Breaking News: Shapiro Family Foundation Funds Wheelchair Reuse Pilot!
Graphic of a person traveling forward in a wheelchair. Last week the Carl and Ruth Shapiro Family Foundation announced it is providing The Boston Home with $25,000 to support better access to gently-used durable medical equipment (DME) in Greater Boston. The grant comes through the foundation’s Disability Inclusion Initiative and is good news for MassMATCH. The project will provide equipment to individuals of any age, including non-service connected veterans, whose quality of life and/or community integration is negatively impacted by the high cost of, or lack of access to, DME (a form of AT).
MassMATCH is partnering with The Boston Home and the Boston Center for Independent Living (BCIL) to help more individuals with disabilities obtain fast access to needed equipment. Manual and power wheelchairs (and other devices) that are no longer used by families or individuals are donated, sanitized, refurbished, and redistributed to individuals without the need for daunting approval processes and other bureaucratic hoops.
The Shapiro-funded pilot will bring together the reuse experience of The Boston Home’s B. Mobile reuse project with that of the BCIL and two additional reuse partners still to be identified. The goal of the pilot is to coordinate outreach and inventory among the existing programs so that individuals can be quickly matched with available appropriate equipment. MassMATCH will be providing inkind support including a Web portal for searching the new consolidated inventory.
The program will host two reuse forums over the course of the year to bring together service providers, organizations, users of wheeled mobility, and other potential partners to explore collaboration and strategies for sustaining the program as well as the possibility of future expansion to additional regions within Massachusetts.
Do you know of a reuse program in Greater Boston that would be interested in collaborating to reach more people?
Email info@massmatch.org.
A Shark Tank without the Sharks?
Peter McAlindon’s fast track for aspiring entrepreneurs (with disabilities)
Head shot of Peter McAlindonIf you’ve seen Shark Tank on ABC you know it’s an opportunity for aspiring entrepreneurs to gain an audience with billionaire business people, pitch their products, ask for investors, and potentially gain mentorship opportunities (or be completely exploited for their product ideas). The Sharks present themselves as one part nurturing and one part ruthless, lobbing advice and connections, cutting deals or squelching dreams. Small time business people are made and broken; products pitched go nowhere or show up in your local department or convenience store.
At the ATIA conference in January, MassMATCH Quarterly had the opportunity to attend “Entrepreneurship for Persons with Disabilities” presented by Peter McAlindon, Ph.D. McAlindon is not a ruthless Shark, but a community-minded assistive technology (AT) entrepreneur (of orbiTouch keyboard-fame) who is passionate about growing a business sector led by persons with disabilities. Like the Sharks he has a passion for mentoring and for mining his own connections, experiences, and business acumen to help those with strong business ideas succeed. Unlike the Sharks, he is targeting highly motivated individuals with disabilities only. He knows you are out there; he wants to find you; indeed, he’s getting ready to train you up!
Why entrepreneurs with disabilities?
McAlindon believes that the sea change needed to improve employment for persons with disabilities won’t happen until more businesses are created, developed, and led from within the disability community itself. Entrepreneurs–by their very nature–tend to help each other out; so he reasons, the more people with disabilities who succeed, the more will be available to lend a hand, grow the community, and ultimately impact the hiring and retention practices of a broader swath of corporate culture. While success as an entrepreneur is challenging for anyone, entrepreneurs with disabilities often face greater isolation and have access to fewer resources. McAlindon suspects there’s an untapped ocean of potential talent out there.
McAlindon is, himself, a serial entrepreneur, and founder of Blue Orb, Inc. He has a doctorate in Industrial Engineering with a focus on ergonomics, and teaches entrepreneurship at Rollins College Crummer Graduate School of Business. He supports and works with the Central Florida Disability Chamber: a first-in-the-nation Chamber of Commerce devoted to providing business mentorship and resources to individuals with disabilities as well as fostering youth entrepreneurship. Woven into every entrepreneur’s DNA, he asserts, is the urge to advise others, network, and connect. His latest project intends to exploit that gene trait for the greater good, while seeking to replicate it within a fast-track accessible ecosystem of his own creation.
McAlindon’s vision: accessible, step-by-step, one-to-one mentorship
Blue Orb, Inc. has a three-year grant from the National Science Foundation to create an accessible online program that matches entrepreneurs with mentors and generates curricula targeted to the needs of each mentee. The vision is for an online portal to reach mentees anywhere, but at the heart of the project are actual people–currently a network of 150+ mentors who range from serial entrepreneurs to legal and marketing experts. The mentors are gleaned from McAlindon’s own business network (think LinkedIn), and they are eager to help. McAlindon reports that beta testers are currently seeing a six-day turn around with their applications for mentorship.
Motivating McAlindon is his own experience creating the orbiTouch keyboard and his belief that the tools and connectivity of the digital age can shave years off the traditional entrepreneurial process. “What took me 20 years to accomplish can now be completed in just three,” he told the room at ATIA. Every entrepreneur, he notes, has a different experience and process based on many variables. Common to all, however, is the need to access the information and skill sets necessary to move business ideas forward (since no one person can know everything).
Mentees accepted into the program receive two kinds of mentors. The first is a “global mentor,” a single individual charged with guiding a mentee’s education, activities, and action steps from concept development to distribution and beyond. The second is step-specific, mentors who are assigned along the way based on individual mentee needs. Assistance with the patent process, for example, may be provided by a lawyer with this particular area of expertise.
Helpful to the mentors is the rigor of the program’s application process. The application mines product and marketing ideas for their potential and flaws, and quickly reveals how well applicants have thought through their ideas. Sample questions include:
Describe your business in 140 characters or less.
What’s new, interesting, or different about what your company will do?
Do you have a website or prototype? What is your website URL?
Explain how your company will make money.
Provide information and URLs on current or likely competitors.
Why should we work with you and your company?
Successful applicants are next provided with no-fail tests to help match their team building and learning styles, etc. to appropriate global mentors (who take the same tests). Applicants who are not ready to be mentored are provided feedback for how to further develop their ideas.
The rigor of the program is also reflected in the curriculum expectations McAlindon describes. Appropriate books and online courses are recommended tailored to the learning and business needs of each mentee. Participants may be referred to particular offerings at udemy and HubSpot, to the blogs of marketing gurus (Brad Feld, Seth Godin, Mark Suster, etc), and to entrepreneurial support organizations such as the Kauffman Foundation, Do-It, and TechStars. Evaluations by both mentee and mentor are completed for each program step to help gauge their level of commitment, accountability, and to further improve the system.
McAlindon stresses that program information will be available in many formats through the mobile device of the user’s choosing (Android and Apple platforms), and Skype is deployed for face-to-face connecting. Prior to initiating the application process, participants are queried about their AT preferences and referred for further AT exploration as needed.
McAlindon does not specify if his target audience is a business person with a disability or a person with a disability who’d like to get into business. And while his application seems to suggest the former, he is quick to assure that mentors are available to help any motivated individual with a disability complete an application and develop their concept. He also intends to market the project through the VA to veterans with disabilities, the network of Centers for Independent Living, and other disability services organizations (among other entities).
Are you passionate about a business idea? Interested in playing in Blue Orb’s shark-free tank? Blue Orb is looking for beta testers! Help Peter McAlindon retool from a serial to a social entrepreneur. Contact pete@blueorb.com.
Learn more:
Read this follow-up interview with Peter McAlindon
Download his ATIA slide presentation
Behind the Scenes at MassMATCH
Long-range efforts to improve accessibility are underway
MassMATCH programs provide access to assistive technology solutions for individuals with disabilities–computer access, low vision aides, assistive listening devices, software solutions and more! Loans to help finance equipment and/or services are available, also funding advice for obtaining AT, AT services, or durable medical equipment. Our AT Regional Centers are places to go to see some of the latest technology and to borrow what you’d like to try out for use at home, school, or work. Rarely, however, do we talk about the work that goes on behind the scenes to improve the experience of residents with disabilities and seniors and remove barriers in the community. Here’s a peek at more of what we’re up to:
Emergency Planning
Karen Langley, EOHHS director of Assistive Technology and Community Support Programs, has begun coordinating a multi-agency effort to create access to AT during emergencies, and to improve emergency responsiveness for individuals with disabilities in Massachusetts. Jeff Dougan of the Mass. Office on Disability (MOD), and a member of the MassMATCH Advisory Committee, has been traveling the state conducting presentations on emergency preparedness along with Katie Kemen, emergency planning coordinator at Mass. Department of Public Health. Langley will be bringing these efforts together with the Mass. Emergency Management Agency and representatives from the Mass. Commission for the Blind (MCB), the Mass. Rehabilitation Commission (MRC), and the Mass. Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (MCDHH).
Essential to their effectiveness will be hearing from the disability community in order to understand the challenges and create a planning agenda. Do you have experiences from the last storm (or any other) that this multi-agency group should know about? Issues with accessing shelters or shelter-preparedness? Communications breakdowns or AT-related obstacles to staying or getting safe? We need to know! Please email your insights to Karen.Langley@state.ma.us with “emergency planning” in the subject line.
MassTax2: Improving Accessibility at the Dept. of Revenue
MassMATCH Coordinator Kobena Bonney has also been meeting with representatives of state disability services agencies; he is part of a group helping to advise the Mass. Dept. of Revenue (DOR) as it works to create the next generation of its online tax collection and information system.
DOR is rebuilding its system from the ground up to ensure a better experience for both internal and external users and to meet Massachusetts’s Information Technology Division (ITD’s) accessibility standards. The multi-agency advisory board meets monthly with DOR’s Steve Geddis, and includes representatives from ITD, MOD, MRC, and MCDHH. “We’re working to ensure the new system will be accessible to all users,” Geddis reports. To do so, DOR is keeping accessibility in mind during all stages of the system’s development, rather than attempting to retrofit at the last minute. DOR’s process includes the use of independent testers in addition to vendor testing.
Bonney has been reviewing the work of the vendor, advising on which software issues to take action, and on the vendor’s 5 year accessibility plan. “He’s extremely helpful,” Geddis emphasizes, “he identifies and advises us on potential issues and he brings positive constructive energy to the advisory board.” The MassTax2 project is long and involves multiple roll-outs, the first anticipated this summer. Learn more about Web accessibility standards at this US Access Board Web page.
New Product Spotlight: the MouthStick Stylus from Griffin Technology
Man seated using mouthstick stylus with tablet computer supported by a stand.
Released just last month, the MouthStick Stylus from Griffin Technology looks promising for some individuals with disabilities who have not had access (or satisfying access) to touch-screen devices. So far, mouth-held styli have been few and far between (and largely homemade). This one boasts some important features:
Non-fatiguing comfortable mouthpiece designed for extended use.
Customizable shaft for achieving just the right angle.
Balanced for home-button as well as touch screen manipulation.
Affordable $29.99 price-tag.
Specs:
Total length: 12 inches (30.5 cm)
Width of stylus: 6 mm (a little under 1/4 inch)
Width of mouthpiece: 3 inches (7.6 cm)
Check it out at this Griffin Technology Web page.
Disclaimer: MassMATCH makes no endorsement, representation, or warranty expressed or implied for any product, device, or information set forth in this newsletter or on its Web site. MassMATCH, the Mass. Rehabilitation Commission, nor the US Dept of Education has not examined, reviewed, or tested any product or device referred to in this newsletter or at MassMATCH.org.
Get AT Stuff Highlights
GetATStuff logo: image of New England States with recycling arrows around them
GetATStuff–the New England “Craig’s List” for AT–currently has hundreds of items available for sale or free throughout the six New England states.
As of this writing, GetATStuff highlights include:
10 Vision-related items
including a Merlin high-quality desktop video magnifier in good condition for $100 OBO in Lexington, MA
3 Hearing-related items
Amplified Cordless Telephone for $45 OBO in Manchester, NH
22 Speech Communication-related items
including an electronic speech aid by Cooper-Rand for $350 OBO in Manchester, NH
12 Learning, Cognitive, Development related items
including a like-new 2011 DynaVox Maestro for $1,000 OBO in Newton, MA!
351 Mobility, Seating, and Positioning related items
including a heavy duty bariatric shower chair (Activeaid Model 720/26) for $250 OBO. in Greenfield, MA.
319 Daily Living related items
including a free Medline Guardian bathtub assist bar in Watertown, MA
75 Environmental Adaptation related items
including an Acorn Chair Lift in very good condition for $1,600 in Belchertown, MA
54 Transportation and Vehicle Modification related items
including a 2002 accessible van for $9,999 OBO in Burlington, MA
7 Computer related items
including a free fully adjustable computer station in Watertown, MA
13 Recreation, Sports, and Leisure related items
including a free exercise bike in Wayland, MA
Go to www.getatstuff.org to search items by category or geography or to list what you need. Go to the MassMATCH AT Swap and Shop web page to learn about additional AT reuse sites.