LifeROOTS Spring Newsletter 2012

Putting Down New “Roots” In the Community: Plans Underway for Planting of a LifeROOTS Garden

At LifeROOTS, we’re all about helping people with disabilities – and giving them the solid “roots” to help them build a solid foundation for the future.  To bring to life our message of nurturing roots and helping those with disabilities grow and thrive, we are in the process of creating a beautiful LifeROOTS Garden – which will bring together those within the community to build, plant – and nurture – the roots we are putting down.
  

To create this special garden, students from local schools, community members and LifeROOTS clients and their families will all work together – planting seeds in special garden boxes and designing a beautiful space that will be enjoyed for years to come.  In addition, we are also in the process of working with local schools on the development of a special garden mural – that will bring added beauty to the garden, as well as be an additional source for community involvement. 

The LifeROOTS Garden is part of a longer-term capital project that we have launched to bring new “life” – and new services – to our members over the next few years.  In addition to the Garden, the plan includes a new cinder block building project that will include an indoor therapy pool.   Fundraising for these projects – which will add not only beauty but tremendous value to the community – has begun … so watch for our growing “seed” icon on our website and other LifeROOTS materials – and see how it progresses from a seed to a full-fledged tree through the generous donations of those within our community.

For more information about the LifeROOTS Garden -- and ways to get involved – visit our website at www.liferootsnm.org or call 505.255.5501.

SPOTLIGHT ON…Don Chalmers; Owner, Don Chalmers Ford

Chances are you’ve spotted one of the vans bearing our LifeROOTS message out on the roads.  The vans have tremendously helped us expand the reach of our message, and mission, to so many people who have now become aware of what we offer – and we owe it all to the help and generosity of Don Chalmers, owner of Don Chalmers Ford, who has so generously provided LifeROOTS with the opportunity to get our messages out through his vehicles!

Don is known throughout the region for his philanthropic work and his commitment to many local causes.  In addition, he is active in numerous boards including Vice President of UNM Board of Regents and Vice Chair of UNM Health Sciences Board of Directors, and a board member of the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, Sandia Foundation, Lobo Development Corporation, WESST, Fellowship of Christian Athletes National Board, National Dance Institute and the Rio Rancho Community Foundation.

Don received a Hero of the Planet award from Ford Motor Company for his social and community service, and has been frequently recognized for his generosity, receiving the Association of Fundraising Professionals’ Leader in Philanthropy award, the Outstanding Community Champion by United Way of Central New Mexico,  NM Spirit of Achievement by the National Jewish Hospital Foundation, Outstanding Philanthropist by United Way of Santa Fe, and named a Corporate Hero in the New Mexico Business Weekly.

Don has been a true supporter of our cause and our work for years – and is well known to so many people for his personal vision of philanthropy.  He believes strongly in giving back to his communities by supporting education, healthcare, economic development and community service – and we remain grateful for the important role he has played at LifeROOTs in helping us to enhance the reach of our messages through the fleet of his vans now traveling throughout the Albuquerque region. 

Client Spotlight: Sharon Blankenship

For the past 12 years, Sharon Blankenship has been a client here at LifeROOTS and a familiar face in our Day Hab program.  Those who have come to know Sharon through the years have been thrilled to notice a major turnaround in her life over the past two years – as Sharon has made some incredible strides.  In fact, according to her mother Helen, over the past two years she’s excitedly watched her daughter grow and thrive, noting “She’s a whole new person – it’s like she’s alive again!”

With the help, patience and dedication of the LifeROOTS staff, Sharon’s transformation has been nothing short of remarkable.  Where she previously was an “outlier” – working one-on-one with a single staff member 5 days a week and not showing any interest in anything other than her usual routine (and rarely even looking up to acknowledge another peer or staff member who she wasn’t familiar with), over the past two years she has undergone a dramatic change.  Now, the young woman who was once seemed to have walls that surrounded her is integrating with her peers during group projects, cooking classes and holiday parties – and, where she used to always ride alone in a van with her one-on-one staff member, she has now integrated with her peers while riding in a vehicle.  No longer scared in new settings and environments or expressing aggression at anyone who came into her space, Sharon is now attending numerous outings with her fellow peers and has made it a point to integrate and become social inside of the community.  In fact, in addition to attending a number of out-of-town outings and becoming a regular customer at JB’s diner, she recently also attended her first baseball game – enjoying every moment of this momentous occasion to the fullest!

What amazes people the most – especially those who have not seen her in a few years – is Sharon’s overall personality now, and the range of emotions and affection that she displays.  The young woman who once rarely communicated and showed no emotions is now communicating her likes and dislikes on a daily basis – making recent holidays and special events even more special for her parents by working with LifeROOTS staff to select and create her own cards and presents for her parents.  Sharon’s incredible progress over the past few years has not only made birthdays and holidays for her family all the more special, but has made every day seem like a true gift for all those who know her.

According to Sharon’s parents, the past two years have been two of the best years of Sharon’s life.  At LifeROOTS, we couldn’t agree more – and we join with her parents in not only being thrilled for all that Sharon has accomplished over the past few years, but excited for all that the future holds for this special young woman.

Conversations with the Mayor

Kathleen Cates appeared on Mayor Swisstack’s TV show in March.  If you missed the airing, you can catch it HERE. 

 

 

 

 

Life – And LifeROOTS – “On The Road”

Over the past few months, thousands of people each day have learned about LifeROOTS – simply by driving to and from their job, home or other errands throughout the region.  Through a unique campaign – and the generosity and philanthropic donation of Don Chalmers and Don Chalmers Ford, vans and buses bearing the LifeROOTS logo and messaging have been making their way around town – and beyond.  These vans and buses have helped to reach many people who might not have known about LifeROOTS and our free services – and who have subsequently reached out to us to find out more about how we may be able to help a family member or friend with a disability.

In addition to proving to be an effective way to “drive” home the message about the  LifeROOTS mission and our free services for those with disabilities, the LifeROOTS vans are also proving to be an effective way for local companies to get their name out in front of people, as well.  LifeROOTS has given businesses throughout the area the chance to have their company name placed on a van within the fleet of LifeROOTS vans for six months – travelling all over Albuquerque and Kirtland AFB and seen by countless people.  To date, a number of companies have “climbed on board” – helping to cost-effectively gain visibility for their business.

There’s still a chance for other local businesses to get involved – limited space is available for interested company sponsors.  Contact LifeROOTS at 505.255.5501 for more information about pricing and availability … and keep your eye on the road for even more sightings of the LifeROOTS vans in the months to come!

LifeROOTS Receives National Recognition From NISH  - Award Presented to LifeROOTS at National NISH Conference in Indianapolis

We are excited to announce that NISH, the national nonprofit agency whose mission is to create employment opportunities for people with significant disabilities, has honored LifeROOTS with its “2011 AbilityOne/NISH Performance Excellence in Using the AbilityOne Program to Further Its Mission” Award.  This prestigious honor and national recognition highlights our commitment to helping people with disabilities through the AbilityOne Program – which is the largest single source of employment for people who are blind or have other significant disabilities in the United States. The award will be presented to us in May at the upcoming AbilityOne/NISH National Training and Achievement Conference being held in Indianapolis, Indiana. 

Check our next newsletter for award ceremony photos and other news from the NISH Conference (including a link to a special documentary about LifeROOTS produced by NISH and shown at the award ceremony.)  Again, we’re thrilled to be receiving this major award from NISH – and even more thrilled to be continuing to work towards our mission of  “empowering the lives” and “shaping the futures” of those with disabilities in our community.

Board Member Spotlight: Linda Geiszler

Linda Geiszler has been an instrumental member of our Board since 2004.   As past Board Chair and a current member of the Personnel Committee, she brings a great deal of expertise and insight to the LifeROOTS Board of Directors, and continues to make a tremendous difference in helping us to reach our goals of providing outstanding programs and services to those with disabilities.        


An established leader in the local business community, Ms. Geiszler is the Human Resources Director at QinetiQ North America. She formerly held the position of Manager, Staffing & Organization Development at Lockheed Martin KAPL, and was the Human Resource Manager at GE Power Systems.  Ms. Geiszler, who received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Wittenberg University, is a true leader in the community and in her profession – and we remain honored to have her on our Board.

Kirtland Air Force Base Cuts Jobs For Disabled Workers

As most of you know, LifeROOTS has had a long-standing federal contract with Kirtland Air Force Base – and for the past 15 years has provided the base with telephone switchboard operators and custodial workers.  In fact, as many read in the Albuquerque Journal back in June, the Kirtland contract has been instrumental in helping so many people with disabilities work in meaningful jobs – including Gloria Silva, who was profiled in the piece as a great example of how someone faced with a new disability was able to not only succeed, but thrive, in the workplace ... as she rose through the ranks at Kirtland’s switchboard operations unit.

Unfortunately, as of April 1st, Gloria and seven other individuals with disabilities in Kirtland’s switchboard operations department no longer have jobs -- as LifeROOTS’ contract for switchboard operations (which provided numerous jobs for those with disabilities and offered “live voices” on the line for our troops calling home) has instead been replaced with an automatic system. The loss of this switchboard operations contract has impacted -- and will continue to impact -- so many people with disabilities who have suddenly found themselves without the jobs they loved.  And there’s more bad news on the horizon for those with disabilities – as of May 1st, seven out of the 29 custodial workers at Kirtland are also slated to lose their jobs.

Although funding cuts have become common throughout New Mexico and the entire country, what many advocates for the disabled are concerned about is that recent budget cuts all too often are affecting the most vulnerable – those with disabilities.  The KAFB situation is an example of how governments are being forced to balance their budgets ... and are often using programs and services for disabled citizens to do so. However, the truth of the matter is that in this case, these cuts may or may not help the base’s budget ... and, further, all of the employees will be filing for unemployment, social security, social security disability and other government programs when their jobs are eliminated -- costing the overall government more than their employment cost the government.

Losing a job is never easy – especially in today’s economy.  But for people with disabilities who are not able to find other jobs within the community, the loss of a job is even more of a life-changing event that can, unfortunately, have a significant negative impact on their lives.  Let’s work together to see how we can stop this trend towards cutting budgets – and cutting jobs – when it comes to services and programs for the disabled.  It’s the right thing to do – for so many reasons … and for the many people with disabilities who have thrived, and who can continue to thrive, in the workplace – and beyond.

For more information about how to get involved with giving people with disabilities a job, or to see how you can help, email  Kathleen Cates at kathleenc@liferootsnm.org.

As seen in the ABQ Journal: Disabled Lose KAFB Jobs

By Charles D. Brunt / Journal Staff Writer on Tue, Apr 10, 2012

Fifteen disabled workers employed at Kirtland Air Force Base are losing their jobs because of federal budget cuts, and base officials said those reductions and others are necessary to meet the Air Force’s slimmed-down budget.

LifeRoots, a local nonprofit that provides services for the disabled, has contracted with the base for more than 15 years to provide telephone switchboard operators and custodial workers, said Kathleen Cates, the organization’s CEO and president.

Eight phone operators lost their jobs March 30 when the agency’s contract with Kirtland expired, Cates said, and the base has switched to an automated system.

Seven of LifeRoots’ 29 custodial workers at Kirtland are slated to lose their jobs by May 1, she said.
“This is part of the overall federal necessity to reduce discretionary spending,” said Col. Donald Conley, commander of the base’s 377th Mission Support Group. “The (Air Force) chief of staff is on record as saying that, in this economy, we have to make difficult choices. This is certainly one of them.”

“Unfortunately, these cuts are just a portion of the overall cuts that have been made across our corner of the Department of Defense,” Conley said.

Funding cuts have become common in recent years, Cates said, noting that LifeRoots contracts with the base have shrunk from $4 million a few years ago to $2.8 million this fiscal year.

Although she does not blame the Air Force for meeting its fiscal mandates, Cates said she sees a disturbing pattern in government budget cuts.

“I’m finding a trend, whether it’s federal, state or local agencies, that budget cuts are falling on the backs of the most vulnerable — the people with disabilities,” Cates said. “It’s very short-sighted because it’s not going to help anybody in the long run.”

Despite state laws that give job preferences to the disabled, private vendors are often able to undercut contract bids by providing fewer benefits, she said.

“This might help somebody’s budget in the short term … but I bet every one of those operators will go on unemployment, and half of them will be on SSI or SSDI before the end of the year,” Cates said “That’s not going to help the government.”

The federal Supplemental Security Income program pays benefits to disabled adults and children who have limited income and resources. The Social Security Disability Insurance program is a payroll tax-funded program that provides income supplements to disabled citizens.

Conley said ending the switchboard contract made economic sense.

“Of all of our service-level contracts here at the 377th Air Base Wing, this one appeared to be most eligible for monetary reduction by automation,” he said. “Because the equipment was already in place with our existing telephone phone switching system, we made the decision to realize savings in that area by automating the telephone switchboard function.”
Cutting custodial services, Conley said, is proving more difficult.
“There are certain facilities where we can’t reduce the amount of (custodial) service they receive, such as our child development centers, our youth center and our fitness centers,” he said, noting that funding for custodial services this fiscal year was cut by about $1 million.

“In some cases, we will be doing the cleaning ourselves,” he said. For example, the restrooms in the base’s headquarters building, where Conley’s office is, will now be professionally cleaned only once a week, leaving those who work there to maintain them between cleanings.

Conley said he’s hopeful some of the base’s private contractors will work directly with LifeRoots to continue their custodial services.

The Air Force announced late last year that it would cut about 9,000 civilian jobs nationwide in an effort to control costs. Wing officials said then the base would lose 82 positions, but that some of those were already vacant.

— This article appeared on page C1 of the Albuquerque Journal

Kathleen Cates Appears on Mayor Swisstack's TV Show, Coversations with the Mayor

Woman Kept Off Bus

By Olivier Uyttebrouck / Journal Staff Writer on Wed, Jan 25, 2012

An Albuquerque woman who uses a wheelchair said she was denied access to a crowded city bus even as two other riders were allowed to board at the same stop.


A spokesman for ABQ Ride, which operates the city’s bus system, said the driver acted appropriately because crowded conditions on the bus required him to admit only passengers who could stand.


Sharon Brown, 47, said a driver told her Thursday that he could not allow her to board with a wheelchair because the eastbound bus on Lomas NE was too crowded.


“Two other ladies that were standing with me at the bus stop were able to get on, but I wasn’t,” said Brown, who has severe rheumatoid arthritis and relies on a battery-powered wheelchair.


“Because they were able to walk, they were able to get on the bus,” Brown said of the two riders. “My feeling is, if I couldn’t get on, they shouldn’t have been able to get on either.”

Sharon Brown, who relies on a wheelchair, says she was refused service on a city bus last week even though other passengers were allowed to board. Brown had to wait for a later bus. (Roberto E. Rosales/journal)

Brown said she was turned away from the No. 11 bus at Lomas and Carlisle NE about 5:20 p.m. as she returned home from an appointment with a chiropractor. Instead, Brown caught the next bus about 25 minutes later, she said.


Brown, who relies on buses for daily transportation, said drivers have accommodated her in the past, even when buses are very crowded, by asking passengers to stand or move.


Kathleen Cates, president and CEO of Liferoots Inc., a nonprofit that provides services for the disabled, said the Americans with Disabilities Act requires ABQ Ride to accommodate people with disabilities on an equal basis as other riders.
“You can’t say there is room for people who can stand and no room for people who can’t,” Cates said.
Rick de Reyes, a spokesman for ABQ Ride, said the driver told passengers that the bus had standing-room only. The driver would have had to eject passengers from the bus to accommodate Brown’s wheelchair, he said.


“There’s nothing in the (ADA) law that says that we must kick off paying passengers who have gotten on at previous stops just to accommodate her,” de Reyes said Tuesday.


All city buses are equipped with a lift that can hoist aboard a wheelchair, de Reyes said. Drivers accommodate a wheelchair by raising up two seats, which in this case would have displaced two seated passengers, he said.


“There were no other areas for them to stand,” de Reyes said. “The driver felt in that case that we would have to remove people.”

— This article appeared on page C01 of the Albuquerque Journal

LifeROOTS Wins National NISH Award

Dear Friends and Supporters,

We wanted to share some exciting news with you regarding LifeROOTS -- and a recent national award that we are being honored with in recognition of our organization's role in helping people with disabilities in the workplace.
 

NISH, the national nonprofit agency whose mission is to create employment opportunities for people with significant disabilities, has just honored LifeROOTS with its "2011 AbilityOne/NISH Performance Excellence in Using the AbilityOne Program to Further Its Mission" Award -- a prestigious honor and one which highlights our commitment to helping people with disabilities through the AbilityOne Program.  The AbilityOne Program is the largest single source of employment for people who are blind or have other significant disabilities in the United States.  The award will be presented to us in May at the upcoming AbilityOne/NISH National Training and Achievement Conference being held in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Again, as a friend and supporter of our organization, we wanted to let you know about this national recognition.  We're excited about the award and the opportunity to meet with leaders in the field at the upcoming NISH Achievement Conference -- and, most of all, we're excited to continue our mission of "empowering the lives" and "shaping the futures" of people with disabilities through our programs and services.

Thanks again for all of your support, and we'll send you photos in May!  To view a complete list of this year's 2011 NISH National Award Recipients, CLICK HERE.  
 
Kathleen Cates
President and CEO
LifeROOTS