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Where are the Real Voices? Speak up!

By Julie Reese | Posted in Blogs | Jun.11, 2009 | 3 Comments

After reading the posts and blogs that everyone has written about related to the Protest and the lack of upholding the DOJ settlement in those cases where the deaf cititzens got denied communication access such as a qualified interpreter. My question is: Where are those deaf citizens who said they got denied an interpreter recently? These citizens need to speak up and make their voices heard. They need to tell the story of what happened. These are the people we should be listening to.  Please, speak up for yourselves. You cannot expect other people to do the work and “talking” for you. You can empower yourselves to make yourself heard by the City of Houston and Houston Police Department. Everyone will be listening and will back you up. You are the true voice. Sooo… Speak Up!

Share Your Hurricane Ike Experiences

By Julie Reese | Posted in Blogs | Jun.09, 2009 | Leave a Comment

We are already 9 days into a new Hurricane Season which began June 1st. The reason why I am here is to ask for your feedback and to hear about your experiences during Hurricane Ike or afterwards.

First of all, let me share a bit about my experience although it may be different from most of what you had experienced here. I was more fortunate than others, no doubt. I live in a mandatory evacuation zone in Galveston County, right on the edge of Clear Lake within 2 miles from Gulf Coast. My apartment home is situated on a marina so I knew I could NOT take any chances with a hurricane that HAD been forecasted to become a Cat-3 (at that time). I immediately packed up my bags and took my dog and evacuated to the west side of Fort Worth where my parents lived (where I hail from), which was a 5 hour drive from Clear Lake. Many of my friends had stayed in Houston and rode out the storm. I stayed up watching CNN all night worrying about everyone here in Houston. I even saw live coverage of boats rocking back and forth on Clear Lake on CNN as Hurricane Ike churned towards Galveston as a Cat-2. All the DARS offices closed for two weeks. Schools closed down. I returned a week later and was very grateful to see that my home that had been in the path of the eye was spared. Not even a scratch.  Unfortunately, many people’s homes around me had been destroyed.  Debris was everywhere and people threw out all their furniture on the side of streets.  Boats were tossed here and there.  It was very heart breaking because I had never seen anything like that in my entire life.
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DARS 101: Reducing the Barrier in the Workplace

By Julie Reese | Posted in Blogs | Mar.25, 2009 | Leave a Comment

What is DARS? Many of you have been a DARS client at one point in your lives or maybe you are still a current DARS client, perhaps? For those of you who would like a glimpse into what DARS is all about. DARS is not just all about giving you hearing aids, paying for your school, or placing you with jobs. DARS is actually a spectrum of services provided to people of all disabilities funded by the state and federal government. DARS is not limited to the deaf and hard of hearing only like most may assume.
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