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I have attached the information on the hearing for DC's Draft Comprehensive Physical Access Plan for DC shelter accessibility. The plan can be found at http://newsroom.dc.gov/show.aspx/agency/dhs/section/2/release/16594. You can also comment in writing within 45 days of March 10th to Sanja.Partalo3@dc.gov.
Please distribute the attached "comprehensive plan outreach flyers" to people who use DC shelters so they have a chance to give their two cents on which shelters should be upgraded, and how that should be done. DC has not done a good job of getting the word out to the people who live in shelters—the folks who know the most about what needs to be changed.
It is important for people to know that the plan is not limited only to helping people who use wheelchairs—it is supposed to be a plan for equal access for ANY person with a physical disability. Please encourage people to think about what changes need to be made in individual and family shelters for people with HIV/AIDS, diabetes, visual or hearing impairments, back or knee conditions, rheumatoid arthritis, or other physical health conditions.
Please contact me if you have any questions about the plan or what my comments will include. It's a little hard to understand even if you are completely immersed in this work—so please don't be shy about asking questions.
Tell DC officials what you think they need to do to give people with physical disabilities equal access to shelter!
Monday, April 13, 2009
10 a.m. - 12 p.m. (noon)
Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library
901 G Street NW in auditorium (A-5)
Sign up by calling (202) 671-4339
Amber W. Harding
Staff Attorney
Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless
(202) 328-5503
Fax (202) 328-5515
WLCH United Way/CFC Designation Numbers: CFC # 82572, United Way # 8472
Need shelter or a warm blanket? Call the Hypothermia Hotline at 1-800-535-7252.
NOTICE: This communication may contain privileged or other confidential information. If you have received it in error, please advise the sender by reply email and immediately delete the message and any attachments without copying or disclosing the contents. Thank you.
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