Monday, October 31, 2016

NCCI is on Twitter

By now, most people have probably heard of Twitter, though what they’ve heard is often not so pleasant. Is it the tool of choice for sophisticated bullying? Is it a toy for self-important nobodies who think people care about what they ordered in a restaurant? What can anyone possibly say in 140 characters anyway?

Twitter is an acquired taste, but at its best, is an incredible tool of online communication and community-building. It is worth the time to explore, especially if you have a particular interest, like disability life, culture, and issues. Starting today, NCCI will post a recap of everything we shared on Twitter the week before. This will include bits of information, links to interesting disability-related articles, and “Retweets,” that is, copies of things other people on Twitter have said that we think are worth reading.

If you are interested in exploring Twitter yourself, and would like a little guidance, stay tuned for possible trainings here in the North Country. In the meantime, take a few moments to complete our free, completely anonymous Social Media Survey. The results will help give us a better idea of what kinds of social media the North Country disability community uses and would like to use.

Here are last week’s NCCI tweets:

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Disability Questions for North Country Election Candidates

Disability issues have been discussed a little more than usual in this year's elections, mostly focused on the Presidential candidates. However, a lot of important disability policy is made in Congress, and by state and local elected officials.

Here are some questions we would like North Country candidates to answer on issues that matter to people with disabilities and their families:

Mayor and City Council

What specific actions should the City government take, beyond bare-bones compliance with accessibility laws, to make the downtown area of Plattsburgh accessible for residents and visitors with disabilities?

County Legislatures

What specific policies and strategies should County governments use to make transportation more accessible, reliable, and affordable for people with disabilities?

Judges, District Attorneys, County Sheriffs

What would you do to prevent harm to people with disabilities from mishandled encounters with law enforcement … including people with cognitive impairments, autism, or mental illness?

State Legislatures

Would you support increasing State Medicaid funding for home care, in order to meet new overtime pay requirements without cutting services that maintain disabled peoples’ basic independence?

Congress

Do you support or oppose "ADA notification bills," which seek to prohibit people with disabilities from suing businesses for Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility violations, unless they first give written notice and allow a waiting period, such as 90 days?

We look forward to honest, thoughtful answers to these questions from all the local North Country candidates. Candidates may send replies to Robert Poulin, Executive Director, at: robert@ncci-online.com. Answers will be shared unedited here on the NCCI Blog, and on NCCI’s Facebook and Twitter pages.

Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Welcome to the NCCI Blog!

Welcome to the newest section of NCCI’s website, the NCCI Blog. This will be the place to go for:

- News about NCCI programs and services.
- Action Alerts on disability issues.
- Personal opinion pieces on disability life.

We are in the process of updating NCCI's website and social media, like Facebook and Twitter. We hope you will come back to visit these sites from time to time over the next few months. You can also help us with these changes by going through this anonymous online survey about the kinds of internet and social media sites and tools work best for you:


Look for new content weekly, right here at the NCCI Blog!