Marc Dubin, Esq., CILSF’s Director of Advocacy, leads a group of volunteer advocates, with and without disabilities, dedicated to enhancing the communication and physical accessibility of our disability community in Miami-Dade County. This is accomplished by breaking down the barriers in society that prevent people with disabilities from achieving their full potential. These positions require an average of three to five hours per month.

Volunteers have a unique opportunity to learn Civil Rights laws and advocacy skills. This training will enable these specialized volunteers to excel at serving on boards, alliances, coalitions, and committees where they can influence disability policy and impact funding decisions that can positively change the lives of people with disabilities in our local community. Additionally, these volunteers keep Center staff informed of the concerns of people with disabilities, the gaps in services, and the issues that the Center should support. Currently, advocates are working on committees in our community concerned with accessible, affordable, integrated housing; transportation; health care; and disaster preparedness.

Our Director of Advocacy is Marc Dubin, Esq., former senior trial attorney, U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Disability Rights Section. As the department director, he recruits, trains, and guides teams of volunteers, with and without disabilities, to serve on our Disability Advocacy Council. Advocacy Council members educate people with disabilities about the availability of services; identify gaps in services that should be remedied, identify disability issues the center should support, advocate for systemic changes, and keep the Executive Director and Board of Directors updated on the concerns and issues that affect persons with disabilities in Miami-Dade County. Director of Advocacy also trains volunteers to serve on community coalitions, alliances, boards, and committees where they can influence policies and funding decisions that affect the disability community.

Our struggle for equality focuses on several areas where policy changes are needed to enhance access to services. From 2006-2010, we are highlighting access to domestic violence services; accessible, affordable, integrated housing; access to health care, including Medicaid Reform; access to emergency shelters and services; and access to transportation. Marc wants to hear what your experiences have been when you have tried to get services or used these services. If you asked for communication aids were they provided to you? (Examples are Braille, CD-Rom, diskette, large print, audiotape, sign language interpreter, open captioning, assistive listening device, or note taker.)

Marc and our volunteers are documenting instances in which persons with disabilities have encountered problems. Marc and his team are the problem-solvers! They are effecting systems change in our county and they are not going to take “NO” for an answer when it concerns ADA compliance. If you need a problem solved, contact Marc at mdubin@pobox.com, or 1-305-896-3000.

If you would like to join our South Florida Accessible Housing Coalition, also contact Marc. The Center is working collaboratively with H.O.P.E., Inc. and many other housing organizations throughout the state to increase accessible, affordable, integrated housing for people with disabilities. This is a hot issue and we are taking advantage of the fact that so many organizations in the state and in our own community are willing to work together to achieve this goal.

We are pleased to announce that Casey Davis, the Founder and CEO of Deaf MD, has joined our Deaf and Hard of Hearing Advocacy Committee.

Casey Davis is a nationally certified emergency medicine physician assistant who has turned a graduate school thesis into a passion of service to the Deaf & Hard of Hearing Community.  Using his own personal funds that he was able to set aside from his primary source of employment, Mr. Davis designed and developed a video-driven health education website that provides vital information for this vastly underserved community in their primary and preferred language of American Sign Language (ASL).  Since the launch in September 2008, DeafMD has welcomed over 160,000 visitors and more than 600,000 page views.  Through their tireless efforts, Mr. Davis and his selfless team of volunteers have changed the way the Deaf community understands their health.

The CILSF’s Deaf & HOH Committee brings together individuals from all over the United States interested in addressing the concerns of the community, and work to enhance services. To join the Committee, contact Marc at mdubin@pobox.com.

2/22/10: We want to hear from you. Today, we met with Mr. Kapoor and his staff, and had an extensive conversation about the concerns of riders with disabilities. We expressed frustration at having been excluded from the decision-making process, and shared experiences that riders have had  – experiences that reflect a need for improvement.

Mr. Kapoor, the Director of Miami-Dade’s Transit Department, committed to changing the way his Department approached services to riders with disabilities. He and his key staff listened carefully as riders and their advocates identified problem after problem.

To his credit, Mr. Kapoor committed to working with the disability community to restore trust, and to making the changes needed. He committed to meetng with riders and disability advocates at least once a month, at the CILSF offices (located at 6660 Biscayne Blvd. in Miami (305-751-8025). He also committed that key members of his staff would address our concerns.

Which brings us to what we, as a disability community, need to do to make this work –

We need to organize, and share our experiences and expertise with one another and with Mr. Kapoor and his office. We have set up several ways to do this:

 – Our Blog, located at www.ADAadvocacyBlog.org;

– Our new listserv on Transit issues. To join, email me at mdubin@pobox.com;

– Meetings at the CIL, on a monthly basis. Alerts will be posted on this website (www.soflacil.org) and on our Advocacy Blog (www.ADAadvocacyBlog.org) and on our listserv on Transit issues. We will also speak to Mr. Kapoor and his staff on a weekly basis/

For this to be successful, we need you to get involved. Email me with your Transit problems. We will share them with Mr. Kapoor and his staff, and ask them to resolve or for an explanation of why they can’t. We will keep the County Commissioners informed, and where necessary, keep the federal government informed as well.

If you want to help, get involved.

Marc

Visit www.ADAadvocacyBlog.org.

The Advocacy Program has an exciting new Blog — www.ADAadvocacyBlog.org, and a new listserv on STS/Transit issues.

To join the listserv, send your name, phone number and email address to mdubin@pobox.com with the words STS list.