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בית / אלבומים / תגית Mayor's Commission on the Disabled 6
תאריך פרסום / 2016
ADAPT (141)
Denver Post 2/16/85 PHOTO by Denver Post's Jim Pre[name cut off]: A uniformed policeman kneels beside a man in a wheelchair [George Roberts]. George has shades and an Afro and he is tilting his head to the side toward the policeman. The policeman is writing a ticket on his knee and George is telling him his information. Behind the two of them is another uniformed officer, visor on his cap shading his eyes, arms crossed across his chest and disapproving turn to his mouth. Behind him is a blurry crowd of people with their backs toward the camera. Caption reads: Officer R.H. Kaspersen issues a ticket to George Roberts during blockade of metro buses. Handicapped block buses 2 protesters are arrested; talks planned By Judith Brimberg 2/16/85 Denver Post Staff Writer For the second day in a row, wheelchair-bound protesters blocked an RTD bus in downtown Denver Friday. They were demonstrating against possible discontinuation of accessible bus service for the handicapped. Despite efforts by the Peña administration to mediate the dispute, the protest went off as scheduled, and two handicapped demonstrators were arrested. Denver police identified them as George Roberts, 36, and Renate Rabe, 30, who live in the same apartment complex at 1255 Galapago St. The pair, afflicted with cerebral palsy, were charged with impeding traffic and disobeying a lawful order. Rabe was released on her own recognizance, but Roberts, who participated in a similar demonstration several years ago, was held overnight in Denver County Jail. Thursday, another member of the disabled-rights group known as ADAPT, Mike Auberger, 30, was arrested at East Colfax Avenue and Cherry Street for impeding traffic. But efforts by Dale Saddler of the Mayor’s Commission on the Disabled ultimately paid off. Late Friday, both sides agreed to meet early next week to try to resolve the dispute. Demonstrations scheduled for this weekend were called off. The handicapped community contended that RTD failed to understand that separate, private transportation for the handicapped doesn’t meet everyone’s needs, said Wade Blank, an able-bodied demonstrator who organized the protests. On Tuesday, an RTD committee is to review policies affecting the elderly and the handicapped. Among the options to be considered are discontinuing accessible service on public buses and expanding handyride services or brokering services to private providers. In an interview, Blank said he organized the protests because “the handicapped aren’t going to be the stepping stones to a new budget.” More than two years ago, he and others obtained a commitment from RTD to install wheelchair lifts on 50 percent of the peak-hour buses. But RTD, like other transportation districts across the country, is facing severe cuts in federal aid and Blank fears the agency may try to balance its budget at the expense of the handicapped. Many wheelchair lifts have proved unreliable and costly to repair. Larry Perry, chairman pro tem of the RTD board, said Friday that Blank’s fears were groundless. “If they will sit down and talk with us, they will learn they won’t be hurt,” he declared. Earlier this week, however, General Manager Ed Colby told board members it costs $72 a year to maintain bus lifts because 12,000 disabled persons ride the buses each year. It’s cheaper to maintain lifts on the handy vans, Colby said. Blank countered that RTD is sabotaging its accessible program by refusing to perform inventive maintenance on the Colby’s handyride figures are distorted, he added, because they include the elderly as well as the disabled.
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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
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The Denver Post 2/28/1975 (Handwritten note at top of the page: Hey Bar - Congratulations! What's your projected involvement in it?) [Headline] Cooperative Project Disabled to Get Apartments By Sharon Sherman, Denver Post Staff Writer Fourteen young disabled persons are expected to move from nursing homes into apartments of their own within three months as part of a cooperative project paid for by city, state and federal funds. The young people would rent at a reduced rate renovated apartments in the Las Casitas Homes, at 11th Ave. and Federal B1vd., operated by the Denver Housing Authority. They would receive medical, rehabilitative and counseling services from community agencies. The project, named the Atlantis Community Early Action Program, will be funded through the Denver Mayor's Commission on the Disabled. It was designed by members of Atlantis Community, Inc., a committee of disabled and able-bodied persons working to create a planned community for the young physically handicapped. "I don't think this is the final answer (to problems of the young disabled in nursing homes), but it's a beginning with good possibilities,” said Dr. Parnell McLaughlin, director of the Colorado Division of Rehabilitation, through which the money for the project will come. The early-action program is expected to cost $16,417 initially. A little more than $3,000 of that has already been committed by Dr. Henry A. Foley, director of the Colorado Depart Social Services. That money will make it possible for McLaughlin to tap unused federal matching funds available to Colorado for rehabilitation projects. "We're still about $400 short, but I think we can work that out,” McLaughlin said. Las Casitas was chosen for the early-action program because it is built on relatively flat terrain, with some open space available, has access to bus service and is near the Westside Neighborhood Health Center. The aim of the program, according to the written proposal, is “to offer a normal way of life to the severely disabled.” In addition to rent subsidy, the project would provide residents with a program coordinator and home-care attendants who will see that medical, education, transportation and other services are available. Residents will receive the attendant care needed and will be billed only for the actual hours of service they receive. [Subheading] SCREENING PROCESS Those persons renting the units will be selected by a screening committee of disabled persons from Atlantis Community, Inc. The screening process will include a written application, supplying background, medical and financial information, and an interview. If the Atlantis Community is achieved, the units at Las Casitas would become “satellite" housing for the community.
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Congress of the United States House of Representatives Washington, D.C. 20515 March 3, 1975 Wade Blank Ingo Antonitsch Mayor's Commission on the Disabled 1700 Grant St. Denver, C0 80203 Dear Messrs. Blank and Antonitsch: I was so pleased to read in the paper a few days ago that the state has agreed to help fund the Atlantis Project. I hope things continue to proceed smoothly for you in this most worth-while endeavor. If there is any way in which I can be of further assistance, please don't hesitate to let me know. With kind regards, Sincerely, Patricia Schroeder Member of Congress
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[this page contains a letter and below it an article from the newspaper Rocky Mountain News] Atlantis Community Inc. 619 south broadway denver, co 80223 303-297-3056 March 12, 1975 For Immediate Release At a recent meeting between Dr. Parnell McLaughlin, Director of the Colorado State Dept. of Vocational Rehabilitation, his staff, and representatives from the Atlantis Community it was discovered that an additional $400 will probably be needed to finalize the Atlantis Early Action Program. Dr. Henry Foley, newly appointed Director of the Colorado State Dept. of Social Services, announced at a press conference, March, 1975 that a $3,000 grant will be matched with a $12,000 federal grant for the rehabilitation of seven apartment units at the Las Casitas Housing Projects. These apartment units will be designed specifically for severely disabled young adults in wheelchairs. Although officials from the Denver Housing Authority and the Architectural Consultant from Atlantis estimated the cost for rehabilitating the apartments to be $14,000-15,000, a more detailed study puts these costs in the neighborhood of $16,500. Since no more emergency funds are available from the Dept. of Social Services, the Atlantis Early Action Program will fall short about $400.00 in State matching monies. The Atlantis Community is therefore appealing to the citizens of the State of Colorado for this money. In the event that more than $400 is raised, this extra money shall be used for furniture, transportation and printing costs. Applications for the Atlantis Early Action Program are now being taken. Disabled individuals should write Atlantis Early Action Program, 619 S. Broadway, Denver, Colorado 80223 for applications or call Cindy Montgomery, Glenn Kopp or Ingo Antonitsch at either 321-7269 or 297-3056. [signed] Atlantis Rocky Mountain News Handicapped to get chance in apartments photo: head shot of a man looking to the side. He is balding and has glasses, a jacket and tie. Caption reads: Henry A. Foley Fourteen severely handicapped young persons will be given a chance to live together in apartments instead of being confined in nursing homes because of a jointly funded pilot program called "Atlantis." The program was announced Thursday by state and city officials to an audience of about 25 handicapped persons who may become eligible to be the project's first residents. "This program may not be unique in the country, but we hope it will become a model," said State Social Services Director Henry A. Foley. He said the state has pledged $14,500 to remodel the seven apartment units which will be used for Atlantis residents. The apartments, which will each house two handicapped persons, are located in the Las Casitas housing project on Federal Boulevard between 11th and 12th Avenues. Ingo Antonitsch, director of the Denver Commision of the Disabled and chairman of a seven-member board created to administer the project, said he hopes the first residents can move in next month. The board will screen handicapped persons now living in nursing homes or with relatives to determine which are best suited, he said. Antonitsch said the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department has pledged $80,000 in federal funds to help plan the program. The Denver Department of Health and Hospitals has agreed to provide Atlantis residents with part-time medical assistance, he said. Residents wlll be required to pay rent for the apartments. “We want to prove that even the severely disabled, when given a little moral support, can become sell-sufficient and integrate with the community at large," Antonitsch said.
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Red Rock Journal, Community College of Denver, vol.1, number 2, April 12, 1977 HEW Occupied Disabled Demand Rights by Jim Walker Will the forgotten minority finally be heard? Last Tuesday about one hundred and fifty disabled people gathered in front of the Federal building to demand their rights by protesting the delay of the signing of a bill by Health, Education and Welfare Secretary Califano. Between bursts of chanting and sign waving, several disabled participants lodged verbal protest against the delay. Ingo Antonisch, the executive director of the Mayor's Commission on the Disabled along with Don Galloway, the executive director of the Governor's Advisory on the Handicapped were also there to voice their discontent. Lyle Peterson, master of ceremonies, lead the group in the chanting of "We Want our Rights," while converging onto a downtown street. Clad with wheelchairs and crutches and a stretcher they continued to hold up traffic for about fifteen minutes until Denver police came to break it up. During the detainment of downtown motorists, one parking lot manager, James Chidlaw, started to detour traffic through his lot. In doing this, he came in conflict with a demonstrator named Dennis Wilcox. Chidlaw allegedly assaulted Dennis, throwing him out of his wheelchair. The manager was later cited in county court for two charges of assault. The crowd then proceeded to block the halls of the HEW regional offices on the 10th floor of the Federal Building, where Wade Blank, director of the Atlantis Community, and the participants of the rally demanded that a call be placed to Washington and the conversation be put on the portable intercom system. Califano supposedly was unable to talk at that time and passed the buck on to one of his assistants, who in turn told the angry group that the secretary intended to sign the bill after he had read it carefully. Ingo Antonisch then got on the phone and said, "We hear the message but we want to see the action." Nearly four years has gone by since Section 504 of the Federal Rehabilitation Act was made into law in 1973 under the Nixon administration. The handicapped have fought secretary after secretary under Nixon and Ford and are tired of being shoved around. “It takes $25,000 minimum price to rehabilitate a person from a spinal cord injury, yet we are thrown out into society and left there to hang and dry with our guts in the wind," said one angry protestor. The law when it takes effect, will grant the same rights as racial minorities and women as it does for the disabled. There is another rally scheduled for the 29th of April at the State Capitol. Perhaps there will be more than one person in attendance from Red Rocks Campus. PHOTO by Stephen Jalovec: A sign that reads HUMAN RIGHTS FOR DISABLED fills most of the picture, and below the sign are several people in wheelchairs. Caption reads: Handicapped persons staged an overnight protest demonstration in the offices of Health, Education and Welfare at the Federal Center downtown last week. Another demonstration is scheduled for April 29.