Rights Here, Rights Now!

Ryann Mason, Ms. Wheelchair Virginia, is BACK today to talk all about Sex and Disability. Ryann is many things, one of them being a sex educator, and she is passionate about talking about sex and disability as it is rarely talked about. Ryann goes deep with us today on this topic.  You can find Ryann on Instagram at Chronically Ry. Full transcript available on www.dlcv.org. Find us on Facebook and on Twitter!

Today's episode is one of the greatest! We got to interview Ms. Wheelchair Virginia, Ryann Mason. Ryann shares all about the Ms. Wheelchair Virginia Pageant, her nursing career, and some advocacy tips with us. You do NOT want to miss this episode. Ryann will also be back next week for a special BONUS episode.  You can find Ryann on Instagram at Chronically Ry. Full transcript available on www.dlcv.org. Find us on Facebook and on Twitter! 

Welcome back listeners! Today we are talking about all the CHRIS (Computerized Human Rights Information System) database and what we do with it. The CHRIS database is information we receive every day from the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services regarding serious injuries or incidents that occur across the state involving people with disabilities. We receive this data into a database and then have a team of reviewers and volunteers read each report and assess any need for follow up. Sometimes we use this data to inform projects for upcoming years, monitoring goals, or we open investigations based on the reports. We hope this episodes gives you a glimpse into the important work that we do and how you can get involved! We always need volunteers to help us read these important reports. You can learn more about becoming a volunteer at www.dlcv.org/volunteer. As always, full transcriptions are available online at www.dlcv.org and you can follow us on Twitter and on Facebook. 

Today on the podcast, we have Pam Cato & Dr. Rick Mitchell, from DBVI, Department of Blind and Vision Impaired, talking about the services they provide, inviting us, and providing us, with a ton of information about, school, employment, Assistive Technology, [AT]. You can find out more about DBVI here. Or call them, their toll-free number is 800-622-2155. As always, full transcriptions of our podcast are available at www.dlcv.org. Follow us on Twitter and on Facebook. If you liked this podcast please feel free to subscribe and leave a review! 

Join us today for a delightful interview with Dale Batton, Deputy Director at DARS. DARS is the Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services and they provide services to improve employment, quality of life, security, and independence of older adults and Virginians with disabilities and their families. Dale shares with us how to access DARS services, who is eligible, and how dLCV and DARS work together! You can find out more about DARS by visiting their website here.  As always, this episode has a full transcript available at www.dlcv.org. You can find us on Twitter and also on Facebook. If you like this podcast please subscribe and leave us a review! 

Today we interviewed former dLCV client and tremendous self-advocate, podcaster, and TBI survivor, Jay Crandell! Jay suffered a TBI on July 4, 2006 from a stray bullet while walking down the street. Since then he has been through much rehab to regain his independence. His parents are tremendous supports and have been there every step of the way. Jay has his own podcast, which you can listen to HERE. We hope you learn from Jay as he shares his wins and struggles and what he wishes the TBI system in Virginia has. If you want to learn more about the TBI resources in Virginia you can check out the Brain Injury Association of Virginia or season 2 episode 1 where we interviewed Anne McDonnell, the Executive Director of BIAV or episode 5 where we interview Chris Miller, the Director of the Brain Injury Services Coordination Unit at DARS!  As always, full transcription available on our website, www.dlcv.org. Find us on Facebook or on Twitter!

Join us as we welcome back fan favorite, Dana Traynham, as she shares all about Advance Directives. In previous episodes we have spoken about Guardianship issues and supported decision making. Dana shares alternatives to guardianship and how to obtain an advance directive in this episode. You can find many more videos and resources about this topic at www.dlcv.org/advideos and www.dlcv.org/supported-decision-making. You may also hear a little about Dana's new pet chickens at the end, so stay tuned! As always, full transcription available online at www.dlcv.org. Find us on Facebook and on Twitter.

Today we are joined by Karen Brimm, who wears many hats. Karen is the Community Services Manager of the Virginia Department for Deaf and Hard of Hearing and she is the acting Access and Functional Needs Officer for the Virginia Department of Emergency Management. Karen is working hard on advocating for information regarding COVID-19 and working hard on mitigating accessibility barriers. The pandemic has shown us many areas of inaccessibility in our daily lives and businesses and Karen has worked tirelessly over the past year to advocate for a more accessible and inclusive world. You can contact the Virginia Department for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing here, and find out more about COVID-19 here! As always, full transcription is available online. Follow us on Facebook and on Twitter. 

Today we are discussing the new movie on Netflix, "I Care A Lot" regarding guardianship issues. If you haven't seen the movie yet, we recommend you watch it before listening to this episode, or it may be spoiled for you. Dana Traynham, dLCV Senior Staff Attorney joins us once again to discuss the movie, share alternatives to guardianship and gives us some Virginia specific examples.  There is a new Traumatic Brain Injury fact sheet on our website, you can find it HERE. There is also a new national hotline put together by the Administration for Community Living and the Centers for Disease Control with some disability councils. The hotline exists to promote vaccination efforts among people with disabilities across the country, with providing vaccine information, appointment scheduling, and connecting users with accessible transportation. The hotline can be reached at 888-677-1199 for the hotline or email DIAL@n4a.org.  Find us on Twitter at DisabilityLawVA or on Facebook. The transcript for this episode is available online. 

Join us today as our guest, Regina Chaney, joins us from Housing Opportunities Made Equal (HOME). Regina is the Community Engagement Specialist at HOME and shares with us all about the work HOME is doing to ensure people with disabilities have access to accessible housing options. HOME tackles systemically divisive housing practices through fair housing enforcement, research, advocacy, and statewide policy work. We also aid first-time homebuyers and those under the threat of foreclosure. Find out more at https://homeofva.org/ if you or a loved one is facing any housing discrimination. You can also contact them at 804.354.0641.  dLCV is holding a Client Assistance Program clinic on June 10th from 9-4. There are only five spots available and sign-ups are first come first serve. If you are needing to know how to access services from the Department of Aging and Rehabilitative Services, Department for Blind and Vision Impaired, or your local Center for Independent Living, or currently receiving services and have questions this clinic is for you. Find out more at https://dlcv.salsalabs.org/cap-clinic/index.html to register today. Full episode transcription available is available on our website and find us on Twitter @DisabilityLawVA or on Facebook. 

Join us today as we speak with dLCV Attorney, John Cimino regarding the recent changes to restraint and seclusion regulations in public schools. Surprisingly to us, Virginia is not the only state who did not previously have regulations surrounding restraint and seclusion. Private schools often do, but public schools have not until recently. John shares with us the differences between restraint and seclusion and breaks down all the new regulations and how they will be implemented and enforced moving forward.  To find out more about special education, check out our Special Education resource page here: www.dlcv.org/special-education If you would like to read the regulations for yourself, you can do so here: http://register.dls.virginia.gov/details.aspx?id=8093 As always, full episode transcriptions are available on our website and you can follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Join us today as Senior Advocate Rhonda Thissen shares with us the differences between Assisted Living Facilities (ALFs) and Nursing Homes. dLCV does monitoring work at both types of facilities and Rhonda is here to shed light on the similarities and differences. You can learn more about ALFs here and Nursing Homes here. Find out more general information at www.dlcv.org.  Full episode transcriptions available on our websites and you can follow us on Twitter and on Facebook.

Join us today for a special episode of Rights Here, Rights Now! We have the pleasure of interviewing Deb Lochart and Taneika Goldman from the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS) Office of Human Rights. Deb and Taneika share with us who is the Office of Human Rights, who they serve, what they do, and how you can utilize their resources. You can find out more at www.dbhds.gov.  Full episode transcription available on our website and you can find us on Twitter @DisabilityLawVA and on Facebook @DisabilityLawCenterofVirginia. 

The 2021 General Assembly session is finally over and Colleen Miller is back to give us all the details on what went down! She goes in-depth on the bills we were tracking and the current status of them as well as what we are already looking ahead to 2022. You can read more about these bills and dLCV's legislative work here https://www.dlcv.org/category/legislative-highlights.  As always, full episode transcriptions available on our website www.dlcv.org and you can find us on Twitter @DisabilityLawVA and on Facebook. 

Service animals, emotional support animals, therapy animals...the list goes on and on. These terms are often used interchangeably but have very different meanings. Staff Attorney Dana Traynham is back on the podcast with us today to break down the differences in these terms. She shares with us about the Americans with Disabilities Act, some new airline legislation, and some fair housing resources. You can learn more at https://www.dlcv.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Assistance-Animals-in-Public-Places-on-Planes-and-at-Home-Fact-Sheet.pdf. As always, full transcript available on our website and you can follow us on Facebook or on Twitter. Find out more at www.dlcv.org

Today we are joined by Institutional Rights Unit Manager, Becka Herbig. Becka shares with us all the work dLCV does on behalf of our clients who are in Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS) licensed state psychiatric hospitals. dLCV monitors all licensed state psychiatric hospitals and as they continue to close, dLCV assists clients with transitioning into least restrictive settings back in the community. If you or a loved one is in an institution and you believe you have wrongly been institutionalized, please check out our resources on our website https://www.dlcv.org/mental-health#complaint. There you can learn how to file complaints and more self-advocacy tips. As always, you can call dLCV at 800-552-3962.  Full episode transcription is available on our website and you can follow us on Twitter @DisabilityLawVA and find us on Facebook.

Today we talk to advocate, Rachel Loria all about Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS). Rachel shares with us how youth aged 14-21 can access these services through their schools. These services include job exploration counseling, workplace readiness training, and self-advocacy skills training among others. Rachel shares with us how these services have shifted virtually due to COVID-19. Find out more at www.dlcv.org/coa.  In this episode we also hear from advocate Rhonda Thissen, who provides us with a Call to Action. We are conducting a survey of abuse and neglect. If you feel you've been abused or neglected by a paid caregiver please complete this brief survey at https://www.dlcv.org/abuse.  As always, full episode transcriptions are available online at www.dlcv.org/podcast. Please follow us on Twitter @DisabilityLawVA and find us on Facebook. 

In this episode, we interview several staff members from the Virginia Sexual & Domestic Violence Action Alliance. We do not go into anything graphic, but there are some sensitive topics in this episode. We focus on the intersectionality of disability and sexual and domestic violence and ways to advocate and get the help you may need. The Action Alliance has a hotline that is open 24/7 at 1-800-838-8238 and a text line at 804-793-9999 or you can chat online with an advocate at https://vsdvalliance.org/contact/.  The Action Alliance has many resources so please check out their website and reach out if you need further information.  Full episode transcription is available at our website and you can find out more at dLCV at www.dlcv.org. Follow us on Facebook and find us on Twitter @DisabilityLawVA. 

Our Executive Director, Colleen Miller, is back with us to share all about the 2021 General Assembly session. She shares what happened with the special session this fall, what dLCV is focused on for this upcoming session and how you can follow along. To stay up to date with all the legislative happenings check out https://www.dlcv.org/category/legislative-highlights, where Colleen herself will provide updates as they come along.  We are anticipating a lot to happen in the next 30 day session so listen in to find out how you can get involved too! As always, follow us on Facebook and Twitter @DisabilityLawVA. Full episode transcriptions are available online.

Have you ever wondered what happens when you call dLCV? Our receptionist, Molly Carter, and our Information & Referral Specialist, Stephanie Sabatini, join us on this episode to break the whole process down for us. Our call-in hours are Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, 8:30AM - 4:00PM or you can fill out an online help form at https://www.dlcv.org/get-help#form As always, the full episode transcript is available online and you can follow us on Facebook and find us on Twitter @DisabilityLawVA.