November 25, 2024
From the Editor
Hello all! We are fresh off the heels of our Fall Conference at Perkins (and held remotely via Zoom). I hope those of you attended, whether in-person or remote, had a wonderful time. I had the privilege of helping Nona Haroyan and Lesli Charlson, as well as the Perkins AmeriCorps volunteers, to guide attendees to a separate room for a Democracy Live voting machine demo. While I didn’t test the machine myself, I gained a lot of information from seeing everyone else test it and Nona and I were able to provide our own feedback as low vision users.
I was also made editor of BayLines Express about three years ago from this time, and I want to thank each and every one of you for the support. Whether you’re emailing me about the latest issue or sending along links or content for things in the pipeline, this is truly a team effort that would not be possible if I were pioneering it by myself. With that, I am joining the rest of the BSCB Communications Committee in wishing you all a happy Thanksgiving.
Don’t forget about our blog! You can read member spotlight articles and all past member-submitted articles to BayLines Express by going to https://acbofma.org/blog. Blog posts are ordered newest to oldest, and there are several of them per page. Each individual post’s title is a link that will take you to the full body of text.
As always, if you would like to contribute information or comment on ways to improve BayLines Express, please contact Dianna Leonard at dianna.l93@gmail.com. And if you have an idea for a monthly article and would like to contribute, please contact Myra Ross at myraross@comcast.net.
News from the Board
Held this past Saturday at the Perkins Grousbeck Center, our Fall Conference was a great success. There were approximately 40 in-person and 25 remote participants. Ed Bosso, Perkins President of Educational Programs and Superintendent, welcomed us and provided an overview of recent Perkins happenings. Here are some of the conference highlights:
- Democracy Live CEO Brian Finney, and technician Juliet Harvey-Bolia, conducted hands-on breakout sessions allowing conference attendees to check out their accessible in-person voting technology and provide feedback on how to improve it.
- MCB Commissioner John Oliveira and Deputy Commissioner Justine Muir gave us news about the MCB budget situation, planned office relocation next year, and information on tax breaks that legally blind tax payers should be aware of.
- Debra Erickson gave us information about the Blind Kitchen, including accessible kitchen products available on her website.
- Jennifer Harnish, Director of Social Services at the Massachusetts Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired provided an overview of MABVI activities. Several attendees lauded the value of MABVI’s program that provides volunteers for help carrying out household tasks which require sighted assistance.
- Jeanette Kutash demoed the Envision AI smart glasses and Brian Charlson and Jennifer demoed the Meta smart glasses.
- Kim Charlson and Cory Kadlik provided an update on Perkins Library Happenings, including a demo of the new BARD Amazon Alexa skill currently under development.
- Aaron Spelker and Jerry Berrier told us about some of their favorite accessible games. Jerry provided a demo of Wordle.
The last Board call was held on November 10. The Board decided to seek external bookkeeping assistance for tracking and tabulating financial data in QuickBooks, which unfortunately, has many usability shortcomings. Aaron Spelker presented several options which we will explore over the coming weeks. Regular routine transactions would still be recorded by the treasurer, but the bookkeeper would organize all the data for purposes of periodic report preparation and facilitation of tax filing.
The Board decided to allocate $1,200 each as stipends for two BSCB members to attend the March 2025 ACB Legislative Seminar in Washington. In mid-December, we will solicit expressions of interest from members, and will award the stipends during the January 2025 Board call.
Before the end of the year, we hope to establish a new PayPal dues payment procedure for members who want to renew their BSCB membership for 2025. The Board will extensively communicate with BSCB chapter presidents and treasurers so everybody is familiar with the system and the communication requirements between chapters and the treasurer to ensure smooth recertification next year.
Events Calendar
The next meeting of Blind and Visually Impaired User Group (VIBUG) will take place on Saturday, December 14, 2024 at 1:00pm via Zoom. Further information and how to join is listed at https://vibug.org/.
The next Perkins Library Without Walls will meet on Tuesday, December 17, 2024. To RSVP or listen to the upcoming LWW schedule, call the voice mailbox system at (617) 972-7852.
There will be no Third Thursday with the BSCB in December due to the busy holiday season, however we hope you join us in the new year for more exciting activities. Please be sure to subscribe to our Announce List at bscb-announce+subscribe@acblists.org to stay up to date.
Below are landing page links for the MCB Rehabilitation Council (RC), and the MCB Statutory Advisory Board (SAB). You may want to bookmark them and check them often for time-sensitive entries. They contain details of upcoming events and meetings, recordings of recent meetings, and other relevant information.
RC landing page: https://www.mass.gov/orgs/mcb-rehabilitation-council
SAB landing page: https://www.mass.gov/orgs/mcb-statutory-advisory-board
News from the Web
For those of you who may or may not have heard, the MBTA recently unveiled their new Green Line cars and were getting feedback from riders a few weeks ago (I saw a segment where one of the Channel 5 reporters were doing a segment live from a packed car). However, there have been concerns from the disability community.
Riders have some concerns about accessibility of new Green Line ‘supercars’
A new trail in Western Massachusetts is helping bring the benefits of a quiet hike in the woods to the disability community. Read more about the Trails for All initiative below.
This is a video from PBS (with a transcript provided) about a studio in Brookline that showcases the work of artists with disabilities.
Inside a Massachusetts studio showcasing the work of artists with disabilities
Soaring living costs uniquely burden people with blindness and low vision, and new research sheds light on the financial challenges of accessibility and inclusion.
People with blindness and low vision are squeezed by high costs of living − new research
The Retreat No One Could Have Expected, by Sharon Strzalkowski
On the morning of September 25, I was outside at 6:35 to get my shared van to the airport and onto a retreat in North Carolina. “Candle in the Window,” a wonderful non-religious retreat just for blind and low vision people, was planned for that Wednesday through Sunday the 29th at a Lions Club camp/retreat center. Excitement was high as we all gathered there, as many people already knew each other and were anxious to meet others that they didn’t already know.
It was quickly clear that we would be accompanied on our retreat by the torrential rains that came before Hurricane Helene in that part of Carolina. Shoe squelched, socks wouldn’t dry, and guide dogs had to be toweled down on a regular basis. During the first few days, we also had two tornado warnings, and had to shelter in interior hallways, and in one case actually lie on the floor as the safest place to be.
But my story is really about the evacuation that we had to go through on Friday, Sept. 27. We lost power, cell, and Internet service, thus making it impossible to track the storm and tornadoes. Our retreat center director rightly feared that these crucial services would not be restored any time soon. Having us stay there would be very difficult and unsafe for us and for the center, so we quickly packed up our belongings, and boarded buses to get out of the area. We were taken to a rather unsavory motel, which was able to accommodate some 15 people. The motel was on a highway with lots of traffic noise, a strip club next to us, and the clear sense of a transient environment. I felt fortunate that we had to double up with a roommate, as this made me feel somewhat safer.
The weird part about the evacuation is that, at least for a little while, we all felt isolated from each other, since we could not walk down a hallway or meet at a restaurant in the motel. But then the group text thread kicked in, and we were off and running. We learned who was where in the motel, and organized getting together for meals. On Friday night we went to the Waffle House, in walking distance, and partook of their emergency menu, which tasted pretty good at that point. On Saturday night we Ubered to a Mexican restaurant and were able to eat outside.
The lesson in all of this was how working together in a community made a difficult situation infinitely better than it might have been. Our retreat theme for this year was Nurturing Community, and we had real practical experience in getting this to happen. Our week was nothing in comparison to the experiences of the millions who faced the destruction of their homes and more, but it was certainly disorienting. We are all forever grateful for the quick actions of the retreat center director. We learned later that the whole area was evacuated later on Friday.
I often fear for us blind people in case of an emergency. I know that our situation at the retreat was unique, but still, it made me think about what I might do when facing an emergency without the support of a big group, and I am trying to track down answers as to how such an emergency would be handled in my city. I hope that you will all do the same.
BSCB Contact Information
Phone: (773) 572-6312
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Twitter: @ACBofMA