a single complainant's problem is handled while "the larger problem of an inherently inequitable and irrational system is never addressed," according to the grant proposal. The proposal says Atlantis' "direct action" has been successful in gaining improved conditions for Denver's disabled populations and that every week the group receives requests for advice from groups and individuals in other cities. The Atlantis approach often involves confrontational policies with more than a touch of the dramatic. Tired of what they termed endless meetings with local transit officials that failed to put a single lift on a bus, members of Atlantis climbed out of their wheelchairs and lay in front of buses parked at the city's busiest downtown intersection. The two day demonstration generated immense publicity for their cause and eventually led to a commitment on the part of the regional transportation district to a 100 percent accessible bus system. They took a similar approach to curb cuts. When the city failed to respond to their request for cuts near their office and local hospitals, Atlantis members rolled down to the curbs in their wheelchairs and used sledgehammers to create their own cuts. Today the city of Denver has an aggressive policy to expand the number of curb cuts. The Access Institute will also train participants in how to deal with local government officials and how to raise money to promote their programs. Some of the fieldwork will involve moving in with severely disabled clients of Atlantis' home health care agency along with visits to institutions which exploit and oppress people such as nursing homes and workshops. Participants must come from cities with a population of at least 150,000, with individuals or groups that have already demonstrated an interest in local issues dealing with the disabled. The participants must be physically disabled themselves, have leadership abilities, be versed in disability civil rights, and have the backing of an agency or concerned individuals willing to support organizing efforts. A mass mailing to potential candidates is now being prepared. The Institute hopes to begin operations by April 1984. - ADAPT (570)
Rocky Mountain News - Fri., July 27, 1990 Mayor vows action on accessibility law Pena says city will help businesses comply By Ann Carnahan, Rocky Mountain News Staff Writer Denver Mayor Federico Pena promised yesterday to help business owners comply with new legislation requiring them to make offices and stores accessible to the disabled. Facing a roomful of people in wheelchairs, the mayor said he would review the city's permitting system to eliminate “unnecessary obstacles” that owners could face in making modifications. “We don't want to be a stumbling block,” Pena said. “We are evaluating the full range of options available . . . everything from making adjustments to fees to making adjustments to other criteria we have.” A recent University of West Virginia study showed that the average job accommodation cost is less than $500, officials said at the press conference. President Bush yesterday signed into law a measure barring discrimination against 43 million Americans who are disabled or have AIDS. Within two, years, businesses must be made accessible to disabled workers and customers. Public accommodations must comply within 18 months. “There are going to be some in the private sector who will argue that this costs too much, that this is an unfair burden," Pena said. “I say we are losing money because we have . . . Americans who cannot participate fully in the economic life-stream of this country because our buildings are not accessible." Denver has a reputation among the handicapped of being one of the most accessible cities in the country, said Laura Hershey, director of the Denver Commission for People with Disabilities. Prior to yesterday, modification requirements applied only to federal programs, Hershey said. But in Denver, all public buildings constructed since 1983 must be accessible to the handicapped. High spirits marked the press conference yesterday in Pena’s office as the mayor congratulated the disabled who have lobbied many years for this legislation. “This is freedom. It's acceptibility,” said Sueann Hughes, who has multiple sclerosis. “For the first time in a long time, we don't have to worry about being discriminated against." Pena also outlined several other steps the city is taking to help the disabled: * Co-sponsoring - a conference on April 30, 1991, that will address the new law's impact on Colorado. * Examining the city's employment system to determine whether there are ways to recruit and hire more people with disabilities. * Stepping up the city's curb ramp construction program with increased funds under the bond issue projects.