RCM - Revitalizing Community Membership: Empowering Independence: October 2020

Tuesday, October 27, 2020

Ambassador for the Global Down Syndrome Foundation in 2011, DeOndra Dixon, Jamie Foxx's Younger Sister Dies at 36

"I learned how to live," the actor said in 2018 of what his sister, DeOndra, had taught him

Jamie Foxx's little sister, DeOndra Dixon, has died. She was 36.

The Oscar-winning actor revealed the news on Instagram on Monday, sharing a black and white photo of himself with his sister. A source tells PEOPLE Dixon died on Monday, Oct. 19.

"My heart is shattered into a million pieces... my beautiful loving sister Deondra has transitioned...," Foxx wrote. "I say transitioned because she will always be alive... anyone who knew my sis... knew that she was a bright light..."

"I can’t tell you how many times we have had parties at the house where she has got on the dance floor and stolen the show... ," he continued, before joking, "Even gave her boyfriend @chrisbrownofficial a run for his money..."

Words Matter, And It’s Time To Explore The Meaning Of “Ableism.”

If you read more than one or two articles on disability issues, or talk to just about any disability rights activist, you will run across the word “ableism.” The word does a lot of work for disability culture. It carries the weight of the worst of what plagues disabled people the most, but can be so hard to express.

But for that reason, “ableism” can also seem like an overworked term. It often adds as much confusion and dissension to disability discourse as it does clarity and purpose. While it gives voice and substance to very real beliefs and experiences, the word “ableism” can also feel like a rhetorical weapon meant to discredit people at a stroke for an offensiveness that many people simply don’t see or agree exists.

To read more on this story, click here: Words Matter, And It’s Time To Explore The Meaning Of “Ableism.”

Thursday, October 22, 2020

At 39, DeKalb Disability Activist Melissa Blake is Modeling in Her First Runway Show — At New York Fashion Week

As a teenager in the 1990s, Melissa Blake was interested in fashion.

Unfortunately, fashion wasn’t much interested in her.

Blake, who has a genetic bone and muscle disorder and stands a little under 4 feet tall, couldn’t find jeans or dresses in her size. Paging through Glamour and Cosmopolitan magazines, she didn’t see a single person who looked like her.

“That would have been a game-changer for me,” said Blake, a freelance writer and disability activist who lives in DeKalb.

Nation’s Cities Ranked On Disability Friendliness

Which cities offer the best places to live for people with disabilities? A new ranking factors everything from cost of living to access to support services in an attempt to answer that question.

At the top of the list are Scottsdale, Ariz., St. Louis, South Burlington, Vt., Huntington Beach, Calif. and Bismarck, N.D.

That’s according to an annual analysis from the personal-finance website WalletHub, which assessed data on 182 cities across the country.

To read more on this story, click here: Nation’s Cities Ranked On Disability Friendliness

Texas Social Workers Can Now Turn Away LGBTQ, Disabled Clients

A state regulatory board removed the discrimination protections following a recommendation from Gov. Greg Abbott.

Texas social workers can now turn away LGBTQ clients and those with a disability.

The state Board of Social Work Examiners voted unanimously to change a section of its code of conduct last week following a recommendation from Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, to remove protections for sexual orientation, gender identity and disability. Abbott’s office said the change was suggested because the board’s nondiscrimination clause went beyond the state’s policy on social work, according to The Associated Press.

To read more on this story, click here: Texas Social Workers Can Now Turn Away LGBTQ, Disabled Clients

SSI, Social Security Benefits Will Increase In 2021

People with disabilities receiving Supplemental Security Income and other Social Security benefits will soon see their payments rise.

The Social Security Administration said this week that benefits will increase 1.3 percent in 2021.

The change comes as a result of an annual automatic cost-of-living adjustment, known as COLA, that’s tied to inflation. By law, Social Security benefits go up when there is an increase in the Consumer Price Index from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.

To read more on this story, click here: SSI, Social Security Benefits Will Increase In 2021

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