Hello to all of our friends, welcome to CDRC’s 4th monthly newsletter.
Bill Signing – Well, we did it again. CDRC’s bill SB 776/HB 988 passed unanimously through both
houses in Annapolis. “The Right To Be Informed” will now give residents of SRCs and recipients of DDA services in the community
the right to be informed of “Least restrictive service options.” Believe it or not, these individuals did not have this right up to this
point. The Governor will sign CDRC’s bill on Tuesday the 10th at 10:00 am here in Annapolis at the State House. Look for a picture of the CDRC and the Governor on our web site in a few weeks. Congratulations
to everyone who worked so hard to get this bill passed!!
Housing Seminar - CDRC hosted a housing seminar April 11th with NCB Housing Access Project. Candace and Sharon spoke to CDRC members about a variety of housing related issues. They said that affordable accessible housing is the biggest barrier for community living. Discussion included HUD, Section 8, Universal Design, Visitability, and other important disability related housing issues. CDRC members learned a lot, including the need to build relationships between developers and the disability community.
Legislation Visits - Now that the 2005 legislative session has ended we will resume scheduling visits from legislators to some CDRC member’s homes. These visits will entail discussions about community living. We want to educate the legislators on community living, and to show them that with the proper supports, EVERYONE can live in the community. We feel this is an important step in getting legislators to learn what it means for an individual to live in the community, and how important it is for that individual to have a productive life.
Outreach -. We have another outreach meeting scheduled for May 11th with People
On the Go of Southern Maryland, in Waldorf, from 5-6 pm. and with the residents of Claibourne House in Annapolis
on May 12th. From 2-3 pm. If you would like CDRC to come and speak to your self -advocacy
group or support service, please call Little John at 410-571-9320, or 410-974-6139.
Disabilities Expo. – The Disabilities Expo. will be held at the Timonium Fairgrounds on May 20th & 21st. This is a great place to find out about new products and providers for persons with disabilities and professionals in the disability field. CDRC will have a table along side our two founding groups POG of Maryland and Maryland ADAPT. Come check us out in Timonium.
HUD Fair Housing & Accessibility Training – HUD will host a training on
Fair Housing and Accessibility on the 23rd of May at the VA in Baltimore from 8:30 – 4:30. We don’t have an outline of the day yet but,
if you’re interested in letting HUD know how you feel about Section 8 and other proposed budget cuts we’ll see you there. If you would
like to attend, call Little John 410-571-9320 (Annap.), or 410-974-6139 (Balt.)
Maryland Access Point – MAP is a federally funded grant that is hoping to establish an easy way to
locate services and navigate the service network. Kind of a “No Wrong Door” entry system. MAP has asked CDRC for people who can test their computer system for navigating through the
support service network. CDRC referred 15 people. Those participating will meet at the UMBC campus
and help the Department of Aging figure out the bugs in the system.
Web Site – Kenny will continue to update our web page weekly. He will be updating the site with more legislative information, stories, photos, activities, and information on a regular basis so, check the site often. www.thecdrc.org.
Meetings – CDRC will not meet in May. We decided that since we were getting together on the 10th for the bill signing that we would just have a party then instead of getting together again on the 29th.
Weddings – Two CDRC couples will be getting married in the month of May. On the 14th. Barbara Moore & Larry Sisco will be tying the knot. On the 28th, Phil Weintraub & Liz Obermayer will get married after a couple of years together. Good luck to both CDRC couples in advocacy, and love.
Our next CDRC meeting is tentatively set for:
June 26th
1:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Maryland City at Russett Library
3501 Russett Common
Laurel, MD 20724