News & Updates | UCP of San Luis Obispo - Part 3

Shame On You, Governor Brown

The service delivery network supporting individuals with developmental disabilities is falling apart due to thirteen years without rate increases to the vendors contracted by the Department of Developmental Services. During the recession, the State of California reduced their payments by 4.5% for three years. The cost of providing services has increased dramatically over the past decade with higher wages, health insurance, workers’ compensation and general insurance. The Governor does not understand that the support services provided to people with developmental disabilities helps them become more independent and their support cost goes down for the State.

During the budget hearings last year, both Democrats and Republicans wanted to approve a 10% emergency rate increase to prevent more facilities from closing. The Democrats wanted to pay for the cost with a liquor tax and the Republicans wanted the reserves to be used for the rate increase. The Governor did not get involved in settling this dispute, so the system could be saved. Many facilities and nonprofit organizations have not been able to survive on the existing rates.

The situation has become much worse in the last six months. The public outcry has increased to include Democrats, Republicans, and labor unions. Now Jerry Brown has decided to use the issue as leverage to get Republicans to support a health care tax. He is not approving the amount that is needed to help the delivery system recover after over a decade of neglect. Governor, people with developmental disabilities work, live and vote in our community. It is time to stop exploiting them for your political gain and provide the funding for agencies to meet the high cost of providing services in California.

UCP of SLO County, Arts for Living and Swing for Joy invites you to a performance by Swing for Joy at D’Anbino’s Vineyards and Cellars, located at 710 Pine Street, Paso Robles, CA 93446 from 2:00pm to 4:30pm. Swing for Joy is suggesting a $5.00 donation for entrance to the event where they will perform a delightful array of 20’s style tunes, jazz standards, swing charts and contemporary music!

Proceeds from this event will go directly towards Steptember! What a great way to support adults and children with developmental disabilities in SLO County and across the globe! And what a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon – hanging out in wine country and listening to amazing music!

JOIN UCP of SLO County

for our Steptember Scavenger – “Stepavenger” Hunt
on Friday September 11th, 2015

Join us for our first affiliate wide competition for Steptember 2015! The winner of this Friday’s “Steptember Scavenger Hunt: Step-avenger Hunt” will receive a $100 Visa Gift Card. This event will also conveniently give you an opportunity to step up your step count for the day! Here is how you play.

During 10am – 6pm, visit each of the 5 pre-chosen locations that are hosting our scavenger hunt tickets. These locations will all be in downtown San Luis Obispo and are all within walking distance of one another.

Step-avenger Location 1: San Luis Obispo Downtown Chamber of Commerce – located at 895 Monterey Street.

Step-avenger Location 2: Open Air Flowers – located at 1055 Osos Street.

Step-avenger Location 3: Flip Flop Shop – located at 858 Higuera Street.

Step-avenger Location 4: Sports Forum – located at 701 Higuera Street.

Step-avenger Location 5: Batch – located at 1115 Broad Street.

Then at 6:00pm come down to Lotus Asia’s Best – located at 1131 Broad Street, San Luis Obispo. Those who have all 5 tickets will be eligible to win the drawing for the grand prize of a $100 Visa Gift Card. The drawing will be held promptly at 6:30 so please ensure that you arrive before the drawing to ensure your entry into the drawing. You must be present to win the grand prize!

If you have any questions, please contact us at contact@ucp-slo.org! Happy Stepping and see you on Friday!

Hi all,

Sad news! We have to cancel the Creeky Tiki mingling event tonight. Unfortunately, with other very awesome and important events taking place downtown, we weren’t able to secure the location that we wanted for our event. But friends, do not worry. All other events will go on as scheduled.

https://ucp-slo.org/fundraisers/steptember/fundraising-calendar/

– Jason P. from UCP of SLO County

Hey all you Steptember participants!  We have a few things we wanted to let you all know:

1) After Day #1 – UCP of SLO County – as a collective organization – is #1 in Steps and #2 in Funds Raised for Steptember.  What a start!

2) Entering your steps is a little different than last year.  To enter steps you first want to log in, then click on Log Steps.  If you are logging an activity, you then want to click on “Log an activity instead” which shows up only after you click on “Log Steps”.  Once you click on “Log an activity instead” you will see a large drop-down list that shows the list of activities, the amount of time the activity was performed and at what intensity the activity was performed.  If you don’t see your specific activity in the drop-down list, don’t sweat it.  Simply find another activity that is most similar to yours and substitute it.

3) The Leaderboard is a very good tool.  You’ll find it, along with the rest of your tools, in the drop-down menu that is on the left hand side of your Steptember page.  The menu is represented by three white, horizontal lines.  On a mobile device, you will only see the three white lines; to access the menu simply click here.  On a computer, you will see the three white lines in addition to text saying menu.  The tools under the menu will prove to be very useful in your journey through Steptember.

4) Come down to the Creeky Tiki tomorrow, Friday September 4th from 5:30pm to 7:30pm for a little Steptember mixer!  We will see you there!

– Jason P. from UCP

REPOST – Original Post on Apr 17, 2014

(Mark Shaffer, the Executive Director of UCP of SLO County will be doing an intermittent blog to talk about some of the history of UCP, his history with UCP and various other aspects of his last 25 years working with people with disabilities in SLO County. Come back here to find more blogs by various UCP employees, C.I.P. Tour summaries, Leisure Club happenings and more.)

The Importance of Voting and Sending a Message Your Politicians

United Cerebral Palsy hired the marketing company, Maslansky & Partners to perform a survey to determine the voting patterns and political views of the 56.7 million Americans with disabilities. They surveyed covered 1008 individuals with disabilities and careproviders. The results of the survey indicate that a high percentage of people with disabilities are registered to vote (69%). Their voter participation is extremely high at 72%, compared to 57.5% for the general public. 61% indicated that they would be voting in the upcoming midterm elections.

The survey also indicated that 84% would vote for the candidates that support services for people with disabilities. 87% reported they would not vote for a candidate who supported cuts in funding for services supporting people with disabilities. These individuals have made this support issue their primary issue that guides their voting behavior. The results also show that the party affiliation for people with disabilities is very close to the percentages for the general public. People with disabilities do not favor one political party when they vote, but follow the national trend.

The results from the survey send a clear message to politicians. Like senior voters, voter with disabilities are very active voters who focus on the candidates position on supporting people with disabilities. If the candidate is in a close election, they are going to want to receive the votes from people with disabilities. We now need to get this message to the politicians.

REPOST – Original Post on Feb 14, 2013

(Mark Shaffer, the Executive Director of UCP of SLO County will be doing an intermittent blog to talk about some of the history of UCP, his history with UCP and various other aspects of his last 25 years working with people with disabilities in SLO County. Come back here to find more blogs by various UCP employees, C.I.P. Tour summaries, Leisure Club happenings and more.)

The Roots of United Cerebral Palsy

The name of our organization, United Cerebral Palsy (UCP), is somewhat deceptive because we serve children and adults with all types of developmental disabilities. About 12% of the people we serve are diagnosed with cerebral palsy. We are part of a national organization began in New York City in 1940 as the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Strokes. Leonard and Isabelle Goldenson were parents of a child with cerebral palsy and they were placed on the Board of Directors. In 1945, they placed an ad in the New York Times seeking other parents with children with cerebral palsy. They received 350 responses and National Foundation for Cerebral Palsy was formed.

In 1948, 12,000 people attended the first Cerebral Palsy Conference. In 1949, the organization’s name was changed to United Cerebral Palsy and affiliates were formed across the United States. In 1955, Isabelle Goldenson convinces researchers to form a research team to look at prevention of cerebral palsy. In 1969, research funded by United Cerebral palsy isolates the virus for German Measles, which leads to a vaccine. In 1982, Tom Ritter hosted the first telethon for UCP.

United Cerebral Palsy has continued to advocate for full inclusion for people with disabilities. We currently have 98 affiliates in the United States, including 13 affiliates in California. UCP is now working to promote full participation for people with disabilities around the world. We are establishing partner organizations in Australia, Canada, Europe and Singapore. We look forward to establishing a “World without Limits”.

REPOST – Original Post on Aug 19, 2013

(Mark Shaffer, the Executive Director of UCP of SLO County will be doing an intermittent blog to talk about some of the history of UCP, his history with UCP and various other aspects of his last 25 years working with people with disabilities in SLO County. Come back here to find more blogs by various UCP employees, C.I.P. Tour summaries, Leisure Club happenings and more.)
I have been the Executive Director of United Cerebral Palsy of San Luis Obispo County for 25 years and a Special Education Adult Education Teacher for 7 years before establishing UCP in our county. People often ask me how I got involved in the field of supporting children and adults with developmental disabilities. They expect that I have a family member who has a disability. Let me share why I am so passionate about helping people with disabilities to participate in their community.

I grew up in Riverside, Connecticut and an adult with developmental disabilities lived in the house behind us. As a child, I did not understand why this adult was living with his parents and getting on a yellow school bus each day. This was forty years ago. It was a time when parents whose baby was diagnosed as “retarded” were told by their doctors to put the child in an institution and try to have another baby. State institutions were filled with children with disabilities who were isolated from the world.

About thirty years ago, parents and professionals realized that all people benefit from being part of their community. We began to see that our fear for the safety of adults with disabilities was a major barrier to their growth. We also realized that all children need to grow up in their families. This shift in our thinking led to moving people out of institutions and keeping babies in their families.

When I started as an Adult Education Teach for adults with developmental disabilities, my students rarely went out into their community, except to the doctor’s office or their day program. Over the past thirty years, I have watched these same people move into their own apartment and get jobs. Now that we have let go of protecting them, they are leading independent lives with minimal support. They are less dependent of governmental funding and very happy to be fully participating in their communities. They have begun to take control of changing their own lives.

I have been very fortunate to be a part of this movement to free people with developmental disabilities from their concerned families and professionals. We now let them do what we all do…learn by making mistakes. Our communities are learning that people with disabilities are people who just want to be a part of their community. Like all movements, we still have a long way to go. We need to hire more people with disabilities. We need to include more children with disabilities in regular classes. I believe we need to stop every once in a while and celebrate our progress…and then get back to work.

– Mark Shaffer

Executive Director – UCP of San Luis Obispo County

REPOST – Original Post on Nov 12, 2012

Aloha Everyone! It’s me Mandy. Back from Hawaii and a bit more tan and a little more relaxed then when I left. We had a wonderful week in Waikiki Beach.

Our trip started on October 28th. The Clients and I and four other staff, along with our amazing drive Joe, drove down to Los Angeles and stayed by the Airport. Everyone was so excited to be leaving in the morning. I am not too sure if it was the loud sound of the planes as they flew over or if it was because of the excitement that just kept building each time we heard one fly by that made it so hard to sleep that night.

Early the next morning, we caught a shuttle ride to the airport. We cleared through baggage check and security. We had a great lunch and then boarded our plane. As we sat down in our seats and waited for the plane to begin to taxi out, we all talked about the things we were hoping to get to do in Hawaii. We talked about places we hoped to visit and about swimming in the ocean. One of my group members were really hoping to go by Dog the Bounty Hunter’s store. So, the plane finally took off and we were on our way to Hawaii… It seemed to take forever to get there, five and a half hours and two movies, later; we FINALLY touched down in beautiful Honolulu, Hawaii.

We had a ride to the hotel thanks to VIP. Our group was stoked to finally be at our hotel and to begin our stay at the Waikiki Parc Hotel in wonderful Waikiki. The beach was literally less than a five minute walk from the front door of our hotel. The first day we were there we went down to the water. It was so warm. We then walked around for a little while and took a quick look into the shops and made some fun and flexible plans for the week.

Our first full day in Hawaii, we spent at the beach. We went swimming and we bought little rafts and relaxed for most of the day. That night we went out to dinner and talked about our day. It was such a beautiful day. Some of the clients went down for a walk at the beach that evening to enjoy the warm water and to watch the sun set. It was so amazing.

The next day we took our Aloha bus tour. This was on Halloween. It took us up through Waikiki and down past the beaches and the canal. We rode the bus all the way out to Pearl Harbor and back. It was a fun ride and we got to see some of the coast of Hawaii. We talked about and made plans to visit Pearl Harbor the next day. When we came back through we stopped at the WARD center. This is a shopping outlet mall and we had planned to stop here and have lunch and watch a movie with the clients. They really enjoyed lunch at The Spaghetti Factory. While we were there we even had the chance to see the lovely ladies of “The Red Hat Society” having lunch and all dressed up in costumes. It was really cool. After our lunch we walked over to the theater and enjoyed watching “Hotel Transylvania”. It was so funny and the guys really liked it. After it was over we did some more shopping and waited for our bus to take us back. We were all so tired by the time we arrived back at the hotel, that we decided that a quick easy dinner was best. ABC market here we come. It was delicious and a great end to a fantastic day.

The next day, we took the Aloha Bus tour again, only this time we had arranged to take every one out to the USS Arizona and the USS Missouri. We rode the bus all the way out to Pearl Harbor. It was really amazing. We walked around and looked at the torpedoes and the guns and the submarines. We were all amazed at how cool everything was. Then we heard the sirens. We were there on November 1st. One of our staff, Becky, who grew up on the island told us that the sirens we were hearing were routine for every first of the month. She said she could remember hearing them when she was younger and always looking to see what day it was to make sure she didn’t need to worry.

It was almost time for our tour of the USS Arizona to begin so we walked over to wait by the theater. Before going to the Arizona, there is a brief film you get to watch. This film tells you about Pearl Harbor. It explains what happened and who was there. It is truly sad when you hear about all the lives lost and all the people who were affected by it. This film explains why the Arizona has a memorial and why when you go there, it is so quiet. The Arizona Memorial is a grave site. It is a ship that was sunk during the attack on Pearl Harbor where more than 1100 servicemen lost their lives aboard the USS Arizona. They are buried there at sea. There is a wall in the memorial that has the names of the men lost that day listed for everyone to see. To this day they are still adding the names of the surviving crewmen as they pass away. It was really amazing for all of us to get the chance to get to go out there. The clients really thought it was a wonderful experience and they enjoyed getting to see the ship still there just under the water and hearing the story of why it is still there and why all those names are on that wall. As we were standing there on the USS Arizona memorial I pointed to the USS Missouri and told them that was where we were going next. It was easy to get them to line up and move along then.

We took a quick bus ride out to the USS Missouri. This battleship was so big. It was fantastic to see in person. I can’t even begin to tell you how awestruck I felt just standing under the cannons. We took a tour of the ship and walked all over it. Our group got to see where the documents were signed that ended WWII. We toured the topside and the inside and all the places in between. Even though we were there for quite some time we still were not able to see the whole ship. It would have taken at least two days to really see everything we had access to. As the day got later we were all feeling tired and ready to head back. We left the ship and caught our bus back to the hotel. We had a wonderful dinner and talked about our day and everything we had seen. We talked about our favorite parts of the day and what we wanted to do the next day.

The next day was the day we all took a long ride on The Bus. It was fun. We rode the bus all the way up the coast to Makaha Beach Park. When we got there we realized that there really was nowhere for us to have lunch as we had planned. So as we were changing to swim suites and getting cooled off from the showers a guy pulls up in his Cadillac. Attached to the back of his caddy, a HOT DOG STAND! It was amazing. He had brought with him the most amazing food. It was all home-cooked and delicious. We had some good choices of Hawaiian foods. He had chili and rice and polish sausages, red dogs with chili, and hamburgers. We were grateful for the delicious meal and were all set for the beach. We thanked him for the wonderful food and made our way down to the water. While we were there at the beach played in the water and collected some shells and some coral. We stayed for an hour or so and then had to head back on the bus. Almost everyone was so tired that they fell asleep on the bus ride back to the hotel. Our group decided to go to a burger place close by for dinner. As we sat an enjoyed our dinner and talked about our day, we could hear the fireworks going off down the street. As much as we would have liked to have seen the show I think we were all just grateful for the company and the time to rest up from our long day at the beach.

Saturday was a rest day. Most of us took this day to go to the pool and relax and do some swimming and sit in the sun. It was a nice calm day and everyone enjoyed the time to relax before we started to get ready for the trip home.

Sunday was our final day in Hawaii. This was a happy and a sad day for most of us. We took this day to get our shopping done and to pack up and get ready to go home. My client who had wanted to go by Dog’s store had waited all week. It was hard to get the time away. So finally on Sunday we were able to sneak away for an hour or so to take a ride up to the Bail Bonds place and see his store. We left Hilo Hattie’s, where everyone was going shopper crazy… and took a taxi up to Da Kine Bail Bonds. As we pulled up, we could see that the place was closed. We walked around the corner to the shop… There in the window was a sign. Open 10am to 4pm Monday thru Friday. The store was CLOSED! Christina was sad. But she understood. So she posed and took a picture in front of the store next to the big poster and accepted that it just wasn’t meant to happen. She really had hoped to go by the store and had hoped to get to see Dog while we were on the island. I had told her that it was a slim chance that he would even be there. She was okay and not even upset about it. She, her husband and I walked the mile or so back to Hilo Hattie’s and took the bus back to our hotel. I told her I was sorry and she let me know that it was okay that she appreciated me taking her to at least see the store.

That night we had plans to go out to watch the Hula Dancers at the Hula Mound. We walked up the street and sat down just as the sun was setting. It really was a beautiful end to a fantastic trip. As we sat there, I asked everyone what their favorite part of the Hawaii Trip was. Each one liked something different. Swimming, eating the food, the ocean, the music, the pretty ladies, the kind people of the island, and getting to see dog’s store. Some liked the shopping and all the places we got to go visit. We watched the sun set and watched the dancers tell stories of the island that had been passed down through their families. It truly was an amazing experience. After the show we walked up the street for dinner. It was wonderful. Everyone ate their full and then some. We all walked back talking about the trip laughing and having a great time. All of us were ready to go home. We packed and went to bed.

In the morning we were up early. There were last minute luggage checks and room checks and then a bus to the Airport. Remember when I told you that Christina wanted NOTHING more really then to visit Dog the Bounty hunter’s Store? Remember how he was not there and the store was closed? How about how AMAZING and understanding she was that we didn’t get to meet him? Guess who was on our plane? DOG! Yup that’s right! Dog the Bounty Hunter was aboard our flight back to California! Before boarding the plane he was kind enough to meet and take a picture with Christina. She was so excited and all smiles the rest of the trip. It was a wonderful way to end our visit to Hawaii. So glad she FINALLY got what she wanted all week. What a great surprise!!

The next few days were spent flying home and driving back up the coast of California. It was a nice drive and we really appreciate Joe for driving down to get us. Thanks so much to my staff for all that you did while we were in Hawaii. You know how much I appreciate all the help and everything you have done for UCP.

This trip was bitter sweet for a few of my staff. This was the last trip with UCP for Michael and Becky Beem. I want to take this opportunity to say that you two were an AMAZING help to me on this trip. I can honestly say that without you both, I would not have been able to do it. I appreciate you and thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the time and effort you put into helping me make this trip amazing for the clients. I will miss you both and I wish you the best in your new state. My hope for you both is that you have much as happiness in your future as you deserve. ♥