Blog
Access Buffalo Arrives
Monday, March 8, 2010 11:03 am
Aimee Levesque is an incredible parent/disability advocate who stumbled upon the Access Nashville program about a year ago. She called me and said we need to meet on this. 8-9 meetings later we are about to embark on the Buffalo version of this Vanderbilt University creation.
Access Buffalo is a project whereby trained college students do accessibility reviews of local restaurants. They are then rated in three categories; Excellent/Wow, Good, or Limited. The approach is designed to be comfortable and informative. The Principal investigators then review the survey results and apply the grade. We will also be training restaurant owners on Disability Awareness through their regional association. Its staying power comes from the relationship with the Buffalo Niagara Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Access Buffalo link whereby all surveyed restaurants will be available to the general and visiting public. We have an advisory council that is representative of the community across disability spectrums and professionals.
DAT receives funding to train municipalities
Wednesday, December 23, 2009 11:00 pm
Disability Awareness Training (DAT) has received funding from the Dan D’Andrea foundation to train disability advocates in Western New York (WNY) on how to train, educate, and work within their municipalities so as to ensure proper response by elected officials and Town/village employees to the needs of individuals with disabilities in their communities. DAT has partnered with The Advocacy Center in Rochester, NY, who has run the NYS Partners in Policymaking program (I’m a 2007 graduate) and has access to disability advocates who, as part of their commitment, are responsible for ongoing advocacy. We will also recruit other advocates through an application process. DAT has identified Town Hall training as one of the main initiatives to ensuring total inclusion. Through my role on the Town of Amherst (NY) Committee on Disabilities, I have seen the lack of awareness and subsequent poor response to the needs of citizens. The base of this is accessibility, hiring practices, department specific understanding (i.e. Police, Emergency services) and program options (i.e. Recreation, Parks), and employee education. This does not mean that employees and elected officials don’t care and are not willing to learn, but it is a reflection of today’s society and their lack of knowledge as to what is NOT being done to bring equity to the disabled community. This is often times discriminatory (unknowingly) and, quite possibly, a violation of federal law. Recent Department of Justice audits in WNY have cited the city of Niagara Falls and Chautauqua County for non-compliance. We do not want to have to bait municipalities into responding appropriately but if it takes the threat of DOJ citations, we will help the Town to be proactive so as to avoid any greater issues.
What DAT will do is develop a Train the Trainer program that will teach disability advocates how to educate their audience, develop a committee, seek out and provide resources and materials, and ensure this is ongoing. We will be there for technical support and to answer all questions of concern the municipality may have, all in the best interests of their residents with disabilities. We are helping to ensure a community where each belongs and is accepted as a person.
For more information on this program, contact me at 716-565-9338 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Together we can make a difference.
Team USA Sled hockey powered by local talent
Tuesday, December 1, 2009 6:49 pm
Published in: Western New York Hockey Magazine, November 2009
By Dave Whalen
Western New York continues to establish itself as a hockey hotbed. Sold out Sabres games, NCAA Division 1 and NHL players being produced steadily, and youth hockey galore all support the fact that we love this game and we're good at playing it.
However, where our area may be at its hockey finest is a sport that is slowly coming into its own. Western New York has become America's home for USA Hockey's finest players. Need proof? Forwards Brad Emmerson, Adam Page, Al Salamone and goalie Mike Blabac hail from the area (F Chris Manns just retired this past summer). D Nikko Landeros and F Andy Yohe have moved to the area to work out with their teammates. Head Coach Ray Maluta is from Rochester and is heading the effort to make the ESL Center a prestigious hockey palace for the national team to train and play year round. Team USA hosted Canada there on Halloween in a highly anticipated match up. Buffalo hosted the National Disabled hockey Festival this past March. Riverside's Bud Blakewell rink was one of the first accessible rinks in the country.
New York Makes Work Pay Summit: Employment moving forward
Thursday, October 15, 2009 1:18 pm
Cornell University's Employment and Disability Institute and Syracuse University's Burton Blatt Institute joined forces October 6-7 in Albany, NY bringing some 200 individuals across disciplines, agencies, and sects of the disability community to aggressively address the on-going issue of unemployment amongst individuals with disabilities. This is an initiative that Disability Awareness Training (DAT) has been working on over the last two years. The timing could not have been better; October is Disability Awareness Employment Month, DAT recently met with the Buffalo Niagara Human Resources Assn to move forward the initiative DAT introduced July 2007, President Obama announced his administration is taking several steps to ensure fair and equal access to employment for all Americans, the US Dept of Labor is going to establish the National Technical Assistance Center for employers on people with disabilities, and the Summit was held with the intent to identify AND address the issue.
Read more: New York Makes Work Pay Summit: Employment moving forward
Diocese of Buffalo takes big step towards Inclusion
Wednesday, September 16, 2009 10:46 pm
I strongly feel that places of worship may be our quickest path towards full inclusion. This does not exclude the work we have to do in Corporate America, public places (restaurants, venues, and stores), recreational outlets, and public transportation, but don't all these components exist in some way, shape, or form in a church, temple, or mosque. Don't we find people who are in a position to hire, or coach a sport, or have a means to transport? Isn't the place of worship where individuals are supposed to have open minds, open hearts and from those open doors?
Most people want to do what's right but when they don't know how they are discriminating or simply not allowing for access and proper response to what would allow for inclusion of all individuals, the need to sensitize and educate is necessary and should be made a top agenda item.
Read more: Diocese of Buffalo takes big step towards Inclusion
Making a Difference: Who You Are
Saturday, August 29, 2009 2:11 pm
I continue, almost on a daily basis, to come in contact with people who are making a big difference in other people's lives. I believe that most people are good at heart and want to help others, and we see this with response to need in the Western New York area. With the recent floods in Gowanda and the tragic deaths of two Buffalo firefighters, local residents (and beyond) responded in glorious fashion, making one proud to be from here.
We also see people making a difference by advocating for oneself, accepting people for who they are and what they can do, speaking up on behalf of others, establishing initiatives that advance a cause, going out of their way to assist, looking beyond one's needs to ensure others are being addressed, and embracing difference.
Many people, in many different ways, have been responding to individuals with disabilities and the challenges and injustices they face, many of which come from society. I look forward to the day that pieces like this will not have to be written, but that is not today. However, we are progressing because you are making a difference. Keep up the good work until our work is done.
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