Transcript of “Rights Here, Rights Now” –

Episode 43: "An Interview VDDHH / VDEM Staff Karen Brimm.”

Produced by the disAbility Law Center of Virginia.                                                            

                                                          

[INTRO]:                          The information provided on this podcast does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice. Instead, all information, content and materials available are for general informational purposes only.

[Enter host, Ren Faszewski.]

 

[Ren Faszewski]:          Welcome to Rights Here, Rights Now!- a podcast about disability advocacy, and activism. I'm your Advocate host, Ren Faszewski

 

[Enter host, Molly Carter]

 

[Molly Carter]:              And I'm your Advocate host, Virginia Pharis.

 

[Ren Faszewski]:          Every two weeks we dig into to relevant issues, current events, and avenues for self-advocacy.

 

[Molly Carter]:              Because someone has to.

 

[Ren Faszewski]:          And, it might as well be us!

 

[Molly Carter]:

*This podcast is produced and edited by the disAbility Law Center of Virginia, the Commonwealth’s protection and advocacy agency for disability rights.*

 

[Enter, once again, hosts Ren Faszewski and Molly Carter]

 

[Ren Faszewski]:          Molly, I am so stoked…. for our episode today!

 

[Molly Carter]:              You and me both, Ren. I mean, this, our next guest is just probably one of the most knowledgeable and invigorating guests we’ve ever had here on the podcast! And I am so excited for everybody to listen.

 

[Ren Faszewski]:          She is Karen Brim. She is the Acting Access and Functional Needs Officer for the VDEM. (Virginia Department of Emergency Management); she’s on loan from the Virginia Department for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. (VDD) She’s basically the most important person in the pandemic that you haven’t really heard about, in terms of disability access. She’s going to talk to us- (cut off by Molly’s babbling. J )

 

[Molly Carter]:              Yeah, she…-

 

[Ren Faszewski]:          Oh, go ahead.

 

                                          

[Molly]:                           Um, I was just going to say- Yes, absolutely you have that right. And I was actually really fascinated to hear that, um, Karen actually started this job, right when, sort of, COVID hit, and has just taken the transition totally, um, in stride. So I think that we’re just in for such an education today! I know I didn’t anticipate how much I learned, but, we definitely learned so much from her.

 

[Ren]:                               And we’re going to be learning about emergency management, accessibility; We’re going to be talking about able-bodied privilege; we’re talking COVID 19, and, disaster relief. We’re going to cover all of it! But, before we jump into that, let’s check out disability in the news.

 

[Narrator]:                     In 2017 the Access Board, a federal agency devoted to accessibility for people with disabilities, along with the FDA created the Standards for Accessible Medical Diagnostic Equipment.  These standards have not been adopted by any federal agencies but the National Council on Disability wants the Department of Justice and the Department of Health and Human Services to crack down on these standards. The National Council on Disability compiled their recommendations and findings into a 75-page report that is being presented to Congress and the president regarding barriers people with disabilities face in health care.

 

Basic barriers like examination tables, scales, and imaging equipment are usually inaccessible for people with physical disabilities. Currently, individuals with disabilities can file complaints with the Justice Department and the Department of Health and Human Services over inaccessible medical and diagnostic equipment, but the National Council on Disability said this remedy is inadequate. The National Council on Disability will continue advocating for these standards to be enforced so those with disabilities will receive proper and adequate medical care. 

 

[Ren Faszewski]:          All right, we are ready to get into it! Thank you so much for joining us today, Karen, we really appreciate you being here today!

 

[Enter, our guest, Karen Brim, Access and Functional Needs Officer of VDEM]

 

[Karen Brim]:                Sure, no problem. Thank you for having me.

 

[Ren Faszewski]:          I know we have a lot to cover, so, I think we’ll just jump right in! Um, we introduced our audience, to the fact that, your role is that of an Access and Functional Needs Officer. Tell us a little bit about that, and what exactly that means.

 

[Karen Brim]:                Sure. So, the Access and Functional Needs Officer, which I’ll call the AFNO, for short, um, is a role that’s relatively new, at the Department of Emergency Management, which, again, I’ll abbreviate VDEM, it’s just easier. And at the start of the COVID 19 emergency, that role was actually, temporarily vacant, and, as the Community Services Manager for the Department for the Deaf & Hard of Hearing, I had, uh, was already serving as, my department’s liaison- to the department of Emergency Management. And I had shadowed the former AFNO, and so when COVID hit, VDEM asked be to become acting Access and Functional needs officer.

 

What that’s meant is that I support and assist the unified command, and, the Incident Management Personnel, on matters that are related to people with disabilities, & others with access and functional needs. So that term, Access and Functional Needs, is actually an umbrella term that’s used by Emergency Managers (Ems), and it includes not only people with disabilities, but also, Senior Citizens, very young children, populations who may have limited English Proficiency, limited access to transportation, or, limited access to financial resources, that would help them prepare for, or recover from, um, an emergency situation (or accident) should it happen to them. So, it’s again, an umbrella term, but of course, there’s a HUGE emphasis on accessibility, which is pertinent to the disability community.

 

 

[Molly Carter]:              That’s fascinating. It sounds like an amazing role. And, especially since you took it on during COVID, I’m sure that a lot has come up in that role. I’m curious as to, um, I’m sure you, you know, you work on a large team, and I’m curious as to how you advise them—whether that be Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) or Advocates, um, in their day to day, particularly since COVID, and, um, whether or not, you know, especially since COVID when people have started to you know, gradually, go back into the field—what are some ways that you advise them, whether they’re, you know, out in the field, working directly with clients, or, in the office?

 

 

[Karen Brim]:                Right, so, I used the term, unified command before. Which really means that, during COVID 19, um, many state agencies, local government entities, or supporting organizations, have all collaborated together. And they’re sort of determining a “whole government approach.” So, it’s a really complex situation. And so, many of those, sort of, separate systems had not really collaborated in that way before. And a lot of the people in those systems had not really applied an accessibility lens to the work that they do before. Or, they had never really actively included it as the emphasis for their equity and inclusion. And so, the visibility of the AFNO Position, has allowed me to emphasize the accessibility, can be and is lifesaving.

 

So, during COVID, that’s meant that I’ve sort of gradually over time become a point of contact for individuals of state (and local, other) government, and, their stakeholder groups. So that their critical needs, and concerns, and issues, can be related to…that are related to accessibility, can be identified, and then referred to, the resources that are available, [to them.] Just in finding a solution. So I rarely solve problems myself this whole process, but, I’ve been really well-positioned to be able to provide resources, and provide information for people, who are experts in their own field, whether it be emergency management or public health- But, they’ve not really been exposed to some of those accessibility principles before. Um, the resources have often come from, just through disability resource agency representatives.

 

Who are themselves subject matter experts in accessibility, for their particular population. And that’s been particularly from the DBVI, DBHDS, & the Virginia Board for People with Disabilities. Among many others. And I have to give a big shout out to Dr. Susan Elmore, from DBHDS, and Peggy Fields, from DBVI, who have  been invaluable to me, in the effort towards accessibility, in our COVID efforts. […] They, and some other committee members, have really been the backbone of our ability to solve problems, and, uh, provide resources and information, to make the whole effort more accessible.

 

[Ren Faszewski]:          Okay I think one of the particular things you said that kind of, “pinged” to me, was you said, was this idea of an accessibility lens; um, and, the idea that, you know, there's so many different experts doing their own thing, of course, but that their viewpoint isn't [necessarily] you know, that, their viewpoint is not including this or some sort of, like, not in frame when they consider their particular area of expertise. And with people with disabilities (and those relationships) again I think that's accessibility can be a life-or-death issue. Like, it can be absolutely most important. Can you give some examples as to how you have provided this lens of accessibility, & how you… you know, assisted others, in understanding accessibility when it comes to their work?

 

[Karen Brimm]:            Sure! I think  the main thing is to ask really good questions! And I know that sounds sort of SIMPLISTIC, but, what I've noticed is that as people are, are, going about their daily work, often they haven't asked themselves who it is that they're serving. And, included in that group of of people that they're serving, are people who are going to have access needs that should be met. And so, if they ask themselves who's my consumer and make sure that they know that their consumer group will include people with disabilities.

 

And, they can start to be planning for that, and that's how you go about operationalizing and accessibility lens, that means you always ask. The next question, which is, I've got this great service or I've got this great product or had this wonderful information that I want to share, how do I package it in a way that is accessible to people with disabilities? Have I packaged it in a way that is…they are able to receive it, and then is the content of that information that, that, message is it being related in a in a receivable fashion to so it is it in plain language so that people with cognitive disabilities or processing issues are able to more readily understand that and again is is more than just people with disabilities, it's also people who have limited English proficiency, so it's often times, also been asking the question.

 

You know, like, you see, has this been translated? And, if it has been translated what language is it? And so, it's just kind of always asking that next question. The great thing is that as this process has involved, and it got bigger, you see, my scope isn’t only for covid related issues. And it's you know in a way it's been a broad effort, but it is a very narrow focus, on a particular emergency but I've seen people learn to themselves start to ask that next question instead of me always being the one to raise my hand and be the one to to ask the question. So, people have had learned that if you are asking that question early in the process then it means that the end result is that your product is going to be more accessible to people. J

             

 

 

[Ren Faszewski]:          I think that’s a really important, and, fascinating perspective. It's kind of tangential but it reminds me a little bit of Universal Design is saying that you do when you're building a house or building it should automatically be part of that process of making it accessible and obviously some type of top down because the process already exists but sort of beating that into whatever function you're working West yeah that's just I was just thinking about the sort of Universal Design at an emergency management level.

 

[Karen Brimm]:            Yes, exactly. So, it's been, you know, that recognition that…. ideally during an emergency it is not the best time to be figuring out how to make your services and resources accessible. Really the best time is during the planning stages and you know that means that is accessibility principles are already an integral part of the way that you're doing business then during an emergency there going to be more relaxed it so there's a phrase in Emergency Management that I really love which is that there are blue skies times and then there are times of disaster emergency and so if, during blue skies times you built that into the way, that you do business, then, during emergencies, it's a given.

 

That it is part of the process, and you're automatically, making it accessible quicker and easier than you would have otherwise so you know an example of that is beyond my own agency. At VDDHH, you know, that we've baked in cashing and transcription and choose just the way that business not every organization has that baked in; you know, we serve a particular population but accessibility is for everyone so you know the way that we sort of brought some of those accessibility practices into the approach to diversity management for covid-19 and other agencies to me and you know it has been really well received and you know our our success is, then, some examples have been that all of the covid-19 press conferences that the governor has held have had in ASL interpretation provided, and kept on screen so that the audience can actually see them, rather than cutting away from them.

 

You know as an aside need to be done also their Facebook page or Facebook seed for the covid-19 is simultaneously interpreted into Spanish so there's no foreign language access there as well and you know as far as translations are concerned the executive orders have all been translated into the top spoken languages other than English at state-run sites as well as making sure that the sites were 88 accessible that was given and if they were not accessible and they were not chosen you know we've made a lot of progress with 508 compliance and so you can message in campaigns have been made 508 compliant and Virginia board for people with disabilities included Virginians with disabilities in their photo shoot to make sure that we had representation and effort to make sure that everyone was included in the in mitigation efforts to encourage mask-wearing, & the director and I were able to facilitate, a department of Health shoe Institute capability for are vaccinations call center to accept video phone calls from a s l users on to be able to call directly to the call center and be routed to an ASL user on a video phone to have direct communication about vaccinations information and registration and with no interpreter needed and so that was a huge win to be able to come do that next up and level up on accessibility so you know across-the-board it's been you know sort of a full-court press to think of every way that we could make efforts on more accessible to you know the widest audience possible.

 

[Molly Carter]:              Wow, that’s awesome for you guys to think about, and also kind of weird to think about the timing of something like that (a call). but it's amazing how you guys have found just expanding on those resources. And, it touches on what Ren was talking about before. With things like, you know, Universal Design, and just, you know, things being a given. That is, something that, we take so seriously here at dLCV.

 

Because that's already in part, you know, our job, every day, serving the public and particularly, serving disabled people. I'm curious: When you work with on when you interact with the able-bodied population, or, perhaps, people, you know, coming into your organization who may be new to disability or don't have a lot of exposure, I'm interested in what are some ways that you see able-bodied privilege come through in your work and how do you guys as an organization combat that? When you're dealing with that all levels of experience with disability?

 

[Karen Brimm]:            Yes. Well: Full disclosure, I don’t self-identify as a person with disability. You know, what I strive to do is to practice ally-ship, and, I believe that an ally is a verb, not a noun. J You have to, you know, you can't just say you’re an Ally. you have to ask what is supportive and always putting on that accessibility lens on, as a primary focus. And so, working with people who don't have, or who haven’t heard (of) that background, or [that], mindset, you know.

 

I am doing my own work-- even during COVID--  and even, before, you know. I have seen, friends, than consumers, and co-workers, that have had to fight for their access, [fight for] rights. But particularly during the pandemic, access to information, has unfortunately been one of the most obvious examples of able-bodied privilege. Privileged people who post videos with no captions or transcripts, or design graphics, or dashboards, or a web app, that doesn't have accessibility to screen readers. And, because the content creator can see it or hear it themselves, they think it's fine! And so, you know, I seen career programmers learning about section 508 compliance just as a “New Concept,” during COVID, which is pretty staggering, you know.

 

Again, it requires them to ask that next question: Who's my consumer and I know (some) advice for…(pause).. for everyone that I've come in contact with, (is that) to keep in mind, that they should assume that, their audience includes people with mobility disabilities, who need wheelchair navigation, they need to assume that, their audience includes people who cannot see the screen, that they're displaying, or, people who cannot hear the audio on the Zoom meeting that they're conducting. You know, those kinds of things have been a real learning process. You know, [it’s incredible that] the ADA is over 30 years old, and yet, often times, it's still not you know applied or understood but one of the things that has been motivating during these really stressful and you know at times sort of dark.

 

Is that I've actually been able to watch a person's face on soon as they stored have an aha moment about understanding how they can operationalize accessibility into their work and then as they known better they done better know we we have to battle ableism whether it's attached to her unconscious for one person at a time and as we as we approach it that way we can also then by extension sort of chocolate systemically and you know creating that system change and like you were saying making people see that there's an advantage to applying that Universal Design principle because the more accessible something is the wider the audiences and, &, for various reasons, virtually everything we do in society you want the widest audience possible so why would you not want to learn about how you could you know increase your audience's ability to access whatever it is that you have to offer them accessibility (at all times).

 

[Ren Faszewski]:          When I think about sort of the covid-19 pandemic and all the information I was heavily involved in my grandmother's care she lived by herself and me and my mother were primary caretakers in terms of being with her often and helping making sure all their needs were met you know she had it she had a giant tablet but even on that giant tablet he would try to pull up the information and it simply wasn't in a print that he could read a lovely you were with her to be able to you to read it for her and so she could get that information but not everybody has that same you know that the same access to family or resources or caretakers and everyone's situation is different so and yeah yeah I think about that a lot in terms of guests trying to get the information just the basics right because so much about this this pandemic has been what are the emergency orders like what are the recommendations what is the next turn over some of the ways that you know covid-19 has brought up these accessibility issues you talked about some of the things that you've done to address those and then some of those initiatives can you talk a little bit about the work itself and how to work has happened during the covid-19 pandemic? I mean, [laughter] we are here on a Zoom call! We are on ZOOM! J J

 

[Karen Brimm]:            Exactly! Well, so personally, you know, my work went from being deaf and hard-of-hearing focused to at my own apartment to a much wider scope again that comes closer to your Universal Design you know as far as the Emergency Management activities that I've done but all of that has been virtual the emergency Operation Center for I believe the first time ever went virtual for COVID and all of that has been done in a process that pretty much describes as building the plane while we're flying it and making it possible for emergency managers and ultimately you know six feet away from each other or not.

 

And so you're at the same time as all of that has evolved and I've no I've learned a lot on the job I'm not a career emergency manager and so I've learned a lot during this process but everyone has you can people have been in emergency management for a very long time have adopted their weight of a work because it's like everyone else it's for people but at the same time I'm responsible for my own program at bdhh and so it's been you know process there to do for us it's meant that we had to work remotely and rely on technology more than we ever have before and unfortunately it's men and almost complete Hiatus of our face-to-face Outreach and field services and that includes taking a pause on home visits for assistive technology assessment but we started to try and of course jobs and provide workshops by Sam & G virtual Outreach by attending virtual conferences and having that's what a virtual information table you know and we give for covid-19 Resource page that has different friendly content on it and done things that have not really been done as much in the past I guess which is partnering with other organizations to be able to provide some ASL translations to some of their you know covid-19 content but all of it's been a really big change on the other hand our Virginia relay one of our programs include traditional relay and remove conference captioning has seen exponential increases in usage during COVID positive so it really has kind of you impacted every aspect of the work field work right now doesn't look anything like you know what it did before because of that you know the importance of making sure that social distancing guidelines are followed and so what that will look like after COVID I think everybody is kind of waiting to see if it's that what house was in the before times isn't she is maybe not how it's going to be in the after times

 

 

[Molly Carter]:              Absolutely, and I think it's so funny to talk about right because we talk especially if it's before cover people used to talk about like you know technology makes things easier and brings people closer and then you know when all this hit and everything go virtual I think a lot of times we realize he know we rely on technology so much even though it is you know we're so fortunate to be able to do these things are actually just had this video call in to be able to make those adjustments but even still you know in the virtual world with technology not everything is. LIKE REN said before: It's not an even playing field.

 

Depending upon, you know, [who] your caregiver is, your community, things like that. You do a good job of giving some great examples. But, I'm curious if, you were, there were, any accessibility issues that you hadn't seen before particularly when working with the deaf Community? In that position….does are there any issues that you didn't notice before covid-19 that, really brought some new issues with accessibility into the light ?? Or was it I mean you know you do this every day so they can for y'all this is the norm what were some recent there's some really giant examples of how accessibility was after COVID hit?

 

 

[Karen Brimm]:            Now, you know, [no] pun intended but, you know, covid-19 has sort of unmasked accessibility issues that have already been there, you know. You all know this, at the disability Law Center that you know or else there wouldn't be a need for the disability Law Center! There are [and were!] accessibility issues of course. Then, they were more highlighted or particularly difficult to deal with under pandemic conditions. We knew from the very start which is that and people with disabilities have been disproportionately impacted by COVID you know cross I'm going on a lot of levels and everything from getting gas to access to accommodations at hospitals when their visitation restrictions fighting for reasonable modifications to policy because of people's possible to wear a mask a mask and guidelines have really been some of the major challenges that we see your death why didn't the jewels it particularly have been impacted by the social distancing.

 

Because they rely on close interaction and touch for communication. And people who rely on the facial grammar of a SL or lip reading you have been continually frustrated and cut off because of the use of these; which of course, are meant to be of their ability to communicate. And so which is one of the reasons why we did ask you know when the initial executive order came out for there to be some clarification that there can be some new extension for people to be able to take her back down in order to be able to communicate with people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing widely available some of the first ones that were available were really intended for the medical setting so special when we were prioritizing PPE will have found sort of their favorite mask you know what works for them.

But again, it's a difficult because a/the communication barrier has been their struggle with that but across the board accessible he's been a challenge not just for deaf hard-of-hearing people need for instance when they change when public transportation back online after lockdown it said there was a requirement for people to load onto buses from the back which is not always be accessible entrance right so people who work as well and then there are people who struggle with access testing because they cannot or do not drive but the testing site near them is drive-through only so there are challenges that I think we're still out there but there have been some positives to like the increasing availability of telemedicine which reportedly has been a benefit to people who individuals who are home but at the same time telling …. is sometimes not differently because doctors don't always know how to include an interpreter, or an interaction. So, you know, it's dark, and many challenges some of them have been mitigated, and, some of them, have not.

 

[Ren Faszewski]:          So, part of your position as it was created was really sort of thinking you from where you were and kind of making what's the word you use just like Universal Collective sounds like a science-fiction term I love it! J but these other organizations and to you know to provide this knowledge in this information how how does this work impact the awareness you're able to bring to that and how does that impact the community that you serve?

                                          

[Karen Brim]:                Yeah, absolutely. I have had people reach out to me on an individual basis and you know by e-mail or by telephone and say that they appreciated my questions. Which I think is funny because, you know, you hope that you're not always that person who's always asking that he has a hard question but people have really appreciated being introduced to information that honestly has has been out there for a long time but they've not had the need or opportunity or wherewithal to be exposed to all of that.

 

                                           So, you know I had people thank me for making them aware which I think is it a positive you know I will have to say that you know I I have been really what's got me catch me going through this really challenging time has been that: There's been an overwhelming acceptance the idea of accessibility, and acceptance of having seen again operationalize it meaning is it a philosophy, or, you know need to not just be us feel good thing, you know, it's required but how do how do you go about doing that people are relieved to be given information that helps them to make it happen but I think there's a disconnect there between the idea that things should be accessible and understand how to make them accessible.

 

                                           So has been really gratifying to be able to again provide you know information to people who are subject matter experts in there no more aware of some of the principles but Disability Services agencies use every day. You know, the other side of it too is that there's I've been able to establish some really great networks of professional people. But also, stakeholder involvement has been important. Prior to COVID, [normally] to usually stay in Virginia that you know the most most likely emergency scenario is a hurricane forming in the Atlantic and it's coming toward the eastern coast and we need to activate a state of emergency in a localized area and usually marks would reach out to the organizations that support people disabilities in this locality brace for impact, right?

 

[Karen Brimm, Cont]: And say you for them to be able to say what do you need how do you need it so it whether that's contacting Center for Independent Living thing or Paratransit vendors, OR local emergency management people that sort of you know contact process was very limited to those look how decent the incident would last for a short period of time and then it would be over and we wait for the next one it happen for covid-19 it's not only Statewide its Nationwide and Roll by and so there is no locality that was not touch with her and so it's a very big and that needs to be able to again have kind of a an on-the-ground snapshot of what was happening you're out in the communities for these various populations.

 

                                           And so, we set up and I say we, BUT, I need to ask you some picture needs advisory committee member sort of assisted me in networking a very informal not meant to be exclusive and we started having what we've called we've named Partners calls and that is brought in state agencies, local governments, The Red Cross, FEMA, [the] Centers for Independent Living, Display Resource Center(s), Area agencies on Aging, […] PAUSE…. And, various times, you know, there have been anywhere from a hundred people (100) on the call, to 200 people on a call right now. And so, we've gone from the beginning of COVID, that was an everyday call, then, we gradually over time, it went down to three times a week.

 

                                           (It’s) once a week right now. But, in the end my point is that the overarching goal for stakeholders with BOTH governmental and non-governmental is to be able to have that channel, for them to be able to provide information about concerned citizens/consumers. That's been really critical. But then it's also been away for me, and, you know, other subject matter experts to push out information and resources back out to those represented is so that they can get information to their stakeholders. And they can say: “Hey there's going to be a webinar that you might be interested in,” or, here’s a web design/designer.”

 

                                           And, the guidance that has to do with disabilities, or, “Here's an accessible content,” and so that conduit of information has been really critical to our ability to you know course correct, (for COVID), and and make changes and […] identifying those problems this is really you know an important part.  So, the officer position was never meant to be an, “end all, be all.” It's really evolved over the last year. And so, hopefully, what it's done is, in a way, it has set a sort of a precedent that again in involving accessibility in all our efforts across the board really will make it better in the long run for the community. J That’s a really long answer to your question! But, you know, it's the impact of covid-19 are now has been significant. And so, you know, that means that it's also going to be significant to the organizations that are supporting this work.

 

 

[Molly Carter]:              SO, we’ve talked a lot about the law and what I love about what you guys do y'all see it as a standard not as something that's like an add-on is something that we should you know that should be at the Forefront of all of our work and should be something that you have to but something that is already you know in in the works in the first place we've kind of very touched on this a lot else work but are there any other ways and I'm serious just really you know after COVID I mean I know things will never go back to court on normal but are there any plants that you think technology particularly going forward will be no change permanently or really technology in terms of helping people adapt in you know, the disabled community?

 

 

[Karen Brimm]:            Deaf and hard-of-hearing people have always been involved [in this technology.] In case people didn’t recognize. The rest of the general population of the world's just now caught up! That is the way the world works. People have been communicating, for a long time, but, of course, it's been a while for everyone needing these platforms. It (they) really changed how we do business, but, at the same time as learning just how to use those (programs) in general; -- there's been a lot of learning about how to integrate accessibility into that. So whether that’s (that is) integrated services into a ZOOM call, or, how to include interpreters, to be able to provide services remotely, and, even down to the new show like how to put the interpreter on the speaker, at the same time. Or, which platforms are deaf/disability friendly, and which ones are not. You know, but, I think that there's still room to learn there because hosts for web events and webinar(s).

 

[Ren Faszewski]:          to do those accessibility features and so my agency has been providing you have information pretty steadily to government agencies local governments and private organizations asking how to make their their online presentations more accessible and usually that's because those entities have received a request for an accommodation and they don't really know how to go about addressing that me so there's a lot of it of Education happening but as far as how people communicate I think we can't forget that not everyone has access to the internet so you know part of the funding that has been set aside and plan for be able to expand access to broadband across the state to people who don't already have it.

 

                                           That's going to be a major factor because technology is going to be the way that we're going to from now on because people got used to it or they see how helpful it is that we need to make sure it's available to you know two people who need it so that's one fact as far as to how it's how it's changed our organization communicates we've figured out how to do our work remotely and you know I wouldn't say it's perfect but I'd say that we adopted when we needed to and we can build on that and and only get better at it as we go forward so we've Encompass a lot this conversation again you're clearly a very busy woman and doing amazing work if people are interested in learning more about what you do or just being like man I've been having difficulty like trying to get this information or access my you know except my backseat or if you know having any of these issues how did they get in touch with you what are some of your suggestions practically is give us the 411 as far as my department is concerned you know our website is d d d h h. Org and we have you noticed for each of our services there across the top of the page which includes everything from technology assistance to interpreting coordination agencies and information about find interpreters in the Commonwealth so there's all kinds of information available there on that page and as far as learning more about the deaf Community I would recommend contacting Virginia Association of the Deaf (VAD) which is www.vad.org and especially if you're of a mind to be able to learn ASL course learning from a person who has the best way to do with that and of course there are website has information on how you can learn your other resources like community colleges and Community organizations as far as my work with access and functional needs for Emergency Management that is sort of evolved during the emergency and not a lot of that is listed online yet we try to focus on taking care of issues and there's not been much done as far as you making that information available on the website they do have we do have a website works for me down and there is another website that they they run which is VA emergency.

 

                                           Gov which has all kinds of information for the community to be able to learn about emergency preparedness so there is information out there and you hopefully we're headed towards the light at the end of the tunnel or you know activities opening up and warm or people be coming back to needed so people have questions about vaccinations they should go to vaccinate. Virginia.gov in order to be able to to get that information and again you can also call the call center at the website is not the only way to get that information and said they can call the call center, AT: (877) -829-4682.

 

                                           And remember, that now we have a feature on their called ASL now which if you click that and your videos on user you can be directed to that [link.] […]

 

 

[Molly Carter]:              Well, Karen: Thank you so much for all this groundwork that you played an interview, and for, covering so much in, such a, you know expansive topic, that, I think, you know, no matter how much we know about disability it's always good to have more awareness into it & to have this information. So as we wrap it up with you today: Is there anything else you would like us to know where our audience know about your organization, or your work?

 

[Karen Brimm]:            I think probably my last message would be that this is always going to be work in progress. [And,] That there's always going to be work to be done. Any time we are made aware of accessibility barriers, then it's our responsibility to mitigate those barriers whether we work for a government entity by the organization

 

                                           And so, are we again asking that next question, of: “Is this accessible?” And, that will go a long way to improving, not only access the quality of life for people with disabilities and that we talked we can all sort of fake that in to our processes whether it's in our business or in our daily life of benefit to everyone that's probably my last…well, that's my hope. J And again, I don't want to be Pollyanna about. It's a lot of work and it takes a lot of effort, and education, but if everyone takes responsibility for it and we can make progress and and be moving toward a more inclusive society. J

 

                                           well I always think so because a great note to end us so thank you so much for being here we really appreciate your time and all this great information!

 

[Karen Brimm]:            Great, thank you.

 

 

[Ren Faszewski]:          And now, a dLCV Highlight.

 

 

[Narrator]:                     dLCV was contacted by an individual who is deaf and communicates via ASL after they were denied access to a COVID-19 vaccine by a large health system. dLCV intervened right away, outreaching the large health system in question to inform them of relevant state and federal requirements for COVID-19 vaccine administration. We further helped the individual and their spouse, who is also deaf, locate an alternate vaccine administration site in their community offering on demand walk-in vaccination appointments. Thanks to our rapid response, the individual and their spouse were able to successfully access their first COVID-19 vaccine doses within 48 hours of contacting dLCV!

 

[Ren Faszewski]:          WHAT a DAY! I want to have a shout-out to Karen you were an amazing guest and we learned so much from you during this interview. Which was (and she was!), incredible! :D

 

 

[Molly Carter]:              Yes, absolutely, thank you again. I mean, she just brought so much passion and energy! And just like the wealth of knowledge and the amount she was able to cover so eloquently was just amazing. And, again, I just really appreciate her giving her time to tell us everything and just pour her heart into everything. So, I'm really excited for everybody else to just continue your education. Because she just had so much to offer.

 

 

[Ren Faszewski]:          Absolutely! And, we're going to be linking all of the resources that she talked about in the show notes.  So, you will have access to it. We're all on our own journeys to make sure that we're being as inclusive and accessible as possible for folks with disabilities from personal life to our jobs, and, to our community so they're all on the stringing together so we just really appreciate her coming out.

 

                                           And thanking you all for listening to this episode of Rights Here Right Now- brought to you by the disability Law Center of Virginia. We are available on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Don't forget to subscribe, and leave us a review.

 

[Molly Carter]:              Feel free to visit us online at: www.dlcv.org.  ALSO, follow us on Twitter, @disAbilityLawVA. We also have a Facebook that is the disability Law Center of Virginia.

 

[Ren Faszewski]:          Share us with your friends; leave us a comment; we love to chat.

 

[Molly Carter]:              Until next time, I'm Molly Carter.

 

[Ren Faszewski]:          And I am Ren Faszewski. And this has been: Rights Here!

 

[Molly Carter]:              Rights Now!

 

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