Federationist Gets New Job

Federationist Gets New Job

Braille
Monitor
December 2007
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Federationist Gets
New Job
From
the Editor: The Rev. Sam Gleese is a member of the board of directors of the
National Federation of the Blind and president of the NFB of Mississippi. Now
he is also the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) coordinator for the city
of Jackson. He began his job on October 1, and the Jackson Daily News
published the following story by Vicky King about the appointment on October
14, 2007:
For the first
time in more than a decade, the city of Jackson has an employee dedicated to
improving government services for disabled residents.
"If people
with disabilities are going to finally be a part of the city, they have to be
at the table where decisions are made," said Sam Gleese, who was hired
by the mayor on October 1. "The public, in general, has not taken the ADA
(Americans with Disabilities Act) very seriously. The message is, for us, the
ADA is the same as the Civil Rights Act of 1964."
Gleese, who
is blind, has been an advocate for the disabled community since the late 1980s.
He is a National Federation of the Blind board member and has worked as a project
director for Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities and for Living Independence
for Everyone of Mississippi, Inc.
As the city's
ADA coordinator Gleese, a Jackson resident, is responsible for ensuring that
the city follows federal laws when designing public buildings, planning public
events and meetings, and making other decisions that may affect disabled residents.
Not only is the coordinator position helpful for the disabled community, it
also is required by federal law. During the years Jackson had no ADA coordinator,
it was in violation of the law and could have been subjected to federal mediation
had it not come into compliance.
Mayor Frank Melton said he wanted someone from the city's disabled community
to fill the position. "I want to go to the source and get as much help
as possible because they live it every day," he said. "This was something
that was really important to me because I haven't been there."
But Gleese
also faces an uphill struggle. Because the city has not had an ADA coordinator
for years, Gleese will have to forge his place in city administration. He said
his first goal will be to learn the details of the Americans with Disabilities
Act. "I have a broad knowledge of the ADA law, but I need to be somewhat
more familiar," Gleese said. "I won't be memorizing all the statutes,
but I need to review them so I know where to go to find what I may need."
Gleese said he also wants to set up a system for evaluating where the city has
shortfalls, starting with public transportation and employment of people with
disabilities.
Complaints
against the city's bus service flared up again a few months ago among disabled
riders who claim many of the regular buses are ill equipped to carry passengers
in wheelchairs. Riders also said the Handilift bus service, which is strictly
for disabled riders, was not adequate because it is too difficult to schedule.
In late September
more than two dozen disabled residents protested outside City Hall until the
mayor came out to speak with them. Sitting outside on the steps, Melton promised
to hire a coordinator. Melton also said he supported improving JATRAN, though
he cut JATRAN's budget for the upcoming year by more than $200,000. After hiring
Gleese, Melton said he wanted the Public Works Department to fix bus stops that
are not accessible to riders with disabilities. But he did not give a timeline
in which the improvements would be done.
Gleese, whose
position is full-time, will earn $40,000 a year. The money will come from the
mayor's office budget.
Christy Dunaway,
executive director of Living Independence for Everyone, said besides better
public transportation the city also needs to improve its housing stock. "I
don't think we have enough accessible and affordable housing," she said.
"We've heard about some of the poor conditions of HUD housing. The city
could improve on that."
The hiring
of an ADA coordinator is a "great first step" toward solutions, she
said. However, many wonder whether the mayor will make good on his promise to
work with Gleese and the disabled community. "The disability community
will be watching and monitoring (the mayor's office) closely to ensure that
there is follow-through," Dunaway said. "The committee we want to
see created will help with that."
The committee,
which has yet to be appointed, should consist of disabled residents from each
of the city's seven wards, Gleese said. The committee would hear grievances
from residents concerning services and work with city administrators to fix
problems. Melton told the group of disabled residents during their meeting outside
City Hall that he was open to working with a committee. "Whenever they
want to set a meeting will be fine with me," Melton said.
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