Across America, individuals with disabilities are making important contributions in the workplace. This month, we celebrate their accomplishments and reaffirm our commitment to ensuring that the opportunities of America are available and accessible to every citizen.

The Oprah Winfrey Show on ABC will be airing a story about one of our INDEPENDENCE iBOT Mobility System owners.  The story, featuring Jim MacLaren, winner of the prestigious Arthur Ashe Courage Award, will be broadcast on Thursday, September 29, 2005.  Breaking news could postpone the telecast.  

Oprah is broadcast on your local ABC affiliate.  Please check your local listings for more information. 

State governments in the US are currently under intense pressure to limit or reduce Medicaid expenditures. Unless we make our voices heard, there may be serious consequences for ventilator users -- new restrictions that limit their access to community-based care and independent living arrangements. International Ventilator Users Network is urgently concerned about these developments, and seeks your support for a resolution developed by its Consumer Advisory Committee.

The Daily ARTA E-News bulletin reports that Carnival Cruise lines will provide assistance in relief efforts for hurricane Katrina. FEMA has contracted to dock the ships Ecstatsy and Sensation in Galveston and the Holiday in Mobile. USA Today reports that the goal is to use them to house up to 7,000 refugees (survivors).

The International Herald Tribune reports that the ships will be used mainly for the elderly, the disabled and those with medial needs. Limited information is available on cabin accessibility for refugees with mobility impairments.

Websites, Emails, Phone Numbers, And Other Updates about Hurricane Katrina Relief for People with Disabilities

More than 240,000 Americans, including 44,000 veterans, currently suffer from a spinal cord injury (SCI). Eleven thousand more sustain these injuries every year. The Department of Veterans Affairs promotes National Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Month as a means to educate the public, aid those living with SCI, and support medical research in the SCI field.

People with disabilities in the Gulf Coast areas of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana are experiencing tremendous loss of life and devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina. Current data indicates that people with disabilities are now most at risk in this situation—and will need recovery assistance for months or years. A disproportionate number of the Hurricane survivors are people with disabilities whose needs for basic necessities are compounded by chronic health conditions and functional impairments.