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[d] Sallie Mae announces a new scholarship tool at Wiredcholar.com ( http://www.wiredscholar.com ) which contains 2.4 million scholarships worth $14 billion.
Students will be required to register to access the scholarship database. Registration includes name, address, home phone number, and zip code (not all of this information is required; required information is marked with a red asterisk.)
Once you're registered you'll walk through six steps to get scholarship information. You'll answer a variety of questions, either as a student, parent, or guidance counselor. After you're done answering all of the questions, you'll get a list of available scholarships with plenty of information about each one, including deadline, extensive information about the site, award amount, requirements, and contact information.
Many seriously-ill individuals have difficulty obtaining the medications they need. All too often, people are forced to choose between paying the rent and taking their AZT, Prozac, Cardizem or other medications. This does not have to be the case -- help is literally a phone call away.
Many prescriptions are available free-of-charge from the companies that make them. If you are a person who does not have the means to pay for your medications, these manufacturers have established special programs to help you. Dozens of small and large companies have these programs, including: Abbot Laboratories, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Burroughs-Wellcome, Genentech, Hoffman-LaRoche, Eli Lilly, Merck Sharp and Dohme, Parke-Davis, Pfizer, Sandoz, Schering-Plough, G.D. Searle, SmithKline Beecham, Upjohn and others.
Suggestions:
Call the U.S. House of Representatives' Special Committee on Aging at (202)224-5364. Ask for the free Information Paper on Programs to Help Older Americans Obtain Their Medications. This report describes the programs of drug manufacturers that have a special program of this kind. Read it carefully and then talk to your doctor if you think you may be eligible.
The U.S. Department of Transportation is calling on all disability organizations to promote public education about its Toll Free Hotline for air travelers with disabilities through their organization newsletters, list-serves and sponsored events.
The Toll Free Hotline for disabled air travelers has been in operation since August 2002 and is available for callers from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Eastern Time, seven days a week. It is currently not being fully utilized. The Hotline serves two main purposes: (1) education and (2) assistance in resolving disability-related air travel problems.
Many disabled air travelers are not aware of their rights and the Hotline, in part, exists as an educational service to inform air travelers with disabilities about their rights under the Air Carrier Access Act and the Department's implementing regulations 14 CFR Part 382 (Part 382). Hotline operators are well versed in the ACAA and Part 382 and can provide callers with on the spot general information about the rights of air travelers with disabilities. The Hotline operators also respond to requests for printed consumer information about air travel rights of the disabled.
The Hotline can also assist air travelers with disabilities in resolving real time or upcoming issues with air carriers. The purpose of "real-time" assistance is to facilitate airline compliance with DOT's rules by suggesting to the passenger and the airline involved alternative customer-service solutions to the problem. The airline remains responsible for deciding what action will be taken to resolve the issue in accordance with the ACAA and Part 382. Generally, if a caller has a real time problem or an upcoming issue with an air carrier, a Hotline Duty Officer will contact that air carrier and attempt to resolve the issue. For example, there have been a number of incidents in which Hotline Duty Officers have contacted air carriers and convinced them to accept service animals and electric wheelchairs on board flights, to stow folding wheelchairs in the cabin, and to provide requested wheelchair assistance.
Air travelers who want information about the rights of persons with disabilities in air travel or who experience disability-related air travel service problems may call the Hotline to obtain assistance at:
1-800-778-4838 (voice) or
1-800-455-9880 (TTY).
Air travelers who want DOT to investigate a complaint about a disability-related issue still must submit their complaint in writing via e-mail at airconsumer@ost.dot.gov or postal mail to:
Aviation Consumer Protection Division
U.S. Department of Transportation
400 7th Street, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20590
To request flyers promoting the Hotline to distribute to your membership, contact (202) 366-1617 (voice) or (202) 366-0511 (TTY).
If you have a speech disability and live in the USA (including Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands), you can now use a new, free telephone service 24 hours a day. This service, called Speech to Speech (STS), provides communication assistants (CAs) for people with difficulty being understood by the public on the telephone. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in Washington DC regulates relay service: STS is a form of relay service. STS is also available during limited hours in Sweden and Australia.
STS is provided through the TTY relay in each state. Unlike TTY, STS enables people with speech disabilities to communicate by voice through a CA as many people with speech disabilities have difficulty typing.
People with speech disabilities can dial toll free to reach a patient, trained CA who is familiar with many speech patterns and has excellent language recognition skills. This CA makes telephone calls for them and repeats their words exactly in a 3-way calling environment. Every month users make about 6,000 calls nationally. STS is the only way for many people to telephone others not accustomed to their speech.
Many STS users have Parkinson's disease, cerebral palsy, ALS, multiple sclerosis, or muscular dystrophy. Other users stutter or have had a laryngectomy.
STS also helps some speech synthesizer users, users of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC.) AAC users may ask the STS CA set up the call, negotiate the menu, introduce the call explaining AAC and then go into the background. This enables AAC users to communicate independently once the other party is on the line.
In Minnesota and Texas, Deaf Voice Carryover (VCO) Relay users with slurred speech can combine VCO with STS to facilitate communication.
Bob Segalman, Ph.D. has cerebral palsy and developed the concept of STS. Now it makes telephone use much easier for him. To try out STS, report problems or get more information: Call 800-854-7784 and ask for Dr. Bob Segalman (direct 916-263-8689). You may also visit the STS website: http://www.stsnews.com/ or contact Katherine Keller at listserve@stsnews.com to place you on the STS List Serve.
Bob is gathering support letters to insure that every state implements an STS Outreach Service to tell people with speech disabilities about STS.
If you're willing to sign a support letter, please e-mail Bob at: bsegalma@dor.ca.gov and indicate which state you live in and request a draft.
For a list of U. S. Speech-to-Speech access numbers go to: http://www.stsnews.com/RelayNews/STSDialUpTelnumbers.html
You can also access STS by dialing 711 and asking for Speech to Speech. If the communications assistant can not assist you with an STS call, please let Bob know by e-mail stating your name, date and time of call, location, and telephone number.
Australia provides Speech to Speech Relay (SSR). Contact: Bobbie Blackson at feedback@aceinfo.net.au.
Sweden has just extended its STS trial for one year. Contact: Birgit G. Lindh at birgit.g.lindh@telia.com. Tel.0046-175 623 68 (work)
http://www.nfdh.org/DDS.html Go to this site and it will lead you to the designated dentist service in your state. It is free donated dentistry for the disabled or elderly. You don't have to be totally destitute to recieve this service. It can only be used for work other than regular dental maintenance one time only.
This information was kindly provided by Todd Wood, of Region II Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services.
HEAR Now is a private, non-profit organization that provides hearing aids for adults and children who are legal residents of the United States, who are deaf or hard of hearing and who have limited income. HEAR Now is a provider of last resort. All other options for service must be used before benefit can be approved. Services are distributed through a nationwide network of hearing professionals. Providers are asked to waive fitting and follow-up fees for the first year of warranty coverage. Clients pay for their hearing evaluations and plus a non-refundable HEAR Now processing fee of $39 per aide. The organization provided more than 7,800 hearing aides to people in need last year.
Hours of operation are 9-4 (central time), Monday through Friday. Call for applications. Area Served: United States and Territories.
Eligibility requirements: Applicants must be legal residents of the United States and must meet financial criteria. They must be low-income people who are considered to be at 125 % of poverty level (about $11,080 a year or $ 923 per month). HEAR Now also requires an asset assessment.
HEAR Now also collects old hearing aids for recycling. Donated aides should be packaged and mailed. Donations are tax deductible and will be acknowledged. Used hearing aides are returned to manufacturers for refurbishing and are then sold by the manufacturers as refurbished aides. The proceeds from these sales are donated back to the Hear Now program. People that qualify to receive hearing aides receive NEW aides and NOT the refurbished ones.
Hours of operation are 9-4 (central time), Monday through Friday. Call for applications. Area Served: United States and Territories.
For more information or applications, contact:
HEAR NOW
Juanita Stelter, Program Director
6700 Washington Ave. S.
Eden Prairie Minneapolis, MN 55344
1-800-328-8602 ext. 2358
Fax: (952) 828-6946
nonprofit@starkey.com
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