From the Desk of
Joe Bravo,
Executive Director

Welcome to the first edition of The WILC Wire, the newsletter of the Westchester Independent Living Center. It's no coincidence that this first issue comes to you in November with Thanksgiving on the near horizon. Quite frankly, we want to use this newsletter to "talk turkey" with you about current issues and events that affect you as a person who has a disability. We hope that you will use this material, together with the services provided at our center, to empower yourself in the pursuit of your own personal goals. We also hope that you will become part of a growing community of people with disabilities who will speak to your politicians on behalf of people with disabilities and become an effective advocate for policies that promote Independent Living at the local, state, and national level. In the coming months, new and deeper budget cuts are looming at every level of government that will affect existing and pending programs for our people. The stakes are high and your involvement in the political process is URGENT.

We want you to look forward to receiving your copy of The Wire, so please contact us and give us feedback on what you want included in future editions of The Wire. Till then, Happy Thanksgiving and
Happy Holidays!

Paratransit:
The Road Less Traveled?

Last March, the Westchester County Office for the Disabled sent letters to its Paratransit riders telling them that Paratransit was changing the way it was doing business. New applications for the service would only be accepted with a scheduled personal interview, advanced reservations could be scheduled no more than four days in advance unless it was a standing order, and riders who fail to show up two times in a thirty day period would be suspended from the program. These stricter guidelines replaced the older mail-in application, seven day advance reservation, and "3 strikes and you're out" rules that were previously in force.

But the hardest pill to swallow was the news that reservationists would be strictly enforcing the conditions of eligibility for riders with "conditional" approval to use the system. The enforcement of this policy caught a great many riders off guard. After all, when the conditions of eligibility were not enforced, there was no need to challenge the conditional decision within the sixty business-day appeal window. So starting May 1, when the stricter policy was to be enforced, some of us found ourselves up the proverbial creek.

Westchester's Paratransit system is one of the best in the country and we understand that these new policies were instituted to keep the system running, serving those most in need. But, we want our readers to understand that you can and should appeal your conditions of eligibility, if you feel that they do not meet your needs. An Advocate from WILC is available to go with you to your appointment. If you wish to have an Advocate accompany you to your Appeal Hearing, contact Michael Hellmann at 914-682-3926, ext. 118. We also want you to know that a new wave of budget cutting is spreading through county departments and there may be further policy changes affecting Paratransit. WILC is keeping a careful watch on the situation and will keep you informed.