 Here Comes the Sun!
June 21st marks the summer solstice, the longest day of the year. Across Minnesota, we can expect between 15 and ½ to 16 hours of daylight! As the glorious summer season kicks into full swing, we embrace the long days and celebrate with family and friends at graduation parties, weddings, picnics, and outdoor sporting events. June is the time to breathe in the fresh air, soak in the sun’s warmth, and take time to welcome extra light into your life.
Medical Assistance Enrollee Asset Tests Resume in June
Some medical assistance enrollees will again be subject to an asset test in June to determine their eligibility for health insurance. Providers who serve aged, blind or disabled individuals should be aware because this may impact people receiving their services. Providers should pass this information on to their patients. Visit the Income and asset limits webpage for more information about enrollees and asset limits.
Sobering Job Stats for Blind and Low-Vision Adults
Approximately 8.7 million people between 18 and 64 report blindness and low vision in response to the question, “Are you blind, or do you have serious difficulty seeing even when wearing glasses?”. Of these, 43.6% say they work. 10.5% say they are out of work. Additionally, 28.9% say they are unable to work. The remaining population includes 8.1% homemakers, 3.9% students, and 5.1% retirees.
Click here for more information on the study.
Are you unemployed or under employed or looking to advance your career? The workforce development team at SSB has a mission of empowering blind, DeafBlind, and low vision Minnesotans to find, not just “a job” but “the right job.” Learn more at Job Seekers / State Services for the Blind (mn.gov) or give us a call at: 651-539-2300.
Employer Reasonable Accommodation Fund
Does your place of employment need accommodations for you or other employees? The Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) Employer Reasonable Accommodation Fund (ERAF) creates a central fund where small to mid-sized Minnesota employers can request reimbursement for expenses related to providing reasonable accommodations for job applicants and employees with disabilities. The ERAF's purpose is to encourage employment of people with disabilities by reducing any perceived or real financial barriers.
Click here for more information on ERAF.
Encourage employers to attend the next ERAF informational webinar on exploring the power of workplace inclusivity.
During this session, participants will gain valuable insights into leveraging SBA loans to finance these accommodations upfront. We'll explore the details of the 7(a) Small Loan and microloan programs, providing you with practical solutions to embrace inclusivity while enhancing your business operations.
Date: Thursday, June 20th
Time: 2:00 - 3:00 pm
Location: Online
Click here to register.
Share Your Story with the MCD
The Minnesota Council on Disability (MCD) has been diligently working to create an accessible office space where all Minnesotans are welcome and have access to our services.
Their office remodel and expansion are scheduled to be completed this summer. In the middle of all the noise and construction traffic, MCD Archivist Ginger Hedstrom is busy cataloging and digitizing boxes of historical documents and media.
The oldest document Ginger has discovered is a film from 1953 titled “America’s Untapped Assets.” This film from the Eisenhower Administration highlights the contributions people with disabilities make to the workforce and society.
The film is an extraordinary piece of disability history, but 71 years later, they need a fuller historical record. THEY NEED YOUR LIVED STORIES. Stories of being a part of the disability community and advocating for change as they strive to fulfill MCD’s vision of “a barrier-free Minnesota where every person with a disability has full access to all aspects of life.”
Be a part of their oral history project, “The Stories of the People.” Please share your story as you, your loved ones, and your friends lived or are living it. MCD is proud to be part of disability history in Minnesota. Together, much has been accomplished. But there is more work to do, and the work is incomplete without your stories.
If you would like to share your story for the oral history project, please email: ginger.hedstrom@state.mn.us to schedule a recording time. Thank you for helping us preserve disability history in Minnesota, and thank you for celebrating fifty years of MCD.
Twin Cities Blind Sailing Season Starts June 1st
Twin Cities Blind Sailing has a vision to develop blind and visually impaired individuals of all ages in Minnesota into independent sailors in both competitive racing and casual cruising environments to improve lives, enrich communities, and fill the waters with sailors that will fuel the sport of sailing for generations to come.
Click here to learn more.
Olmstead Plan Survey Opens June 3rd
Do you want to share your input on how to improve inclusion, choice, and integration for disabled Minnesotans? Minnesota’s Olmstead Plan is being rewritten. This is a statewide Plan to create more choices, options, and support for people with disabilities to live in the community. Help the Olmstead Implementation Office choose which areas the next Plan should focus on by taking their survey. The survey will ask a few questions about integration, choice, and inclusion. Anyone can take this survey, but the main audience is people with disabilities in Minnesota. Information collected through this survey will inform what areas the next Olmstead Plan will focus on. Click here to access the survey: Minnesota Disability Inclusion and Choice Survey. This virtual survey is open from June 3 through 30 and is available in English, Spanish, Hmong, and Somali. Over the coming year, there will be other opportunities for people to share input that will affect the next Olmstead Plan.
Literacy for Children who are Blind or Low-Vision - June 10th
The National Library Service Patron Engagement Section will host the quarterly Patron Corner on Monday, June 10th. The topic for this program is NLS Summer Reading: Another Bridge for Literacy for Children Who Are Blind or Low Vision. The 90-minute session will feature a national panel of experts on literacy in the blind and low-vision community. Panelists will discuss the state of literacy among low-vision children and adults and describe approaches for improving literacy outcomes.
Date: Monday, June 10th
Time: 6:00 pm
Location: Online
Click here to join.
National Library Service Webinar – June 13th
The topic for the Thursday, June 13, 2024, Many Faces of BARD program will be NLS eReader Updates: A Brief Review. The program will begin at 6:00 p.m. central time and last for one hour. NLS will record this program. A brief presentation will begin the session. Presenters will spend the remainder of the time answering questions about the presentation or using BARD.
Click here to review past programming.
Date: Thursday, June 13th
Time: 6:00 – 7:00 pm
Location: Online
Click here to join.
SSB Golf Clinic for Youth – June 17th
Join us for an introduction to golf specifically for students who are blind or visually impaired. This clinic will include a brief overview of the sport of golf, the object of golf, games, and drills which include sound sources and equipment for the clinic.
Pizza will be provided for lunch. Transportation for students enrolled in SSB can be arranged.
The clinic is free to attend!
Date: Monday, June 17th
Time: 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
Location: Oak Marsh Golf Course - 526 Inwood Ave North - Oakdale, MN
Registration: Contact shane.desantis@state.mn.us to register.
NBPCB Annual Conference - Register by June 25th
The National Blindness Professionals Certification Board is hosting their 23rd Annual Rehabilitation and Orientation & Mobility Conference in Orlando, Florida. The theme for this year’s conference is: Contemporary Issues in Rehabilitation and Education for the Blind.
Date: Wednesday, July 3rd
Time: 8:30 am – 7:30 pm
Location: Rosen Centre - 9840 International Dr. - Orlando, FL 32819
Click here to register.
25th Anniversary Olmstead Day Celebration- June 25th
On June 25, the Olmstead Implementation Office invites you to celebrate disability advocacy. We are hosting a virtual Olmstead Day celebration from noon to 1:30 p.m. We will learn from Colleen Wieck of the Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities about the long history of disability advocacy that brought us to today. David Dively of the Minnesota Council on Disability will share about how disability advocacy continues to shape life today, and self-advocate Brittanie Hernandez-Wilson will discuss the future of disability advocacy. All three speakers will share insights on the past, present, and future of disability advocacy in a panel discussion.
Date: Tuesday, June 25th
Time: 12:00 – 1:30 pm
Location: Online
Click here to register and learn more
Lighting Up the 35W Bridge for Olmstead Day
This year, the 35W bridge in Minneapolis will be lit to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Olmstead decision. The bridge will be lit on June 22, 2024 starting a half hour before sunset to a half hour after sunrise. It will be lit in the colors of the disability pride flag.
The colors of the disability pride flag represent:
- Black is to mourn and honor people with disabilities who have died.
- Green is for sensory disabilities.
- Blue represents emotional and psychiatric disabilities.
- White stands for non-visible and undiagnosed disabilities.
- Gold is for neurodiversity.
- Red represents physical disabilities.
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