by independencenw | Feb 4, 2010 | advocacy
2010 marks the 10-year anniversary of the closure of Fairview Training Center, Oregon’s largest institution for people with developmental disabilities. Since Fairview closed, advocates and policy makers have worked diligently to end the wait list for adult services by creating a community-based system of support services that offer self-determination and choice. The decade ended on a high note last October with the closure of Oregon’s last institution for people with developmental disabilities, Eastern Oregon Training Center.
The Oregon Developmental Disabilities Coalition and the Oregon Council on Developmental Disabilities are sponsoring the event, which will include a proclamation from the Governor, an awards ceremony, remarks from influential policy makers and advocates for people with developmental disabilities, and the unveiling of an awareness poster co-produced by The Arc of Oregon and the Oregon Council on Developmental Disabilities. Exhibits will also be on display all day in the Galleria.
What: Developmental Disabilities Celebration – A Decade of Accomplishments
When: Wednesday, February 24th, 2010 at 12:00 – 1:00 p.m.
Where: Oregon State Captiol, Room 50 (lower level)
900 Court Street NE, Salem, OR 97301
Accessible parking spaces are located on Court Street (north side). Automatic doors and a ramp are located on the east side of the building with access gained from the front of the Capitol.
For information about the Capitol building, visit http://www.leg.state.or.us/capinfo/
Contact: Yoshi Kardell Phone: 503-945-9944 Email: ykardell@ocdd.org
by independencenw | Feb 2, 2010 | homelessness
WHAT is the RENT WELL TENANT EDUCATION PROGRAM?
Rent Well is a 15 hour tenant education class that helps you become a successful, stable renter.
Renting is more complicated than many people understand. It is a business relationship, and you need to understand your rights and responsibilities to be a successful renter. Rent Well has been developed to provide you with information that will help you have a positive relationship with your landlord.
If you have been denied housing, Rent Well will help you explore any screening barriers you may have (evictions, credit problems, criminal history), take steps to address those barriers and prepare to be a successful, stable tenant in the future.
In a Rent Well Tenant Education Class, you will learn:
-
- The landlord’s perspective and expectations
- Tenant responsibilities and rights
- How to use good communication skills with your landlord
- How to be a good neighbor
- How to maintain a clean, safe and healthy home
During a Rent Well Tenant Education Class, you will prepare to be a successful renter by:
-
- Pre-screening yourself as a landlord would
- Creating a personalized plan for stable housing
- Creating a workable household budget that makes paying rent a priority
- Reviewing rental agreements to understand common terms and expectations
- Creating a housing portfolio that will show landlords your qualifications as renter
Rent Well Tenant Education Class graduation requirements include:
-
- Full attendance
- Completion of assignments
- Development of a housing portfolio
Upon meeting graduation requirements, participants will receive a Rent Well Graduation Certificate that can be presented to landlords.
Landlord Guarantee Fund:
- Starting on January 1, 2010, the Landlord Guarantee Fund offered by Multnomah County (via HAP), Clackamas County and Washington County will be available only to graduates of Rent Well. However, anyone who graduates from Ready to Rent in one of those counties prior to the implementation of Rent Well and who receives a certificate of completion, will have their guarantee honored for the full 18 months.
- The Rent Well Landlord Guarantee Fund is designed to provide landlords with a financial “guarantee” equivalent to $2000 when renting to Rent Well graduates. Graduates of the Rent Well program receive a certificate showing that they have completed a training course on Housing Readiness Education.
- The Guarantee must be applied for within the first two weeks of renting to a Graduate. Applying for the Guarantee is simple and consists of a one page application.
- Guarantee Fund Eligible Reimbursable Costs:
1. Damages in excess of normal wear and tear to the unit and exceeds the security deposit;
2. One months non-payment of rent if tenant does not vacate apartment in good standing;
3. Court costs and attorney fees where necessary to terminate a tenancy and remove a participant for nonpayment of rent of for other serious and repeated violations of the lease or state law.
HOW TO SIGN UP…
For information on classes and how to sign up please visit the following link:
http://housingconnections.org/HHNViewer.cfm?item=427
Questions regarding the implementation of Rent Well in Multnomah County should be directed to:
Jaclyn Eaton, Rent Well Coordinator, Housing Authority of Portland
Phone: 503-335-6819
Email: Jaclyne@hapdx.org
by independencenw | Feb 1, 2010 | advocacy, fairview training center
Rep Sara Gelser has an OpEd in Sunday’s Oregonian. Check it out here:
Sara Gelser, a Corvallis Democrat, is assistant majority leader of the Oregon House of Representatives.
The past three decades have brought a sea change in state policy for Oregonians with developmental disabilities. In 1981, more than 1,300 Oregonians with developmental disabilities lived at the Fairview Training Center in Salem, where for decades they were called “inmates.” Next month marks the 10th anniversary of the closure of Fairview. With the recent closure of the Eastern Oregon Training Center, Oregon is now the only state that serves 100 percent of its individuals with developmental disabilities in noninstitutional settings.
Our system of community-based supports is not perfect. It remains underfunded, provider wages and training are inadequate, and we must improve client safety in the system. However, Oregonians with disabilities have some things today they didn’t have 30 years ago at Fairview: freedom, dignity and a sense of belonging.
Many artifacts and records from Fairview have been lost or destroyed, and just last week Pierce Cottage was destroyed by fire of unknown origin. As the visible reminders of Fairview disappear, we must ensure that its history is not forgotten or sanitized.
Oregon maintained a Board of Social Control that oversaw more than 2,600 forced sterilizations through 1983. Forced hysterectomies, tubal ligations, vasectomies and even castrations were requirements for discharge from Fairview up through the late 1970s. In 2002, then-Gov. John Kitzhaber issued a formal apology for these human rights violations.
Kitzhaber also acknowledged other abuses. “Until the mid-1980s, if you could believe that, the staff of the institutions commonly used inhumane devices to restrain or control patients, including leather cuffs and helmets and straitjackets and inappropriately high dosages of sedatives and psychotropic medications,” he said.
Former residents tell stories of discipline with leather cuffs, cow whips, razor straps and isolation cages. An oral history project has worked to capture the stories of those who lived and worked at Fairview in their own words.
“I was handicapped, but it made me sicker to be there. It was like a prison. Handcuff. Shut door,” one said. “I didn’t like it there. People mean,” another said.
One resident described being disciplined with razor strops: “It stings really bad.” Others recalled:
READ MORE
