Episode 72: Better Housing Solutions

You're listening to Demand and Disrupt, the podcast for information about accessibility, advocacy, and all things disability.

Welcome to Demand and Disrupt, a disability podcast. I am your host, Kimberly Parsley.

And I'm your co host, Sam Moore. Welcome to this Valentine's week edition of Demand and Disrupt. Now, as we record this, it is a Friday. In fact, Kimberly, I don't know if you've thought about this yet, but as we're doing this, it is actually a Friday the 13th.

I have thought about that.

I have.

I'm not. Okay. I was just about to say I'm not scared, but then I stopped myself and started to knock on wood. So maybe I'm a little scared.

Maybe you can't help but think about it a little bit. Even if you're not superstitious. You know, it could bring bad luck, but it could also bring really good luck. So I always try to, you know, I'm a glass half full kind of guy, so, you know, I always try to look at it like, you know, it could be the best luck ever on a. On a Friday the 13th. So if I have luck today, I'm hoping it's of that variety. But it's. It's Valentine's Week. Like you said, I'm still single and I don't mind it at this point, but, Kimberly, you've been happily married for how long now?

A long time. 20. Ah, you put me on the spot. 27 years. 20.

You didn't know you were going to have to do math today?

I didn't know I was going to have to do math. Long time. Long.

27 years.

Yes.

Yes. Yeah.

And so I would say you probably have. You and Michael probably have Valentine's Day plans ironed out at this point.

You know, I think we're just going to go out to dinner. I think that's all. I don't, you know.

Oh, cool.

Yeah, I think we're just.

Where are we going? We'll give him a free plug.

Well, we haven't. That. That's his gift is he gets to decide where we go.

Oh, that's his call.

Yes. He gets to. He has to buy me chocolates and he gets to decide where we go out to eat.

So as long as you get chocolates, as long as he takes you somewhere, he. He gets to decide where. Right?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Hey, that's. That's pretty fair, I suppose.

And I. I've heard it called Galentine's for girls and just pack. Valentine's Day. So. Yeah, so just, I, I think it's just A day we celebrate people. And I love it. I'm here for it.

Yeah, you can celebrate whether you're in a relationship or not. And come back in two weeks, folks. We will learn where Michael ended up taking Kimberly for. For Valentine's Day.

There you go. Yeah, it'll probably be Great American Donuts.

Well, you'll at least get your sweets there. I don't know, you know, if you're looking for protein, you know, I don't know what they have in the sandwich variety or anything like that.

But you know what? I will not complain about a trip to Great American Donuts.

So you will definitely reap the benefits. I will say one thing. Great American Donut Shop is the first donut shop that I've ever been to where I went in and I asked for a jelly filled donut and they asked me what kind of jelly I wanted inside.

Really? And what did you say?

Well, yeah, I usually get blueberry, but I think I've gone with a few others on occasion like sherry and things like that. But I think most people just, you know, give you blueberry and run with it because I don't usually get that option. But at Great American Donut Shop, or Gads as the locals call it.

We call it Gads.

You. You get your, you get your jelly filled options. So just be ready, folks. If you go to Gads and order jellyfilled donuts, you got to make that crucial decision.

And my. And might I recommend the lemon? There's like a lemon field and I don't know if it's lemon custard or lemon jelly. Anyway, it's delicious.

So whatever it is, it's lemony and it's good.

It is delicious. Yeah, yeah, exactly.

Have you ever been there at midnight, Kimberly, when they do the hot donuts?

Yeah, yeah, we've, we've been there. Yeah, we have. We have done that before.

Most of those are probably in your college days, I bet.

I don't know if it was open in college. I think it was definitely. It may have been a pregnancy situation.

Okay. We're in a sugar crisis.

Right, Right. It could have been that. Apparently it's a whole thing here in Bowling Green, people needing their sugar fix in the middle of the night. Because we also have Insomnia cookies here.

Oh, yeah, That's a shame. I know. They've got that.

Yeah, so. And they'll even doordash. So. Yeah.

So. So are, are, are they open at Insomnia Cookies at midnight as well?

Yeah, they, they're up until 1:00am oh, God, just don't ask how I know. Just don't ask.

I will. I'll leave that alone. As long as you know.

So I'm going out to dinner this weekend for Valentine's Day. Now I, I understand you did some, something special last weekend. I'm not super, super familiar with what that was. Can you enlighten me, Sam?

Well, Kimberly, you know, every year that, that second Sunday in February, they have a big game in the NFL and they call it the Super Bowl. Does that sound remotely familiar?

I mean, maybe a bit.

So anyway, I hosted a Super bowl party. Well, this year.

Did you?

It wasn't, it wasn't much of a party, but there were three or four of my, my guys that I had over and so we watched it. But anyway, the game started Sunday evening at 5:30, and of course it's a longer game with the extended halftime show and the longer commercial breaks and whatnot. So it, it ended about 9 o'. Clock. So anyway, what, what were you watching during that time frame, Kimberly?

Oh, you know what? I can tell you because the newest season of All Creatures Great and Small.

Oh, mom loves that show.

Oh, does she? It is wonderful. And I have, I, I have a subscription, thanks to our disruptor and Chief Carissa telling me about it through Amazon to PBS Masterpiece, and it comes out at 8 o' clock that evening, the newest episode. So. Yep, that's what I was watching.

That's what. Well, mom was watching that on our other TV in her bedroom at 8 o' clock on ket, because, you know, KET has it too.

Right, Right.

So she was watching it last Sunday night at 8 and before that, the first few hours of the super bowl, she was watching the Puppy bowl on Animal Planet.

Oh, cute.

You know, where all the little dogs run around.

Yeah.

And they have little, you know, fancy names for them based on current or former football players. So it's, you know, that is kind of entertaining too. I've, I've popped in on a few of those and in years past, but, but anyhow, along the super bowl lines, Kimberly, I listened to a segment on NPR in which Scott Thornhill was a guest. And if that name sounds familiar, he is the executive director of the acb, the American Council for the Blind. And he actually went to the super bowl in San Francisco along with several of his ACB cohorts. I'm assuming these were all bigwigs, you know, high up in the, in the ACB chain. But, but they all went, and they went number one to advise folks from the NFL about How to improve the game experience and the game following experience for the NFL. And number two, they went to test out a device called One Court. One Court. And it's, I think they call it a haptic device is what it is. And you can feel where the ball is, where it's going, where it's being handed off to on this one Court device. And the NPR lady described it as like a tabletop device, which is a shape like the football field that they're playing on. And I've, I've never used, obviously, one of these because it's still being tested out and I don't know that I will. I'm, you know, you give me a good radio call. As long as I know, you know, how many yards are being gained or who scores and what the score is and whatnot. I'm usually pretty happy. But they're testing out this device, Kimberly, where they can actually use their hands to track where the ball is in, in real time by feel. Isn't that kind of mind boggling?

It is.

That's very interesting. And it, it's really expensive. Right? I mean, it's, it's got to be.

If, whenever it comes, I think it's, you know what? I understand it's still in the testing phase at this point.

Okay.

Comes out. I'm sure when it comes out, I'm sure it'll be painfully expensive. Yes.

You know, it could be one of those things like, like you, you say, you know, you're fine without it. And a lot of blind people say they're fine without audio description on TV until they have it like.

Well, true. And then they realize how much they've been missing out on.

Yeah. So it might be something that you might really enjoy.

Yeah, I might, you know, at least give it a trial run at some point.

Yeah.

Yeah. You know, with the audio description thing too. A lot of times it depends on. Some movies have more audio, more natural audio than others, and some are more visual in nature, as you know and I know. But so, yeah, that audio description, it's more necessary, I guess, in some videos than others. I've used it some, especially with that website that you told me about, the audiovault.net audiovault.net Yep.

Super awesome.

I've done it. I've listened to a few videos via that avenue at this point. So thanks for. I knew there was some good reason that, that I tolerate you on every other weekly basis.

Thank you, Sam. I appreciate that. Yeah. Audio Vault. Audio Vault. AudioVault.net is just, it's Just like the audio track of a movie or TV show or things.

So even if you, for our sighted friends out there, if you can see, you're not seeing anything. If you, if you, you know, click on a movie on this audio vault site. But you can enjoy listening.

Right, Right.

Yeah.

The dialogue and the audio descriptions being provided.

And also American Council of the Blind also has the audio description project through them to try to get more, more, more, I don't know, more movies and more, more studios and things to, to audio describe. So, yeah, so lots a movie you.

You want to listen to that maybe you haven't been able to, to find an audio description for yet. That may be an avenue you want to explore.

There you go. But now this coming Sunday, All Creatures Great and Small has audio description.

So.

Oh, there you go. So for, you know, our, our blonde and visually impaired Pete that are into All Creatures Great and Small, you can join Kimberly in following that, right?

You could, you could, you and your mom could hang out and watch, watch the show.

Mom enjoys all the beautiful, you know, scenery and nature that they show. She's always talking about that.

I hear it's pretty. I hear it's pretty.

But anyhow, yeah, you, you folks can watch that with Kimberly and then compare notes afterwards.

Fine by me. Hey, I would love it. I absolutely would.

Yeah, that'd be fun. You and Kimberly can go back and forth via email. The. The address is demand and disrupt Gmail.com.

Look at you coming in there with the email address. I love it.

Really.

Remember, you know what, we got all excited about our discussion and I forgot to tell people who's coming up on the show.

Oh, yes, we got so carried away. But that is a very important piece.

We did and it's a great show. It is. The people from the Housing Futures Project, which is through Human Development Institute at University of Kentucky. And I am going to be talking to Christina Espinosa and also I get a two for one package. I'm going to be talking to Nancy Savage and she is head of the Catsnet Assistive Technology center up there in Lexington.

So, so we're getting two for the price of one this week.

Two for the price of one. Yep. We're going to be talking about housing, specifically housing for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. So it's a great, great project they do to help those people get into homes and, and, and do what they need to do. And housing is such a huge issue right now, isn't it?

It is. And there's, there's a definite scarcity out there. And we won't, you know, we won't dwell on that too much because it is mildly depressing if you, if you harp on it too much. But what's not depressing is the work these people are doing. You got to commend their efforts, Kimberly, and their, you know, their quest to get all these well deserved people, well deserved houses.

You know, you know what, you're right. And what I'd say to those people like Christina and Nancy who are doing this kind of work like, like people in independent living centers, when people call and say, hey, I'm about to lose my housing, what I'd say is, you know, it's a thankless job, it really is because it just seems like there are no good options. But you're doing the Lord's work and keep doing it because.

Yeah, you're doing it for a reason.

Yep. And to those people who are having trouble finding, keeping housing, please know there are people working on your behalf. We've not forgotten about you. Yeah.

Are people advocating for your calls?

Yes. Yes. So unfortunately, housing is all too common. But to switch gears to things that are rare, not really any more cheerful.

But rarer, if that's a word.

Yeah. Rare Disease day is coming up on February 28th.

Ah. Very last day of the month.

Yeah. And this I know because I do live with a rare disease. Von Hippel Lindau, as I've talked about before, is a rare disease. And the National Organization for Rare Diseases, I follow them and they do a lot of work in this arena, says there are some diseases that, I mean, you're talking a hundred people or fewer have this disease. So it's.

That is rare.

Yeah, yeah. It could be real. And you know, you don't have people advocating on your behalf for, for research dollars when it's that rare. True.

Because just not enough people know about it.

No, no, but that's what Nord National Organization for Rare Diseases does. Also. There'll be some speakers on February 26th. The Kentuckiana Connective Tissue foundation is having an event in Frankfurt on February 26th from 12:30 to 2:00pm Eastern Time in Frankfurt at.

See, I think 7:01. Right. 701 Capitol Avenue.

Everybody.

I know. I'm look, I'm looking at my.

She doesn't trust me six.

I don't because it's 706.

Oh, well, there's a good reason. You didn't trust me. I got the 70 part.

I don't trust myself either. That's why I took notes.

706 Capitol Avenue.

Yes.

In Frankfurt.

In Frankfurt. Yep. At the Kentucky State Capital Education center. They're going to have speakers, they're going to have a raffle. They're going to talk about some rare diseases and stuff. So, yeah, if y' all are around and that's interesting to you, you should go on out there, help support them. Check that out.

Yeah. My, my retina blastoma isn't nearly as.

As rare, but unfortunately that is not rare.

No, no, but, but you can find out more about those like, like Kimberly's that are, and you know, maybe find out about efforts that are going on to promote and maybe, you know, emphasize the need for research for those rare diseases that, that you may have in mind or be familiar with.

Yeah, because, you know, those, the, the tagline for the disease that I have, the organization that supports that is the VHL alliance is curing cancer through vhl, because the disease that I have, the kind of screwy gene, all cancer cells have the same screwy genetic thing. Not the whole body, but at least these cancer tumor cells, because it's just part of it. So you study these people like me and maybe it leads to something bigger that can help a lot more people, you know.

Yeah. And I commend the people doing this research because I know that there are people out there that sometimes, you know, question the effectiveness of, of cancer research. But it's one of those things that it just takes time and, and as technology grows and improves, this, this research becomes easier and we learn more and, and so we just have to be patient and be persistent. Bottom line.

Yeah. I mean, I'm, I, there's, there's a drug now for the disease I have. There's a drug. It's not a cure, it's a treatment.

But it's a treatment.

Yeah, but it's a treatment. It's a treatment. It's a non surgical treatment, which is very important.

That is key. Non surgical. And it wasn't around when you were first diagnosed, was it?

It wasn't around 10 years ago.

See, so these efforts are paying off.

Paying off. Absolutely they are.

So. Yes, indeed.

Indeed. So, Sam, we had a lot to talk about today.

We did. And it was definitely an insightful discussion. Come on back, folks. In a couple weeks we'll find out where Kimberly went to eat for Valentine's Day.

And because everybody's on the edge of their seat about that.

They are. They won't be able to sleep until they find out anyway. In the meantime, you're going to learn a great deal about, about the housing.

Futures Project Housing Futures Project with Christina Espinoza and Nancy Savage. Thanks, y'.

All.

Welcome to Demand and Disrupt, a disability podcast. I am here today with Christina Espinoza and Nancy Savage and they are from the Human Development Institute at the University of Kentucky. And they are here to tell me all about the Housing Futures Project, which is something I did not know about. So if I didn't know about it, then I assume my listeners don't know about it. And I want you to because it sounds amazing. Christina, welcome to Demand and Disrupt.

Thank you, Kimberly. Glad to be here with you today.

Tell me what the program is.

Yeah. So we at the Human Development Institute applied for funding through the Commonwealth Council on Developmental Disabilities, recognizing that a lack of affordable, accessible housing in Kentucky has been a really significant, really long standing barrier towards people meeting their independent living goals, people with disabilities in particular. So we have wanted for many, many years to be able to expand the ways that we are able to help address housing related issues and had the opportunity in this most recent fiscal year. So our project just launched July.

To.

Apply for the funding through the Commonwealth Council and were awarded funds for the project. So we're super excited to have launched in July and to be doing, doing this work.

So who is eligible to apply for services?

We are wide open to anyone with an intellectual or developmental disability. And so that's any Kentuckian of any age with any qualifying developmental or intellectual disability.

Okay. Are there income requirements?

Absolutely not. No. We are here to be as accessible as possible to anyone who needs it. So we don't require any documentation related to disability, any income limitations, or any other information related to, you know, individual characteristics outside of being informed that they have cognitive, intellectual or developmental disability.

Okay. And what was kind of the impetus to say there's a need for this program here in Kentucky? What was the impetus for that?

So I am the division director for Community Education at the Human Development Institute and I began working at HDI back in 2008. And so my areas of expertise have been built around universal design, accessibility and assistive technology. So I've worked on various projects throughout that time and have continued to learn more and more about folks who could use assistance with either, you know, home assessment, home modification, identifying the funding that might be available to them, and then also figuring out how to use it, finding contractors. I've been able to do this work with smaller pockets of people, but we just know, you know, through our access to the state, through the wide reach that the Human Development Institute has to Kentuckians across our state, that there have been a whole lot of people who haven't had access to these housing related resources. So yeah, so through that, through these last couple of decades, we've been looking for opportunities to be able to expand the people that we're able to help with housing related stuff. And this opportunity has been an amazing and exciting way to do that.

So housing right now, it is tough out there. It is. Tell me the challenges, the unique challenges that are faced by someone with an intellectual disability.

Right.

And so, you know, our focus is always going to be that person centered approach. Right. So we want for everyone to be able to maximize the ways that they can be independent. And so for people with intellectual disability, historically, that has often meant that they've had to live in congregate settings or as they are transitioning into adulthood, still live with maybe parents or grandparents or another family member. And so we want to also find the ways at that individual level that we can create the safety and security that someone might need, potentially. Maybe even the reminders for medications or the sequencing of particular events that might be helpful to maximize that independence. But the use of home, remote home monitoring and home automation can really address a lot of things that can take away a lot of those fears for safety, for security, and make it much more attainable for people with intellectual disability to be more independent in their residential settings and their choices for housing and in the ways they want to live their lives.

That's great. And how many people has the project served so far?

So we've served people in a lot of different ways. And so we've done some trainings with individuals already. We either there's a lot. So there's a lot of different ways that we're here to help. We can do phone consultations, you know, for people who might have a particular question about what devices might be available to meet a particular need. We are also excited to get to do in home assessments. And so those can be done, you know, for accessibility. So we can come in and do a home accessibility assessment with, you know, exact specifications for that individual in that environment, in those different spaces within that home. We're also able to come in and look at some different universal design recommendations that we might make. And we've done this both for homes that people are living in and for, you know, even looking at plans for new builds or for new builds of resident more residential home settings as well for groups in north Northern Kentucky. And so we've also been able to do some just for home automation as well. So we've helped people in a Lot of different. A lot of different categories there. And we have intentionally left this project as wide open as we possibly can so that we can be flexible in meeting the needs that someone has. So, for example, one family needs a ramp on their home, and they've been working for years on trying to, you know, work through the waiver process to access the funds that they have available there, and just kept hitting roadblocks, helping to walk through that process of finding the contractors that can submit the bids, submitting those bids through the case manager, and then getting that follow through with the contractor connecting those funds.

So I think this is a good opportunity to bring Nancy in. So, Nancy, when we're talking about accessibility, I assume that when we're talking about, like, devices and things and automation, that's where you come in. Is that right?

Correct.

So, yeah, tell me some of the things that you might do, some of the devices and things that you have there.

Okay. So I work at the HDI center for Assistive Technology Services center in Lexington. We are one of the five regional centers that are part of the Kentucky Assistive Technology Services Network. So for HDI cats, the equipment that we have here is available through two programs. One is our lending library. And this gives people the opportunity to try out a piece of equipment to see if it's even going to work for them. Because if it's not going to work for them, they'll know that without having to go and purchase it. Our lending library has a wide range of equipment that's available for loan, just like you would check out a library book. Typically we loan for 30 days, but if somebody needs a piece of equipment for longer, we can certainly accommodate that. We have items such as a ramp, a portable ramp that's in our lending library that will give somebody an opportunity to either have a ramp built at their house or if they are recovering from surgery and they need something such as a knee scooter, they can borrow the knee scooter until they can recover. The two programs are so, so great. We have the lending library program that allows you to try out a piece of equipment for 30 days or more, and that will let you know if it's even going to work for you. And that has a wide range of items, such as a door charm, a door chime that will ring if someone opens your door and alerts you to that. Another program we have, which is really a big part of, I think, of the Lexington location, is our carrot program.

Tell me about that.

The Carrot program is awesome. It stands for coordinating and assisting with the reuse of assistive technology. So carrot, we accept donations from people who no longer need a piece of equipment, such as a durable medical equipment, a wheelchair, a knee scooter, a rollator, walkers, canes, anything you can possibly think of, we take. And then once we take those in, we will clean them up, make sure they are safe to give away. We'll enter them into our inventory and then someone can come into our center and we will give them that item. We list those on our inventory site so you can kind of see what we have. And to qualify, there's no. You don't have to have any kind of qualifications to get a piece of equipment from us. You don't need to show us insurance, There are no income limitations, anything like that. So that's where we've given away quite a bit of equipment to people who need it.

Now, is that the refurbishment program you were talking about earlier? Yes, that's the carrot program. Awesome. So if people have something like, I know in the Bowling Green office we were always getting calls for ramps and shower chairs. So if someone has those and don't need them, they can contact you and say, hey, can I donate this? Right.

Yes. And actually now that you've mentioned that, shower chairs and transfer tub benches are probably our most requested items along with rollators. So yes, people, if they have something they would like to donate, we will certainly would love to take their donation.

And so tell people what a rollator is in case they don't know.

If you think about a walker, just a standard folding walker that you may see someone use. It's, it's, it's similar to that except for a rollator will have a seat on it that allows you to take a break if you need to and sit down on it. So assist you with walking, your mobility. But it also gives you a chance to take a, to rest and sit on your. Sit on a seat that's part of that piece of equipment.

Now are those the ones that have wheels on them? Yes, yes, they have wheels. And like a handbrake right there.

Correct. There are four wheels and then there's a handbrake that you can use as you're walking with the rollator. But then if you sit down, you can also push the brake down in a different direction and it locks the, the rollator in place so you're safe and you won't be moving when you're in the seating position.

I know so many people who never thought they needed a walker. But then they, they found out about these rollator and Need. I have used one. I have one. I've used it. I have bouts of intense vertigo, so I just need a little more contact with the ground, you know, And I have used it for that. Also, if I've felt a wave coming on, I could sit down. So it definitely helped me be more independent. And I think the one I got was through your program there because I needed it at the time. And so I tried it out, realized it was amazing, and then got one.

That's. That's amazing. That's awesome.

Yes. Yeah, a really, really great, great program there. So what counties does the HDI CAT center serve?

We serve pretty much, you know, all of Kentucky if necessary. A lot of our counties are close by to pay it. So you know people who live in Georgetown and Nicholasville. These are cities, not counties, but the surrounding counties of Lexington. But if you call from. From Louisville or anywhere in the state, because you need a piece of equipment that maybe a regional center in your area doesn't have, you, we will certainly give it to you if you're able to come pick it up. So there are no restrictions as far as counties. But of course, the most popular counties that we serve are going to be the ones around Lexington itself. Right.

And ramps everywhere.

Right.

Everybody needs a ramp. It's always right. Yep. Well, thank you for talking about that. I feel like we can't talk about that program enough because it is so, so very useful because these things are so expensive. Yeah. So you mentioned like an inventory. Is there a website for people that they can go to to find out what's available close to them?

Yes, we do have a website. It is the Catsnet. It's the overall website for all the cats networks. It's www.catsnet.app for all.com. so I'm going to spell that because it's.

Do that.

Yeah, have a mouthful. It is www.k a t s n e t dot at four as in the number four a l l dot com. So it reads www.catsnet.app for all dot com. So that's a big mouthful. But that is the. The main network for all of Kentucky. But then you can, of course, when you go on and search for a piece of equipment, you can filter it down to just one regional center if you want to.

Okay. And I will, of course, link to that in the show notes. So my next question, either one of you can answer this. What are the accessibility needs for someone who has an intellectual disability versus someone who has a physical disability?

So that is going to be completely individualized Right. So it might be that someone with an intellectual disability, you know, like we mentioned, needs reminders for medications, they might need help with sequencing of, you know, the events required for getting up in the morning and preparing to leave the house. And it's going to be a lot of items might actually, or considerations might actually carry between, you know, categories of disability just based on that individual's process or the way that they, that they get things done. I did want to touch a little bit more on some of the project processing goals, if that's okay.

Huh? Can you. Sorry, go ahead. No, go ahead. You can talk about that some more.

Okay.

Yeah.

So, you know, our overall goals for the project are to just work towards improving housing outcomes. Right. For people with intellectual and developmental disabilities across the lifespan. And so we to do that by helping to determine what their housing goals and what their housing needs are and helping find ways that we can meet that. Right. And so that, that's hopefully happening through how we're helping to eliminate some of the barriers that exist in independent living for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. We want to help think about how we can expand options both for families across Kentucky and for the individuals within those families. And we want to make sure that we're looking at a few key concepts, not just concepts, but realities. And those are intentionally defined as affordability, accessibility, and also usability. And so that's what our work is really centered around. And I know I mentioned that person centered, but what we're always going to be doing in this project is utilizing personal futures planning. And so that's where we're thinking about that individual and making sure that they themselves are the ones that are working on determining what their best options are. And that's, you know, across all life areas too.

Right.

So we have to look at things like their employment goals and their transportation plans in addition to their housing and community participation options there. And so, you know, in, in terms of affordability, what we're looking at is those financial resources. So what are those individualized resources out there that they have access to and that might be through a waiver they qualify for, that might be through a stable account. And so making sure that we're looking at the whole picture for that individual. And then that next piece we talked about a little bit is that accessibility assessment. Right. So that's looking at, and ideally having an in person consultation on how their home, their built environment allows them to get into those different spaces of their home that they need to, to live in it. Right. And then also, like I Mentioned looking at those options for transportation, making sure that within that community they have access to the critical services that they need to get to for health care and for banking and, you know, just for that independent living. And then the other piece we're looking at there can really is the usability.

Right.

And so this is where we also think more maybe about people with intellectual disabilities as well. But can that individual living within that home environment use the space as it's intended to be used? We're thinking about how someone's using their appliances. Are they able to access their microwave either physically or cognitively? Is the match there? Can we use our voice instead to say, set the microwave for 30 seconds or reheat my coffee, instead of needing to maybe either see or reach or touch the buttons on a microwave. And also looking at all of those other areas of environmental control of which there are hundreds, and those features that just kind of contribute to a good life within our homes.

Okay. And like, if someone needs some of the appliances, like the kitchen is so much trouble, isn't it? It's so much trouble.

Oh, my goodness.

Yeah. So if someone needs like the microwave you talked about, so would they come to you and you all might have or could find the proper device for them to use? Is that how that would work?

Right.

So unfortunately, we don't have the funding ourselves to be able to purchase the device. We could certainly help with matching what, what system someone has selected for their home with the device that would be an option for them and then helping to identify, you know, what the funding resources would be. Again, we go back to the CAHPS network. There's an amazing funding guide that they regularly update. I think they're on the 16th edition now called the Buck Starts Here. And they break down statewide and nationally, also locally and regionally. Different funding resources for people to be able to purchase this at related assistive technology, related equipment. So, yeah, we can help with that part of the process, but we're not the ones actually selling or purchasing the equipment.

Gotcha. And is there a link to that? What did you call it? The Buck Stops Here.

Where it's called the Buck Starts Here. Yes, starts here.

Wonderful. That was an important correction. Thank you.

So, yeah, that is available on the. On the main page of the CATS network website. And that is Kentucky Assistive Technology Services. So that is K A T S N E t dot org.

Okay. And again, I will link to that in the show notes again because these are all, you know, I did not know about this the Buck Starts Here program at All.

Oh, yeah, yeah.

So it's the.

It's a funding guide for assistive technology in Kentucky.

That's awesome. That would be awesome to find out about, wouldn't it? Because, you know, as we've talked about so many times on the show, people's needs change over time.

Absolutely.

What someone can do when they're 30 is maybe different by the time they're 45 or 50. And as those needs change, we need a place to go to. I feel like sometimes people asking for a friend, you know, kind of thing, people feel like, okay, well, I can no longer do this anymore, you know, because of an additional disability or whatever. But I think the better way to think about it is I have to do this differently now.

Exactly.

And that's so great. Yeah.

So, yeah, aging in place.

Right.

That's another really significant segment of our population, and people want to stay in their homes or have the option and the choice to choose where they're living. Right. And so, yeah, that's. These are very similar principles. And that's an additional population that might not qualify for this particular program with intellectual or developmental disabilities, but that's an additional population that could utilize the exact same principles and the exact same assessment results and the same home automation to identify those modifications to their environment, the ways that they can implement technology and environmental control. And the folks that we can help also with advocating for better housing solutions as they're aging and choosing to age in place. Absolutely.

That. What a great idea. What a great project. So I wonder if you could walk me through, let's say, someone you've helped recently, someone who's came, come through the program, and you consider this person a success story. So without like, saying their name or anything, can you kind of tell me what it looked like from start to finish with. With this. This person's sort of walk through the project?

I sure can. Let's see, who should I. Who should we go with here? There have been so many unique individuals, and that's really been a fun part of this project is getting to do so many different things and different parts of the process of independent living. But one that comes to mind is a woman here in Lexington. She lives independently and has some supports. She has a waiver that she's on and qualifies for some funding through the waiver. And she has, let's see, some paid support. I don't know how many days a week, but a few days a week in her home. And this woman has some vision loss and some, I believe, a brain injury, actually. So Some intellectual disability related to a brain injury. Young in life. And so we were able to have an initial conversation and talked about what some of her goals were. And then we were able to go in and do a home assessment. And so this just meant going into her home. She actually invited her waiver support person to be there, and her other support person was also there. And we scheduled a time for an in home assessment. We evaluated from the parking lot all the way through her home to evaluate any accessibility needs that we might be able to make some suggestions for. And also just walked through how she's using her spaces and where she's been coming up against any difficulty with either seeing or using things in her kitchen and in her living room, from thermostat control for her home all the way to making some suggestions around some motion sensor task lighting so that some spaces were more visually accessible to her than they had been. And she was able to identify and distinguish between different items within her closet. And so we were able to create a list of recommendations, probably about 13 different items. And they were just kinds of things that we could see with fresh eyes. Right. That she just hadn't thought of in a while or maybe didn't realize she was having or that there were other solutions to address. And so it's been a really exciting conversation back and forth. And, you know, we've been able to make those recommendations. She was able to select a top 10 and submit those through her waiver. So her waiver is helping to fund the purchase of those particular devices. And then I will be going back to help make sure we get the setup and the integration with her smart home technology, all working practice, using it some, and make sure it's the right solution for her. So it's been really fun to get to know her, to be able to come in and make some additional suggestions that'll make her independent living living a little bit easier and more successful.

Okay, so wonderful. When you talk about a waiver, tell me what you're talking about just for people who don't know, because.

Yeah, so there are different populations of folks that qualify in Kentucky for different waivers.

Right.

And so that might be the Michelle P. Waiver. There's a traumatic brain injury waiver. And so they receive services and different. Lots of funding that can help pay for different things. And so a couple of the things that are less utilized within those waiver funds are things like home modifications and the purchase of assistive technology. And many of them have, you know, a small pot of money that can be used sometimes on an annual basis for the purchase of assistive technology. Smaller, smaller pots of funding. And then several of them have at least a one time fund that is a larger amount of money, around $8,500 that can be used for home modifications.

Is there still a. Do you know what the waiting list situation is with those waivers right now?

Yeah, there are waiting lists for, I believe, every waiver.

Right.

So that was, you know, Michelle P. Waivers were a result of a lawsuit which opened up a lot of waiver spots. But. Right. I know there's supports for community living. There's the home and community based services waivers. All have waiting lists. But definitely encourage everyone to get on those waiting lists as soon as possible and hold out the hope to get one of those waiver spots.

Now, is this something that the Heart Supported Living grant also might be able to help with?

It certainly is, yes. That would be one of the other funding resources.

Right.

And those details are also in. The buck starts here.

Those are on. The buck starts here. So see, there you go. The questions I had, you've already answered. That's wonderful. Well, this just sounds amazing, Nancy. Have I missed anything in terms of the, let's see, the hardware part, part of the whole thing?

The different centers throughout Kentucky that are part of the CATS network, there's just so, there's. They're so wonderful and so many people don't know about the services that they have that I think we could talk all day just about, just about each center and what they have available. So I would recommend if somebody needs a piece of equipment to go in and, and visit a center, we love it when people come in and we can show them what we have because our inventory changes every day. We get donations that are, you know, sometimes you get the pretty standard donation of a wheelchair or walker, but then we get items that are like I've never even seen before. So the best. What I would recommend is give us a call and if you're not even sure what you need, tell us what you know, what's going on in your life. And then we have some great people that work here. We'll try to help you see something, as we said earlier in the. With a fresh set of eyes, maybe it would be a piece of equipment you never even thought about. So, yeah, we could, we could go, we could talk about this all day, I think, because there's just so many different pieces of assistive technology that are out there and available and we might have something that you didn't even know that could work for you.

So Tell me where is, where is the HDI CAT center, like, physically located?

We are located in Lexington, right off of Nicholasville Road. So we are centrally located in Lexington, which really helps to allow people to come in and visit us. We are at 2358 Nicholasville Road. We are in suite 180. And we always tell people, if you know where Trader Joe's is, we are right next to Trader Joe's. It seems to be a common place that people know about. But we're right off of Nicholasville Road, not too far from New Circle, so it makes it very easy to get kids to come visit us. We are also near a bus stop that also helps people get into our center. And we are just at a really great location.

And do you have a phone number?

We do. Our phone number is 859-218-7979.

You know, we forget I throw out websites a lot. But, you know, some people who are especially are new to disability, they may not have mastered, you know, computers and Internet and things yet. So I always think it's important to give a phone number. Well, I don't always, but I'm starting to remember to do that for people.

Yeah, we get quite a bit of cause every day.

People really.

So you are correct in that we, we communicate a lot by the phone.

Awesome. Awesome. And so tell me someone who's listened to this and they say, you know what, I think I could use those services. Christina or Nancy, tell me, what does someone do?

Christina, do you want to go or do you want me to.

Go ahead, Nan?

Well, if they need a piece of equipment from, from the CAT center, the best thing would be just to give us a call to start with. You can the number I just gave you and talk to us. We do have a. An email also, but. And that is hdicats.hdicats gmail.com. so there are quite a few ways you can communicate with us. You can give us a call, you can send us an email. You can start by looking at our. The website to see what we have for equipment. We will get back to you no matter how you reach out to us.

And what about the Housing Futures Program, Christina? How do people connect with that?

Yes, for Housing Futures also multiple ways to get in touch with us. But please feel free to send us an email. Our email address is Housing Futures KY EDU. Our office is also located with the HDI center for Assistive Technology Services, HDI CATS. So you can reach us by phone at 859-218-7979.

And I know you all respond to email because that's what I did. I got your email and, Christina, you reached out to me very quickly.

Oh, excellent. Glad to hear it.

Yes. And let's just give a shout out to the folks at ccdd. How awesome are they?

Oh, we're so grateful. Thank you so much to the Commonwealth Council on Developmental Disabilities. I think, you know, they recognize this as a really significant need in our state, and we're all working together here to help people be as independent as possible.

Yes, they are. And that's what the independent living movement and program nationwide is about. Isn't.

Sure is.

Yeah.

We used to be lucky enough to share our space here as well with the center for Independent Living. So we're quite familiar with our living, our independent living centers. So grateful for the work that they're doing as well. And always, always passing people back and forth to resources that'll help.

Absolutely. The goal statewide is to get people what they need to get them in their homes and let them stay in their homes. Right?

Absolutely.

Wonderful. Nancy and Christina, it has been wonderful talking with you. Everyone reach out to Housing Futures Project DI and they will get you set up with what you need. Thanks, guys.

Thank you very much.

Thank you, Kimberly.

Demand and Disrupt is a production of the Advocado Press with generous support from the center for Accessible Living, based in Louisville, Kentucky. Our executive producers are me, Kimberly Parsley, and Dave Mathis. Our sound engineer is Michael Parsley. Thanks to Chris Ankin for the use of his song Change. Don't forget to follow or subscribe so you never miss an episode and please consider leaving a review. You can find links to our email and social media in the show notes. Please reach out and let's keep the conversation going. Thanks, everyone.

You say you've seen a change in.

Me.

Just for once I think I would agree. We both know there's a difference We've had our curtain calling this time we're right Writings on the wall. This wall of words we can't defend. Two damaged hearts refuse to mend.

Judge.

This situation's pointless with each and every day it's not a game we need to play. We try to make things better Repair and rearrange things but each and every letter spelled out this for us to open up our minds and hearts to change. Roll the dice then what will be will be Disregard for good to set us free. There's just no way of knowing if love lives any more Turn out the light and close the door. We try to make things better Grimp prepare and rearrange things Mu teach. And every letter spelled out with me for us to open up our minds and change.