Category: Hear No Evil - See No Evil
Friends and Participants in DeafCAN!'S SSP Program:
Below, both inside this email and attached, is a letter approved in concept at our DB Advisory Council last Saturday's meeting and pool party. It was agreed that the letter should be signed by as many people as possible who have been involved in developing this service over the last three years.
If you agree with the letter, PLEASE respond to me as soon as possible and tell me if it is OK to include your name. We have already put the names of the DB Advisory Committee and DeafCAN! staff involved with the SSP program, but we will remove any of those names if you are not comfortable. All others will be listed under "Other deaf-blind consumers or attendees at SE PA Socials."
Also, please feel free to forward this letter to any others who have been involved, you think will understand it, and who might be willing to sign it by this THURSDAY OR FRIDAY. We want it in the State officials' hands by the end of Friday if at all possible. If not, then definitely by Monday morning, July 21.
Scott Stoffel, Susan Ganbari, Bill Lockard and Beth Lockard were involved in drafting this letter.
THANK YOU AND READ THE LETTER BELOW AND REPOND TO ME ASAP!
lockard.bill@gmail.com
Deaf Community Action Network
A Human Service Program of Christ the King Deaf Church
730 South New Street, West Chester, PA 19382
Voice: 610-436-9751, VP: 484-319-4245 Fax: 610-696-2487
www.DeafCANpa.org
July 17, 2014
TO: Pennsylvania’s Deaf-Blind Outreach Committee: David DeNotoris-BBVS, Shelly Faust-Jones-OVR, Stephen Suroviec-OVR, Sharon Behun-ODHH, Zainab Jama-PAILC,, Joyce Wilson-OVR, Josh Pittinger-ILC
FR: Deaf-Blind Community Members & Supporters in Southeastern Pennsylvania
RE: Inclusion in State Service Plans for Individuals Who Are Deaf-Blind
We, the community of both deaf-blind individuals & those who have been working alongside us toward expressing & meeting our needs here in southeastern Pennsylvania, were heartened that the state took the time to listen to our needs and took the initiative to acquire significant funds to launch a two-year SSP pilot project to meet our needs.
While we were glad to contribute our thoughts at stakeholder and town hall meetings, we were very disappointed that those meetings were not more of a true dialogue. Although we provided information and asked questions, we heard very little back, were never told what the State was planning, and felt excluded from involvement in actual decisions about services for our DB Community. We would like to have been informed about the challenges the State/we face in planning for future sustainability, liability concerns, driving of DB consumers, pay rate for SSPs, then to have the opportunity to have an informed discussion about and involvement with about those and other related issues. Instead, after three years of working to develop SSP services and providing the State the benefit of all our experience and insight, we felt shut out of those final decisions, confused/”insulted” about the linkage to “attendant care services,” and still feeling very much ‘in the dark’ - not the model of inclusion we were expecting. We ask that, moving forward, process changes will be made to include more dialogue, not just one-way stakeholder feedback, plus participation in decision making in keeping with the disability mantra
“Nothing About Us Without Us.”
The existing Support Service Provider program at DeafCAN! took into account our deaf-blind concerns, needs and goals. It has also built in a process to receive ongoing deaf-blind feedback which continues to shape that service. We have already identified 30 deaf-blind individuals in our eight-county service area, developed a training program for both SSPs and DB consumers, and have a growing core of people both receiving and providing services. Therefore, we strongly urge the state to make good on its expressed commitment that this two-year pilot "should strengthen and integrate, not duplicate or replace, existing services," and include DeafCAN!'s SSP program, the only existing SSP service in Pennsylvania. Together we can work in the next two years to continually improve SSP services and, in the end, produce one or more models that best support deaf-blind people toward greater independence, inclusion, productivity, and a better quality of life.
We look forward to hearing back from you soon and, hopefully, working together closely in the future.
Sincerely,
DeafCAN!’s Deaf-Blind Advisory Committee:
Scott Stoffel (DB) Marsha Drenth (DB)
Gretchen Stoffel (DB) Carol Saylor (DB)
Andy Stender (DB) Phil Wismer (DB)
Other deaf-blind consumers or attendees at SE PA DB Socials
Tell us if we can put your name here
DeafCAN! Staff involved with providing SSP services:
Kathie Gray-Plotkin-SSP Scott Stoffel (SSP Coordinator - also listed above)
Rich Stewart-SSP Susan Ganbari- SSP and SSP/DB Trainer)
Elaine Hockenbury-SSP Bill Lockard (SSP & Program Director)
Deborah Terpstra-SSP Beth Lockard (SSP & Executive Director/Pastor
Charitable registration and financial information may be obtained from the PA Dept of State by calling
1-800-732-0999. DeafCAN!-CTK can be written in on any United Way Donor Choice form.