Pushing Limits

Sample Letter

April, 2013

Dear Congressperson _____________,

I am writing to you because my housing authority is being forced to consider cuts to my rental assistance program due to the sequestration bill.

I am really worried about what I would do if my rent increases or I get cut from the program. I, and others like me, live on an extremely low, fixed income such as social security, disability, or supplemental social security. I am very frugal, and I’m doing my best to make ends meet. Because I have a limited ability to earn money, any increase in my rent would mean I’d have to choose between basic necessities like food and medicine.

The Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program allows folks like me to live near our support network, including family or caregivers, friends, and medical help. These support networks keep us living independently, and out of the more costly assisted-living facilities. If I cannot afford my rent, I may have to move, leaving my support and health networks, or become homeless.

Please restore this critical funding so that I can continue to live in a safe, healthy and affordable home.

Sincerely,

(Your Name & Address)

Contact Information:
Honorable Barbara Boxer
70 Washington Street, Suite 203
Oakland, CA 94607
www.boxer.senate.gov

Honorable Dianne Feinstein
One Post Street, Suite 2450
San Francisco, CA 94104
www.feinstein.senate.gov

For your House of Representative member’s contact information, go here.

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by Shelley Bergum

The California Telephone Access Program is hosting an Information and Resource Fair at the Ed Roberts Center in Berkeley on Wednesday, March 20 from 9:00 to 2:00 pm.  You can get a free hearing screening from 9:00 to noon.  Come and take home your free accessible phone all on the same day.   For more information, call 800-806-1191.  That’s 800-806-1191. 

For those who can’t make the Fair:

The California program which provides free specialized telecommunications equipment and services to people with disabilities and the federal program which provides free cell phones and limited service to low income persons are not related. 

The California program is CTAP, the California Telephone Access Program, which provides many accessible landline phones at no cost to consumers, also offers two wireless devices:  a Jitterbug phone and a Blackberry.  People who are certified as having a mobility, vision, cognitive, or speech disability or certified as hard of hearing can qualify for a Jitterbug phone.  People who are certified as deaf, hard of hearing or speech disabled can qualify for a Blackberry, which is a text-only device.  The cheapest monthly service plan for the Jitterbug is $19.99 per month, and the cheapest monthly service plan for the Blackberry is $49.99 per month. 

From http://bit.ly/16xIVRm

The phones are free through CTAP, but users must pay for their own monthly service.  Please see our website.
 
The federal program that offers free wireless phones and limited monthly service is now also offered to consumers in California as part of the California Lifeline program.  Subscribers must qualify as low income through one of many existing programs, such as Medi-Cal, Tribal Assistance for Needy Families, etc.  One of the wireless carriers offering this in California is Assurance Wireless.  As far as I know, a person with a disability who is also low income could receive a free wireless device through California’s program for people with disabilities (only a Jitterbug or a Blackberry), CTAP, and also receive a free wireless device and limited monthly service through the federal program.  The wireless phones offered through Assurance Wireless phones do not offer any specific accessibility features.  There are no income limitations for California’s program, which is specifically for people with disabilities.
 
CTAP also offers many landline accessible phones, such as phones with amplification, large buttons, cordless, memory dial, headsets, talk-back phones which announce the number dialed, and more.  Check out the equipment.

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Mp3 Playback (iTunes, WinAmp, Windows Media):
Pushing Limits – Friday, February 15, 2013

Valentines Day and an Oscar nomination for Helen Hunt’s portrayal of a sex surrogate bringing intimacy to a disabled man are fueling our fantasies this week.  We bring a dose of romantic reality.

Mark O’Brien in his iron lung

Mark O’Brien who lived most of his life in an iron lung is the focus of the new movie, “The Sessions.” We talk to Jessica Yu, the director of the Oscar-winning “Breathing Lessons,” about her 1996 documentary of the real Mark O’Brien.  She’s offering KPFA members copies of this film.   

Gayle & David by David Steinberg

David Steinberg will be in to talk about his photos of raw moments of sexual intimacy between persons with disabilities.  And, Dr.Rafe Eric Biggs and his partner Ligia Andrade, both sex educators with disabilities, will talk about what gets in the way of intimacy for people with disabilities — and what to do about it.   

Jessica Yu

An hour of appreciation for the sexual nature of all people with gifts to encourage you to show your appreciation of Pushing Limits by donating to KPFA.

Here’s the gifts we offered for your support of Pushing Limits:
Breathing Lessons DVD -$75. membership.
Erotic by Nature: A Celebration of Life, of Love, and of our wonderful Bodies  book – $75. membership.
Divas of San Francisco: Portraits of Transsexual Women, book, $60. membership.
Assorted Schraffen Berger Chocolate Bars – $60. membership.
Pushing Limits Bumper Sticker – membership at any level

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