Winter 2020-2021 Number 141 INSIDE What’s Next? ................................. 3 What Pre-Exists What ................... 5 Courts Watch................................. 7 More Police Violence .................. 10 Where are the Missing Nursing Home Residents? ........................ 11 The Incredible Shrinking Deficit .. 12 Xscapes Holiday Special ............. 13 Brand New 60-Minute Escape Room Experience ........................ 13 I clearly remember December 31, 2019, too heavy to sustain, and we inevitably When Big Companies Come sitting before the television, watching fell behind in several areas. Still, even in Through Big! ................................ 13 the ball in Times Square descend, ready this I can feel gratitude for the quality of to usher in a brand new year. As the our employees and the commitment they You Can’t Touch This: Advocacy in the Time of COVID .................. 13 countdown reached zero, we hugged and have to STIC. We Need Your Help ..................... 14 wished everyone a happy and prosperous Of course, like most employers, we had New Year, hoping for a better tomorrow. to move people to working from home, a Accessible COVID Testing .......... 15 That was then, but now we can’t or process we were not especially prepared NY Medicaid Removes shouldn’t hug, we should stay parted by to do. It isn’t just a matter of them tak- Visit Limits ................................... 15 six feet of space, or even better, be talking ing their computers and related equipment home, and working in a different setting. via Zoom or other online mechanism. forced isolation has been difficult for Staff needed to have adequate internet ser- All of us gripe about the COVID-19 re- some to understand, and very harmful to vice, and we had to install the appropriate their mental health. Services are deliv- strictions, including myself. Yet how for- software on every computer so they could ered in the safest manner possible, though tunate we all are that we still have our connect to STIC’s various servers to ac- many employees are risking their health health and our lives, and the strength to cess critical information, and that had to and safety, and that of their families and complain. As I look back over this long, be done with cyber security in mind. Once households, to continue to provide face- seemingly endless span of months, I am again, employees met the challenge, and to-face support. They are putting their reminded that things can always be worse, we moved almost 100 staff members off- lives on the line in CDPA, Community and I worry that grim days are ahead until site to their own homes. I have to say that Hab, Supported Employment and other a vaccine is found and distributed. it is working better than I would have programs, to help people with a wide va- What has 2020 meant for STIC? imagined it could. riety of disabilities to weather the storm. It Sadly, we had to lay off more than 20 A few of us did remain in the building, is very sad and unfortunate that our gov- employees, not because they weren’t val- but it became a very lonely place. Even ernor and legislature have not thought to ued and needed for the contributions they now, though we have brought back about reward them for their courage and dedi- have made to STIC, but because we have 25 people, it still feels empty, as we avoid cation with hazard pay, though we have lost revenues and just couldn’t afford to one another for safety reasons, follow ar- advocated for it throughout the pandemic. keep them. Yet the work had to get done, rows to our destinations, and, of course, Instead, they are withholding 20% of our so the chores were split among remain- wear masks. I can hear the voices around state contract reimbursements, which we ing employees, putting a great strain on me, but I miss the personal interactions may or may not ever get back. This isn’t everyone. Like the troopers they are, very much. a cut, it simply means that for every dol- however, they absorbed the work without The people we serve have probably suf- lar we spend, we only get back 80 cents. complaint, even though the workload was fered the most. Many are alone, and the It won’t help to cut the budget by 20% because we’ll only get 80% of the money Politics and the election, no matter whom AccessAbility no matter what we change. The Governor you voted for, also created significant ten- calls it a “withhold” because we “might” December 2020 sion and stress for many Americans, and get it back if the federal government ever STIC employees were no different. Dur- EDITOR IN CHIEF: MARIA DIBBLE extends a hand and provides relief funds ing the election process we saw what a MANAGING EDITOR: KEN DIBBLE to the state. I’m rather pessimistic at the divided people Americans are at the mo- EDITOR: ELIZABETH SIGNOROTTI prospect of ever seeing those dollars again ment. This is possibly an even larger di- (see page 12 for more). LAYOUT: RUSSELL RICHARDSON saster than the virus presents. AccessAbility is published seasonally It has been a brutal year, one of the worst And amid all this, African Americans rose (Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter) by I’ve experienced in my 37 years as STIC’s up against more senseless deaths at the Southern Tier Independence Center. Executive Director, and I dare say that our hands of the police, and in doing so, they Letters, information, articles and ads are employees feel the same. We’ve lost a lot of money, though we’ve been fortunate spoke for many Americans with disabili- always welcome. Deadlines are February to receive other support from the federal ties as well who also died in that way, and 15, May 15, August 15 and November 15. government, through the Payroll Protec- expressed the pain we all feel over more lives lost forever. Yet all over the nation, Our address is: tion Program and other sources, prevent- in towns large and small, many white AccessAbility ing STIC from losing many more millions of dollars and having to lay off many more Americans joined them, bringing a sense Southern Tier Independence Center people. There is nothing more difficult to of hope that perhaps we can all care for 135 E. Frederick Street do than tell an employee s/he doesn’t have each other and work together. Binghamton, NY 13904 a job anymore. No matter how gentle and understanding you are, the fact is that s/he We are strong as a country. We will have a Subscriptions is unemployed, a terrible blow to the em- vaccine and recover from the virus. It is our Subscriptions are $10 per year (4 issues). ployee and family. It literally sometimes choice and our actions that will determine Subscriptions are voluntary, but very haunts my dreams. whether or not we will recover and become much needed to help cover newsletter pro- truly the United States of America. Let us not forget that with all the numbers duction costs. Use the form on the back to and economic facts about the country’s In conclusion, 2020 is not a year I’d want subscribe. outlook, that the human factor is what to relive, and I know that 2021 will have drives everything. People are the back- its own set of problems, but I urge every- Advertisements bone of what we do and what we accom- one to take a moment to appreciate what AccessAbility prints unclassified ads free plish. This pandemic has been a terrible we have, our families, our friends, our co- for disabled consumers, unless they pro- thing. So many people died, and more workers and our futures. Also, let’s take a mote a for-profit business. For-profit busi- are dying again. It has divided us more moment to remember all who have fallen nesses can advertise in AccessAbility, in than we were already, and it is gaining a from the virus, and the people who have Un-classifieds or a display ad, at our regu- foothold once more throughout the coun- lost loved ones, and let’s send them our lar rates. Ask the editor for information. try. Many people who never had mental prayers, or our thoughts and hopes that health issues are now feeling the impact of Reprints loss, of isolation and inability to see loved they can find peace in the new year. Any non-copyrighted information ones, and the state of our economy. Stay well, wear a mask, and be at peace. originating in this newsletter may be re- printed without permission. If you want to reprint an article or opinion piece, please credit AccessAbility and the author. Authorship All articles appearing in this newsletter are written by Ken Dibble unless other- wise noted. Generally, I get tired of seeing my name on every page, and I’d rather use the space for something more interesting. I do put my name on controversial stuff, though, so you’ll know who to blame. www.stic-cil.org 2 it was shorn of the “public option” and loaded up with what were essentially cash bribes to get insurance company lobbyists What’s Next? off the members’ backs. The result was a It’s lame duck season: the period between pick up at least 9 Republican votes to pass disjointed, cumbersome jumble that helps Election Day and Inauguration Day, when anything in the Senate. Biden has sent some more people get insurance—though people enjoy speculating about how mixed messages about the idea, but if the not all who need it, by far—at a cost of things are going to change with a new ad- Democrats get rid of it they will surely re- potentially making it harder for a lot of ministration.