JACIL Connections for June 2020
Article 1:
JACIL continues wih state’s COVID-19 plan
by Peggy Davidsmeyer
The Jacksonville Area Center for
Independent Living continues to follow Illinois Governor Pritzker's Restore
Illinois Plan.
Right now, our offices remain closed to
consumers without pre-arrangement and serious need. We can make some appointments happen but
Personal Protective Equipment must be in place.
Masks and gloves ( as needed) are a must.
Most staff are working from home and
coming into the office on a scheduled basis to complete tasks that cannot be
completed otherwise.
We
will move into Phase Three when and if our region moves to Phase Three. At that time, staff will most likely work in
staggered shifts and days in order to keep the number of people in the office
to 10 or less.
Social distancing and the use of masks, as
needed will be required.
We miss seeing all of you. We will be having PA Orientation by Zoom on
June 24 and we are working on a June KIP, possibly by Zoom, as well. Stay safe and we will see you soon.
Medical masks prevent lip reading as a
communication tool
by Sarah Wilson, JACIL Advocate for Deaf
Services
Masks do not help the Deaf community much.
To protect ourselves, yes but caused more barriers to communicate with others,
such as workers, doctors, nurses and etc. We do rely on facial expressions and
mask covers that. Some of us are good at lip reading and cannot do so. Caused a
great misunderstanding and had to ask to repeat more than once. Felt there is
no connection as if we are talking to the wall. I always make sure to do eye
contact and let them know that I am deaf and cannot understand what they are
saying/speaking. I prefer to have them to write it down. Some do have note pads
and pen ready with them. Some are not considerate enough and is not prepared to
communicate with Deaf people. Some of us had to ask them to pull their masks
down so we can understand them better. Some of them were willing to do that,
some are not. That’s a sticky situation. For Deaf community, it would be a lot
easier to have a clear/plastic masks on instead to make it more visual and able
to rely on facial expressions to guess and see what they are saying. For me,
it’s a lot more important for doctors/nurses to wear plastic masks due to terms
and serious information to know and what to do regards health issues or
anything that is important to know for the future. Writing it down would be
helpful as well. Interpreters should do the same with clear masks as they need
to use facial expression to interpret what their tones are saying and translate
that into expressions. They need to be reminded to do eye contact while talking
to deaf people. Also try to talk in slow manner to make sure we are able to
keep up. Wearing masks make this more difficult for us and it is very
frustrating. I keep telling this to myself that this is only temporary. Some of
us are very upset with this situation. I tell them to express their feelings
that they cannot deal with masks while communication and need to find another
way. Some refused to do appointments because they do not want to deal with them
(masks). They rather to wait until this whole thing blows over.
Please let me know if there is any other
questions, thanks!
Article 2:
PA orientations va Zoom
JACIL will conduct its next Personal
Assistant Orientation from 9:30 a.m. to noon on Wednesday, June 24, unless
COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted.
Zoom Conferencing software can be
downloaded for free at: https://zoom.us/download.
A person must complete our orientation
before he or she can be added to our Personal Assistant Referral List. Call Danielle at (217) 245-8371 ro register
for this free orientation.
Article 3:
Solitude can be a real enemy for people in
wheelchairs
by Roger Deem
For most of my 62 years of life, Saturday
has always been the greatest day of the week,
It was a day which was not pre-written in stone.
Monday to Friday were almost always work
days. Sunday was a day reserved for
church and church family. Saturdays
often had no rules and brought the promise of excitement and adventure, the
possibilities almost dazzling in their infinite array.
One day my life changed and using a
wheelchair became part of my daily existence.
When that happened, Saturdays became my worst enemy.
Because I could no longer drive, my
freedom to go places and experience more of what the world offers was cut
off. Life was not beating a path to my
door. The local bus service does not run on the
weekend. The only two options open to me
were calling a taxicab or begging a ride from friends.
Using the cab service is financially
restrictive for me. I simply don’t have
the spare money it takes to transport myself in that manner.
I already depend on friends to get me to
church and back and I thank God for those who are willing to fill that
role. I am so uncomfortable asking
people to cart me around unless the errand is of real import, such as a medical
appointment. I know how important
Saturdays are to most people and I don’t want to be a burden to them.
It is amazing the simple pleasures that I
miss. There are some days I would give
almost anything to go out to the local park and spend an hour watching the
ducks and geese on the lake. Like so
many other things, that is a pleasure that I have given up because I have no
way to transport myself.
I am one of the most blessed of
individuals because I have the privilege to work full time and have an
affordable bus service available to take me to the office and back. I cannot imagine life if my Saturdays
solitudes were an everyday occurrence.
It is one of the hidden curses of life with a disability that I never
truly appreciated until it happened to me.Support bags project continues for
JACIL consumers
Thanks to the special grant we received
for this project, we were able to provide a second round of 75 bags with
helpful supplies for our consumers.
Each bag of supplies includes the following: One roll of toilet paper, one bottle of hand
sanitizer, one bottle of shampoo, one box of Kleenex, one toothbrush and one
tube of toothpaste.
Bags are distributed one per family every
three weeks until our funds run out.
For more information contact JACIL at
(217) 245-8371.
Article 4:
Ask Kathym by Kathy Price
Each issue Kathy will answer your
questions about anything--from household hints to the price of tea in
China.
Please e-mail your question to her at
kathy@jacil.org.
This Month’s Question: What do you recommend I use to coat my
baking pans so they will be easier to clean and not have gunk stuck all over
the sides and bottom?
Kathy Says: Start with the following ingredients:
1/2-cup
flour
1/2-cup
oil
1/2-cup
shortening
Use an electric mixer. Place the ingredients, in the order as given,
into a bowl. Mix until smooth and creamy.
To store, pour into a jar, place a square
of wax paper on top, then screw on lid tight.
It can then be stored until ready for use.
Article 5:
A few ideas to ease the quarantine boredom
blues
1, Research volunteering opportunities in
your city and mark down the most interesting ones.
2. Take this time to learn something
that’s not exactly essential in life, like juggling.
3. Keep a quarantine diary.
l4. Choose at least five people that you
haven't heard from in a long time and write them a message to find out how
they’re doing.
5. If you have a dog, teach him something
he can't do. Fetching a ball won’t cut it.
6. Google your name in quotation marks and
see what comes up
7. Have fun with a little YouTube Karaoke.
Article 6:
JACIL’S Wheelathon postponed
Because of public restrictions caused by the COVID-19 issues, plans for
JACIL’s 14th Annual Wheelathon are currently in flux
We are hoping to reschedule the event for
August or September depending on when local, state and federal authorities lift
public gatherings restrictions. More info is on the way.
June (tentative) Calendar of Events
The following schedule is subject to local
and state regulations concerning the Coronavirus efforts. These events will NOT take place until
restrictions have been lifted by state and local authoriities.
Tue 2 The
Pointe 20/20 (formerly Knollwood) Support Group
9:30
to 10:30 a.m.
Wed 3 Friends
Helping Friends Action Club - 3:45 to 4:45 p.m.
Thu 11 VisAbility Support Group - 10:30 a.m. to
noon.
Tue 16 Cass County Visions Support Group -10:00 to
11:00 a.m.
Wed 17 Mason County Visions Support Group - 2:00 to
3:00 p.m.
Wed 17 People First Aktion Club - 3:30 to 5:00 p.m
Wed 24 Personal Assistant Orientation - 9:30 a.m. to
noon
Via
Zoom from JACIL Office
Thu 26 KIP Café - 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Program: To be announced
Presenter: To be announced
Via
Zoom from JACIL Office
“JACIL
Connections” is published by the Jacksonville Area Center for Independent
Living. JACIL is organized to serve
people with disabilities in Morgan, Scott, Cass and Mason Counties. JACIL is committed to enabling people with
disabilities to gain control and direction of their lives in the home,
workplace and community. JACIL’s goal is
to stimulate and promote a growing sense of personal dignity through
individualized services designed to provide the tools necessary for maximum
independence and community participation.
We invite your comments and suggestions.
Roger
Deem - JACIL Connections Editor
JACIL is a Prairieland United Way Agency
and a proud member of the Jacksonville Area Chamber of Commerce.
Jacksonville Area Center for Independent
Living
15 Permac Road, Jacksonville, IL 62650
Office Hours: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
217-245-8371 Voice/TTY l
217-245-1872 Fax l 888-317-3287 Toll Free
217-408-0567 Deaf Advocate’s Toll Free
Videophone Line
E-mail:
info@jacil.org l Website:
www.jacil.org