United Spinal News


United Spinal Requests Safe And Lawful Ferry Access to the Statue of Liberty
On Dec. 21, United Spinal Association sent a letter to the superintendent of the Statue of Liberty National Monument requesting that the National Park Service provide safe and lawful ferry access for wheelchair users.

United Spinal sent a letter to the superintendent of the Statue of Liberty National Monument saying that Statue Cruises is not living up to its ADA responsibilities.
United Spinal sent a letter to the superintendent of the Statue of Liberty National Monument saying that Statue Cruises is not living up to its ADA responsibilities.

In the letter, James Weisman, United Spinal Association’s president and CEO, described significant and dangerous problems regarding wheelchair accessibility on the ferry that transports visitors to the national monument. “United Spinal Association has fought hard to insure that the built environment is accessible to and usable by wheelchairs users,” said Weisman. “Access to the ferry should be standard, not ‘created’ with an operational solution every time wheelchair users attempt to board and disembark.”

Problems included transition plates and ramps that are at an unlawful slope, gangways that are too narrow with unlawful handrails, and restrooms that are inaccessible and unusable. United Spinal staff member David Heard, a quad who uses a power chair, demonstrated the haphazard boarding and on-ship conditions in a video posted alongside an accompanying article in the New York Daily News. There was no way to secure Heard’s chair on the ferry, and the bathrooms were not large enough for him to use in his chair. Heard required assistance getting on and off the ferry and had to do so at dangerous angles.

“I know that some people are not as outgoing as I am and would not utilize it,” Heard told the Daily News. “They should be able to. … Someone else is going to have a problem.”

Wheelchair-using tourists from all over the world are among the 4.2 million people who visit the Statue of Liberty every year.

(Watch the video of Heard riding the ferry here: http://launch.newsinc.com/share.html?trackingGroup=69016&siteSection=nydailynews-new-york&videoId=30147959)

Chapter’s Persistence Rewarded With Neilsen Grant
Managing your weight as a wheelchair user is notoriously tricky. Writing a successful grant and getting it funded is never easy. The Northeast Ohio Chapter managed to find success by combining both difficult tasks — writing a grant to study how wheelchair users can best control their weight. Entitled “Expanding Quality of Life in a Wheelchair,” the grant was picked up by the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation last year and awarded $30,000 over the course of one year. The chapter’s success is a testament to the importance of persistence and savvy when trying to secure prestigious grants.

“If you have an idea that you like and think will work, it’s just a question of getting it right in the eyes of the grantors,” says Jeff Schiemann (right).
“If you have an idea that you like and think will work, it’s just a question of getting it right in the eyes of the grantors,” says Jeff Schiemann (right).

The chapter’s pursuit of the Neilsen grant began in 2013 when it submitted a proposal called “Weight Management in a Wheelchair.” The Neilsen Foundation, which is dedicated to funding endeavors that improve the lives of people with spinal cord injuries, selected the proposal as one of its annual Quality of Life award recipients but decided not to fund it. Undeterred, the chapter resubmitted the proposal in 2015 after adding a series of medical components they thought might sway the grant selectors.

“We added language that would get doctors, nurses, therapists and dieticians involved, monitoring blood and glucose levels and other medical results,” says chapter member Jeff Schiemann. “The premise of the new grant was that the doctors and the therapists would learn and benefit just as much as the participants were benefitting from it.”

It worked. “With that they picked up the grant,” says Schiemann. “They even said, ‘We realize this is basically the same grant, but we like the medical component.’”

With grant in hand, the chapter purchased ergometers, free weights, therapy bands and other miscellaneous equipment, selected 10 participants for the study and got to getting fit. Participants each received log books to track their activity and diet and signed up for an application called Lose It! that helps users keep track of calories and exercise. The program started off with a series of lectures relevant to weight loss, presented by experts in the fields. The lectures were open to anyone who was interested.

Schiemann says he is excited to see how the program goes over the next year. He also encouraged other grant seekers to keep pursuing their dreams, even if they have been rejected. “If you have an idea that you like and think will work, it’s just a question of getting it right in the eyes of the grantors,” he says.


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