Friends of Dare to Dream Meeting This Saturday 2PM

Friends of Dare to Dream Meeting

Saturday December 12^th @ 2PM

1815 Blake St. Berkeley, CA 94704 (Between MLK and Grant)

Bus 15 or bus 9 will get you 2-3 blocks away

Possible agenda could include:

· Name change

· Mission statement

· Board election date

· Schedule next meeting

Please refrain from wearing scented products and please let Nick Feldman (daretodream94704@yahoo.com) know ahead of time if you are coming. You can also call at 415-407-9297 (cell phone, call between 9am and 9pm).

Homecare Article

When the recession hit, my business was put through unbelievable turmoil here in California. Everyone started to file unemployment who had ever worked for me, and many laborious hours were put into filling out claims to EDD and other authorities. People started to apply for low income everything, from transportation, to welfare, to housing.
My insurance rates skyrocketed. My clients went from 28 to 8 and not to mention our contracts in California all got reduced by 3%. My profit margins went down by about 10%, but the most tragic part is that besides not getting new clients, the work ethic of everyone except for my very dedicated office staff, crumbled right before my eyes. People stopped showing up for work, people got sick and couldn’t show any medical documentation(probably because they didn’t have any medical insurance), then there are the people who apply to work for you, they promise you the moon, you hire them, and they give a big nothing.
After hearing the news of Friday that the unemployment rate for the country was 10.2%, this did not surprise me, but because I run a home health-care agency, I found it very coincidental that they were interviewing at an unemployment who happened to be a home health-care worker, and they said that this field was a “growing field”, but of course with CNN there are always questions as to the legitimacy of what they cover, and how they cover it. If this woman at the unemployment office, was only working four days a week as a homecare worker, then why didn’t she take on my shifts, and why was she was at the unemployment office when she already had a job. If she was such a good homecare worker, then why didn’t she pick up more hours with her agency, or go and find someone in need of homecare.
It can be said that I am just a disconnected person who owns a company, no but I choose to disagree. Not only am I the owner and director of a business, having dealt with homecare workers every single day of my life due to my cerebral palsy. I work with my business probably over 80 hours a week. I have to pay rent, bills, buy into my long term care and my health insurance, which I get through the state. Sometimes I feel like workers in the state of California have simply given up hope. They don’t want to work, or if they just want to work, they just want to work on their own terms and on their own schedule, and if they need to work, maybe the Governor will just pick up their tab. But the catch-22 is when they get their paychecks, they are stunned to see how much is taken out.
The trickledown effect of the almighty dollar can only be overpowered by one thing, the power of the people, because ultimately that is who it affects. In my business, when people don’t show up for work, people really do suffer. People who are children, and elderly, and people with mental disabilities, have to go without care. It would be nice to see the work ethic come back, to find people who do their job not just for the low wage, but because they truly care about the person. I never hear my staff ask when they call out of a job “What’s going to happen to Oliver, will he have to go without, will there be someone who can replace me?”
Besides the issue of the work ethic coming back in California, the other more critical issue is non-medical emergency response homecare services. This means that when someone has a non-medical emergency or their care providers cannot show up, that there is an on-demand service that people can call in their area that will respond, and take care of their needs. Let’s see California put some money into that.

RIP Mary Travers (of Peter, Paul and Mary)

I turned on the news tonight to see Charles Gibson doing a special segment on Peter, Paul and Mary. At the end of the broadcast he stated that Mary had passed away. I thought to myself, and I realized that the first time I heard Peter, Paul and Mary was at my first camp in New Jersey called Camp Oakhurst, a camp for people with special needs. I remember being 7 years old and not having a care in the world, listening to a counselor singing "Leaving on a Jet Plane." I was hearing these songs again years later at Skylake Ranch Camp when I was 9 and 10, and again when I was a teenager. These lyrics began to have an impact on me, and the struggles of going through life with a disability, and the reality of people dying too young, hard decisions having to be made by young people, and the ever so glowing aspect of love, portrayed in so many of their songs. As an adult, and having just listened to a few of their songs, I see an even deeper meaning now. A more somber meaning of how the world exists, and goes through it's many cycles. I remember the feeling of my first crush, and dancing to Peter, Paul and Mary at Skylake Ranch Camp. Back then I had no idea what was to come in my life and in the world. Listening to these songs now at age 34 makes me feel like there's so much that people must contend with, in this country and around the world. I think about the struggle of labor, health care, business, love, and the ability to accept the reality that some childhood memories never will fade away. I think that's what a lot of these songs are about. Mary was one of those people who I would see on TV from time to time, and I would reflect on what Peter, Paul and Mary had seen in their lives, such as the Vietnam war, and it always flashed through my mind that these three singers really gave a damn. I wondered what they thought of the world today, such as 9/11, the struggle of today's people in this country and around the world. The songs will always be with me, and not just in my iPod. It's the spirit and the tunes of the songs that allow me to keep up with advocating for the rights of the underprivileged and to speak truth to power. RIP Mary Travers.

Keep on fighting the IHSS budget cuts!

http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/ci_13253075

LA Wildfires Timelapse

Great video of the smoke from the Los Angeles wildfires...

Steinburg and Leno..Where are the rest?

The big 5 in the California Legislature and Governor had an agreement publicly and the big 5 thought the deal was done. However before the Governor signed the budget he wrote in all these line items which consisted of more cuts to Social Services, Education, Parks, HIV/Aids assistance, etc... Senators Steinburg and Leno have decided to take the governor to court under the auspices that the governor violated his executive power. It will be really hard for Leno and Steinburg to prove that they have/will incur damages due to the governors actions. So its really important that we all file as many complaints as we can. The person to contact about disability cuts is Fred Nisen of Disability Rights California, Providers/Clients, concerned individuals. I think we all need to make a big push.

Hard Times

When they say this is hard times, they are not kidding around. Quite frankly I am afraid for myself and the whole independent living movement. Everything that it used to be, it's not anymore. I am having a lot of trouble accepting the changes. People who live independently and others have given up on independent living, and our leaders don't see that as a necessity but as a privilege, which is a frightening concept. I personally do not feel like there has been any disability rights leader that has made accomplishments without their family being involved, and I mean involved a lot. I guess what I'm trying to say is that every advocate going back to Ed Roberts has had family living very close by. For example Ed Roberts mother, Zona Roberts, was always living behind Ed's house, and was always there when the bottom dropped out, from attendant care, to filling, and those late night documents that have to be typed. I came into this movement at a time when things were good and the bottom was okay. In other words, you could find someone for $11/hr or someone who was willing to volunteer to get by. This has all changed in the world. I have seen so many people either barely surviving independently or just straight out dying from bad health. I am worried about myself and the future of everything. My care alone costs over $100k a year. This does not include rent, groceries, entertainment, etc. I have always been told to look to the leaders, but excuse my language all the leaders are screwed up. For the first time ever I feel like the disability rights movement has taken a tremendous step backwards. I need to establish a piece of mind that I can live my life without the threat of returning home, which has negative implications for myself. I feel like one of the only few people who want to move forward, and that my goals are getting thwarted because of all the systems that are breaking down. As you both know, I am trying to find a new daytime assistant, and also run my business. I have been talking to many people who are truly hopeless; they cannot in our society at this junction in time, get a job or get more education because of all the government cuts on student loans and student grants. I feel like people who lose their jobs are at a horrible risk of losing their unemployment and even those who have kids. I feel like I am in the minority because other people of the younger generation are just too passive. I feel like my business is just barely getting by, and I am just barely making ends meet. With all due respect, I love my immediate family, but I know the reality about care, and about needing other people to help. So many people say I'm demanding and that I do a lot and it takes a toll. This is very hard for me to accept, but I know it. I don't know what to do about it. I feel like I need to do more actually, and help more people but I feel like people can't afford dare to dream, and I can't keep it going without clients who are able to pay in a timely manner. I only have one friend who is online, and my beloved Vanessa. I feel like everything else is going down a really hard road. It is frustrating and seems to be all uphill. I count my lucky stars that I am able to use my power chair and run my business, which means a lot to me.
The most frustrating part of all this is every time I've had a problem since I've been on my own is I've looked to leaders, and I've gotten answers. These leaders have been top disability advocates who are now retired or deceased or politicians who now won't even answer my letters or phone calls. I've always had leaders that have heard and helped me solved my fears, and the reality of it is unless I could be proved otherwise, they are not there anymore. I have always been a very idealistic person who is able to always find a way out of difficult scenarios, but these scenarios are catch-22s. I have always found happiness in helping other people, and I still do like to think I help a few people along the way, but I don't think it's enough anymore. In order for me to help people, I need people to help me, I've always understood that this has been a two-way street, and I don't understand what's happened. Folk music, along with James Taylor and Cat Stevens, have always been a good time for me to listen too, but now I am deeply engaging myself in deep meditation about the real words behind the songs. Like for example "don't criticize what you can't understand" I feel like this needs to be said to so many young people but also the people in power. A few years ago when I sat down with those two benefits counselors I told them I wanted several things, and now I'm wondering how all this is going to be achieved. I wanted to: one, make over 60k a year. Two, own my own vehicle. Three, always live in a place where there are other people who are friendly. Four, maybe run for city council. Five, get married and have kids. I think I told them I wanted to also get the income law around social security lifted. When I look back at all these goals, in today's world, I get kind of nostalgic because I feel like almost all these goals are impossible to reach right now. I used to be so idealistic. I have recently realized the other side of idealism, and quite frankly I don't like any of this. It feels like gloom and doom a lot of times, and I am not saying that they are not great moments, I am just trying to say that I'm really fighting hard and for the first time I'm not seeing the results I want to see. I'm not trying to be arrogant or spoiled, but I see so much complacency, it's scary. I wish people would every now and then stand up to power, and fight for what they believe in. We keep hearing the time is now for action, but I am at a loss as to what to do next on a personal level, on a local level, on a national level, and on a worldwide level.

Peace,

Nick