Posts filed under ‘Programs and Services’
Ramp Build
Thursday, May 10
Interviews and Photos 11:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.
916 Hermitage Ridge
Hermitage TN 37076
Contact
Deana Claiborne
Cell Phone: 615-513-0777
Email: Deana_Claiborne@ucpnashville.org
Volunteers from Tennessee Housing Development Agency (THDA) are teaming up May 10 with United Cerebral Palsy of Middle Tennessee to commemorate construction of the partnership’s 2,000th wheelchair ramp on to the home of a person with a disability.
The ramp will benefit Buddy, a 24-year-old young man who has a severe mobility disability. Buddy’s disability affects his motor coordination at all levels, meaning he cannot walk or perform any tasks that involve dexterity. Buddy lives in the home with his parents who provide his living supports. He looks forward to having a wheelchair ramp so he can use a power wheelchair to enter and exit his home independently.
The collaboration between THDA, UCP and a variety of statewide organizations has addressed an immense unmet need in Tennessee for persons of low income who have disabilities and have no way to get in and out of their homes without this essential accommodation. Through the program, wheelchair ramps are constructed of people qualifications. THDA dollars have paid for lumber and supplies. UCP and the partner agencies coordinate the ramp builds and provide labor.
According to UCP Executive Director Deana Claiborne, the long economic downturn has been especially hard on people with disabilities and their families, leading to increased waiting lists in the program. “The financial pressure on families is immense when you consider home modifications, extra healthcare expenses, durable medical equipment, and caregiving supports.” A wheelchair ramp gives a person the most basic access to the community, making it possible to participate in transportation, work, school, worship, healthcare, grocery shopping, and many other activities that people often take for granted.
A well-designed wheelchair ramp ensures the safety of both the person with a disability and the caregiver who would otherwise have to lift the individual up and down steps. UCP builds ramps in the Middle Tennessee area and coordinates ramp building through a variety of partner agencies across other areas of the state.
The program needs the financial assistance of donors in order to meet the unmet need. “We just spent our last dollars in the current THDA grant,” says UCP Home Access Director John Pickett, “But we have a statewide waiting list of 122 applications.” The cost of lumber and supplies for an average ramp is $754. An additional $92,000 is needed just to acquire supplies for people on the waiting lists. That doesn’t include labor costs and the additional need, taking into account new applications that arrive every day.
May 9, 2012 at 2:56 pm
John Pickett has to make a hard decision today: When you have a long list of people with disabilities who have immense unmet needs, which one gets the wheelchair ramp? Today, Pickett has 20 people on a waiting list in Davidson County alone, and available funds for only one wheelchair ramp. Pickett is the director of United Cerebral Palsy’s Home Access Program. Through this program, UCP and partner agencies across the state construct wheelchair ramps on to the homes of people with disabilities.
The program also provides limited home modification services such as bathroom modifications and other essential services. Pickett’s problem isn’t new. He has been doing this job since 1999. According to Pickett, there is never enough money to serve all the people who apply for the program. “We do our best to serve people on a first come, first serve basis, but there are other factors that must be considered, with safety of the applicant and the caregiver lifting them up steps being a primary concern.”
Pickett narrowed the list down to the 5 program applicants who have been waiting the longest. They range from 24 to 95 years old. They have disabilities resulting from a variety of conditions, including cerebral palsy, strokes, cancer and lung disease. What they each have in common is the need for a wheelchair ramp because they are not able to independently enter and exit their own homes without this modification and they cannot afford to pay for the ramp.
The program has just depleted the last funds in a grant from Tennessee Housing Development Agency. The average cost for lumber and supplies for a single ramp is $754. “We have 122 people on waiting lists across the state right now,” says Pickett. We need an additional $92,000 just to acquire supplies for people on the waiting lists. That doesn’t include labor costs and the additional need when you take into account new applications that arrive every day.”
The program saves money by enlisting volunteers from area businesses, church groups, civic organizations and schools to build the ramps. “This is a program that changes lives in less than a day of work,” says Pickett.
To donate or volunteer for the Wheelchair Ramp program, contact:
United Cerebral Palsy of Middle Tennessee
1200 9th Avenue North, Suite 110
Nashville TN 37208
615-242-4091
John_Pickett@ucpnashville.org
May 3, 2012 at 2:50 pm
There was a six-month wait to get a correctly sized wheelchair ordered for Patricia Cullum’s 10-year-old son who has cerebral palsy.
But Cullum, of Brentwood, went to the equipment exchange program at United Cerebral Palsy of Middle Tennessee and found a wheelchair that fit Samuel, and it was free.
“He had outgrown the wheelchair, and it was unsafe,” Cullum said. “The one we had from UCP worked perfectly for the six months, and it didn’t cost a dime. Then, we returned it. They help a lot of people.”
United Cerebral Palsy of Middle Tennessee helps children and adults with all types of physical disabilities.
December 17, 2010 at 5:09 pm
UCP is concluding the first year of our All Together Kids Grant through Metro/Davidson County. All Together Kids is UCP’s Inclusion Program, aimed at offering the same opportunities to children with disabilities that are available to typically developing children. Despite advances to our educational systems as a result of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, children with disabilities have significantly less access to community based activities than their typically developing peers. 81% of respondents in the 2009 grant pre-assessment indicate that their child has “limited or no access to opportunities for participation in integrated programs and activities in their local neighborhood or community.” 71% of respondents reported that their child has “limited or extreme difficulty interacting with typically developing peers.”
Children with disabilities are limited in exposure to activities that allow them to compete on an equal playing field, and as they grow, they have proportionately less opportunities available to them in higher education and in the workplace. All Together Kids addresses this gap by affording access to existing community and neighborhood-based arts programs, sports, recreation, day care, summer programs, camps, and the myriad of peer-related activities that round out the social, physical and intellectual development of all children.
The purpose of the Metro grant is to provide funding supports to families of children with severe disabilities in order that they may access these programs with a service plan that is specific to the individualized needs of each child, and targeted to advance personalized educational and developmental progress goals in the most integrated and inclusive environment possible. UCP also has a training curriculum for community agencies to assist with nclusion objectives and we provide technical assistance and consultation to community-based children’s programs throughout the Metro area aimed toward development of infrastructure capacity to include children with disabilities.
The 2008-09 grant continues through June 30, 2009. According to UCP program director Laura Crain, most of the requests for this year have been for assistance in enrolling children with disabilities in summer programs. At present, all of the 72 contracted slots have been filled, and 100% of the funds have been allocated. There is currently a waiting list of 32 children for the program. UCP has applied for continued funding supports for the program in 2009-10.
June 3, 2009 at 9:39 pm
In the report entitled “Fulfill the Promise” the Developmental DisabilitiesTask Force appointed by the state legislature called for an increase in state funding for the Family Support Program, one of Tennessee’s only service programs that is available to persons with developmental disabilities other than mental retardation. The entire Family Support Program is now at risk due to the current state budget situation. Go to the following link to download the letter that Assistant Commissioner Steve Norris sent to the members of the taskforce detailing state plans for the future of the Family Support program:
http://www.ucpnashville.org/FamilySupport/NorrisLetter.pdf
April 13, 2009 at 7:01 pm
United Cerebral Palsy of Middle Tennessee is still accepting applications for the All Together Kids inclusion program for Metro/Davidson County. All Together Kids is a program designed to promote the inclusion of children with disabilities in community based after school programs, recreation, arts, and extra curricular activities alongside their typically developing peers. The program will supply grants for up to $1,000 to families for direct assistance for their child to participate in these activities. The program is funded by a grant from the Metropolitan Government of Nashville.
The program is designed to be flexible to meet children’s specific needs, and available to families in neighborhoods where they live and work. For example, funds may be used for tuition or enrollment in a variety of community programs such as day care, arts, after school care, camps, recreation and faith-based programs. Funds may be used for specialized accessible transportation, supplies, uniforms and other items specific to the child’s needs in the program. Funds also may be used for specific therapies and services that are targeted toward development of communication, socialization, or other skills that may be necessary for children with disabilities to integrate effectively with their peers.
According to UCP Executive Director Deana Claiborne, families are finding a number of creative ways to make use of the program. “Some families of children with autism are enrolling their children in community based programs and using the All Together Kids grant to help pay for behavioral therapies that give their children the skills to interact with typically developing children.”
Some families are applying to use the funds so their children can attend overnight camp programs, affording their children with disabilities the opportunity to spend the night away form home for the first time in their lives. Others are using the funds for integrated day care and summer day camps. One family is using the funds to pay for a recreational therapist to work one-on-one with their child in taking community-based swimming lessons alongside typically developing children. Another family is using the funds to acquire accessible playground equipment at their child’s afterschool program so their child “will no long be left laying on a blanket while other children are at play.”
The program is for school-age children with disabilities who live in Davidson County and who are currently enrolled, or will be enrolled during the period of the grant, in an inclusive community based after-school, recreational, extracurricular or other community based program in the Nashville community.
While families may apply at any time, Claiborne urges families to get their applications in a quickly as possible. “We know that a number of families want to use the grant for summer programs that may cross Metro fiscal years. We need to get these application in as quickly as possible to we can set up service plans and work out the financing arrangements for this fiscal year. There are limited funds available, and we want to make sure everyone who needs the program has an opportunity to apply.”
The application for the All Together Kids program can be downloaded from the UCP website at
http://www.ucpnashville.org/AllTogetherKids/ATKIndex.htm
If families have questions about the program, of if assistance is needed in completing the application, call the All Together Kids Program Coordinator, Laura Crain, at 615-477-4992.
February 10, 2009 at 9:33 pm
United Cerebral Palsy of Middle Tennessee Serves persons of all ages and with all types of disabilities. Our agency provides services to individuals with disabilities in approximately 80% of Tennessee counties in any given year. We also serve as a primary resource center for information about the condition known as cerebral palsy.
United Cerebral Palsy of Middle Tennessee is unique among agencies serving individuals with developmental and acquired physical disabilities in Tennessee. While most agencies that primarily focus on developmental disabilities services provide programs for populations for which waiver contract funding is available through the state Division of Mental Retardation, UCP has chosen to focus on the needs of unaddressed populations. Mental Retardation is only one form of developmental disability. Individuals with comparable disabilities have comparable needs, but nowhere to turn within the state structure for help. The Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities has no budget for DD services and provides no services or contract funding to aid persons with developmental disabilities. Therefore, our agency relies on an array of private funding initiatives for basic services to our families.
To further compound matters, many people with significant disabilities do not qualify for long term care supports under TennCare and they cannot acquire private insurance adequate to meet their significant long term care needs. The individuals our agency serves are people with documented and verifiable needs who simply have nowhere else to turn. Our resources are meager, but our volunteers and families prove every day that much can be done when limited resources are used with innovation and care.
December 8, 2008 at 7:13 am
Programs like United Cerebral Palsy’s Durable Medical and Adaptive Equipment Exchange save taxpayer dollars every day. Many of the people who use the program are on TennCare and other government programs. Every time people select a “gently used” item of durable medical equipment through the Equipment Exchange instead of applying for it through TennCare, they save taxpayer dollars.
Through services like the Wheelchair Ramp program and the Disability Housing Assistance Program, simple home modifications make it possible for people with disabilities to remain in their own homes instead of having to move into high cost nursing homes and other institutions.
December 8, 2008 at 6:47 am
United Cerebral Palsy of Middle Tennessee announces availability of All Together Kids inclusion grants for children with disabilities in Davidson County Tennessee. All Together Kids is a program designed to promote the inclusion of children with disabilities in community based after school programs, recreation, arts, and extra curricular activities alongside their typically developing peers. The program will supply grants for up to $1,000 to families for direct assistance for their child to participate in these activities. The program is funded by a grant from the Metropolitan Government of Nashville.
The program is designed to be flexible to meet children’s specific needs, and available to families in neighborhoods where they live and work. For example, funds may be used for tuition or enrollment in a variety of community programs such as day care, arts, after school care, camps, recreation and faith-based programs. Funds may be used for specialized accessible transportation, supplies, uniforms and other items specific to the child’s needs in the program. Funds also may be used for specific therapies and services that are targeted toward development of communication, socialization, or other skills that may be necessary for children with disabilities to integrate effectively with their peers.
The program is for children with disabilities who are enrolled in the Metropolitan Nashville Public School System and who are currently enrolled, or will be enrolled during the period of the grant, in an inclusive community based after-school, recreational, extracurricular or other community based program in the Nashville community.
While families may apply at any time, applications received on or prior to December 17, 2008 will be reviewed at the December meeting of the volunteer review team. To download an application for the grant, go to www.ucpnashville.org and click the link for
Davidson County All Together Kids Inclusion Program, or go to http://www.ucpnashville.org/AllTogetherKids/ATKIndex.htm
All Together Kids also will supply inclusion training and direct assistance for community based programs accepting children with disabilities into their activities. Contact United Cerebral Palsy for information about the grant and the training initiative for community programs.
November 17, 2008 at 12:39 am
Programs and Services Offered by UCP of Middle Tennessee Include the following:
All Together Kids
Geographic Area Served: Davidson County Tennessee
Description: All Together Kids is UCP’s education and aftercare program for children. This program provides direct funding supports to families of children with severe disabilities in order that they may access community based summer, aftercare, recreation, arts, camps, therapeutic, and other programs that are specific to their individualized needs, and targeted to advance personalized educational and developmental progress goals in the most integrated and inclusive environment possible. Further, UCP provides a a DVD and web based training curriculum, technical assistance and consultation to community-based children’s programs throughout the Metro area aimed toward development of infrastructure capacity to include children with disabilities in their programs and activities.
Disability Housing Assistance Program
Geographic Area Served: Tennessee Statewide except for Davidson, Hamilton, Knox and Shelby Counties
Description: The Tennessee Disability Housing Assistance Program is a project of the Tennessee Housing Trust Fund. The program is administered by United Cerebral Palsy of Middle Tennessee and is funded by Tennessee Housing Development Agency. The program provides housing-related grants and low-cost disability-related home modifications and repairs specific to the needs of low income Tennesseans with severe disabilities. The mission of the program is to ensure that Tennessee citizens with disabilities have access equal to all citizens, to safe, sound homes and opportunities to live in their communities. A total of $560,748 is available for distribution in grants prior to June 30, 2009. This will be accomplished through a network of partner agencies established by UCP across the state of Tennessee.
Educational Travel Fund
Geographic Area Served: Tennessee Statewide
Description: The Educational Travel Fund allows individuals with disabilities of all types throughout the state of Tennessee, and their parents or caregivers to attend conferences and educational activities related to their particular disability.
Educational Video and Photography
Geographic Area Served: Non-specific
Description: UCP produces educational video programming on issues affecting individuals with disabilities. Among these include investigative reports on Inclusive Education, Transportation, Fair Housing, Adoption of Special Needs Children, ADA Accommodations, Tenessee State Title 33, Emergency Preparedness for Persons with Disabilities, and the Supreme Court’s Olmstead Decision.
Equipment Exchange
Geographic Area Served: Tennessee Statewide, plus South Central Kentucky
Description: The UCP Durable Medical and Adaptive Equipment Exchange Program enables individuals with disabilities and their families to become self-sufficient through the provision of durable medical and adaptive equipment. The Equipment Exchange first emerged through the gratitude and concern of families who received equipment for their children through UCP’s Barry Dean Fulton Special Needs Fund. This included items such as wheelchairs, walkers, prone standers, wheelchair lifts, and augmentative communication devices. As their children outgrew the equipment, parents were returning it to UCP, asking to make it available to other families. Over the years, the Equipment Exchange experienced a quiet but steady growth as new families and service providers learned of its existence. The program was expanded to include individuals with all types of disabilities, and other organizations joined with UCP in collecting, storing and distributing equipment. The program is now one of UCP’s hallmark services.
Family Support
Geographic Area Served: UCP has the state contract for Rutherford County Tennessee
Description: Family Support is a statewide service to individuals with disabilities supplied by the state of Tennessee. The program consists of a statwide fund that is distributed equitibly throughout the state through locally based agencies in each community. Services can include but are not limited to: Respite care, day care services, home modifications, equipment, supplies, personal assistance, transportation, homemaker services, housing costs, health-related needs, nursing and counseling. The average distribution statewide is $1,000 – $1,500. The maximum distribution for any individual is $4,000.
Holiday Boxes
Geographic Area Served: Middle Tennessee
Description: Each year volunteers gather and distribute Holiday boxes for families in extreme poverty whose resources and family supports are severely limited. UCP volunteers pack these boxes with essentials such as staple, nonperishable food items, warm clothing, bath and bedding items. They also include Holiday and New Year’s messages, cards and drawings from children, and many other small gifts. All of the items in the Holiday Boxes are new items, purchased or handmade by volunteers especially for the families they are helping through the program.
Home Access/Wheelchair Ramps
Geographic Area Served: Tennessee Statewide
Description: United Cerebral Palsy builds ramps and coordinates state-wide construction of wheelchair ramps for individuals with mobility disabilities whose homes are without proper accessibility. Working in conjunction with collaborating agencies, volunteers from churches, civic clubs, and other area groups, UCP spearheads the construction wheelchair ramps on to the homes of persons with disabilities across the state of Tennessee. Lumber and supplies for the program are funded through a grant from the Tennessee Housing Development Agency (THDA).
Information and Referral
Geographic Area Served: Generally Middle Tennessee, plus some services to persons from other parts of the state and individuals planning to move to Tennessee from other states
Description: United Cerebral Palsy serves as the doorway through which many families learn about the condition known as cerebral palsy, and also about community services available to individuals with many types of physical disabilities. A large number of requests pertain to information about unmet needs of the constituency. These include requests for help in funding assistive technology, personal and attendant care services, respite care, prescription pharmaceuticals, and other items not covered under TennCare and private insurance. A large percentage of requests for information relate to cerebral palsy. The remaining calls and e-mails have to do with a more broad-based area of inquiry related to disabilities in general.
Public Policy
Geographic Area Served: Tennessee Statewide
Description: UCP has entered into a public policy alliance, the purpose of which is to identify, articulate, and promote sound and effective public policy in the best interest of citizens with disabilities in the state of Tennessee.
Special Needs Funds
Geographic Area Served: Middle Tennessee
Description: One of UCP’s first programs of service was special needs fund, initiated by the family of former Nashville Mayor Richard Fulton, and named in memory of his son, Barry Dean Fulton. While desigated funds for this program have been long since depleted, UCP continues to use the Fulton Fund designation for emergency aid to families when no other source of immediate aid can be identified. Because of the small amount of discretionary money available, this aid is limited to extreme emergency situations.
The Burch Family Special Needs Fund at United Cerebral Palsy was established in the year 2000 by the Burch Family Foundation for the purpose of supplying assistance to individuals with disabilities in Franklin, Tennessee who are of birth multiples.
In the letter establishing the fund at United Cerebral Palsy, Mr. Lucius E. Burch III stated:
“It has recently come to my attention that cerebral palsy often affects children of multiple birth. The funds from the Burch Family Foundation are to be used to establish a fund to provide direct aid for medical, therapeutic, technological, or other specialized needs for children of multiple birth with disabilities located in the city of Franklin, Tennessee.”
UCP also has opportunities to serve individuals through the UCPA Bellows Fund. A small portion of interest earned from this fund is distributed to indivduals throughout the United States through a direct allocation process.
Sports and Recreation Program
Geographic Area Served: Middle Tennessee
Description: United Cerebral Palsy’s Sports and Recreation Program is a year round activity for people with disabilities and their families which takes place every Wednesday evening and during specially designated weekends. Participation in these activities affords consumers an opportunity to engage in activities which have both physical and social interaction benefits. Among regular activities offered include bowling, wheelchair basketball, board games, and movie nights. Special activites include the UCP annual family picnic and social at Centennial Park and “Fans on Wheels” activities at area sporting venues. Children may participate on UCP’s Challenger League Baseball team.
November 10, 2008 at 12:18 am
