Disability

The Times on Sept. 23 included an excellent editorial, "At Last, Help for the Elderly," calling attention to demographic trends in the county. In the same edition, an article, "Getting Seniors Up and About" by David Reyes, included this quotation from Seniors Outreach Center spokeswoman Betsy Crimi: "You can have the best services in all the world, but if you can't get to them, they don't mean anything." Earlier in the article you wrote that "for years, programs have been insufficient or focused on those with disabilities, and have failed to keep up with the needs of the elderly, the fastest-growing segment of the county's population, officials said."

Cinema Messages As a disabled person, I am concerned about the perceptions carried away from "Born on the Fourth of July," which won Academy Awards for best director and best editing. As I left the theater after seeing this movie, I felt dirty and pathetic. I never realized how miserable I was. I am not a veteran. I have multiple sclerosis and am in a wheelchair. People often assume my life is more dismal than it really is. This movie reinforces that notion. By contrast, when I saw "My Left Foot" I felt I could do anything.

Longmore brings out that it is the emotional blows and distress caused by Elizabeth Bouvia's financial problems, her brother's death, loss of her marriage and child, and the discrimination in graduate school motivated her wish to die, not necessarily her disability. Anybody, disabled or not, suffering that many setbacks, might want to die. If Bouvia were an able-bodied person would the American Civil Liberties Union lawyers be as eager to help her in her wish to die? Would the 2nd District Court of Appeal be as quick to have the feeding tubes removed?

A man who threatened to blow up a Chevron refinery unless he was paid a disability settlement was sentenced Friday to nearly four years in prison. Ronald Denton, 39, of Torrance, was given a 46-month term by a federal judge for interfering with interstate commerce by extortion and threatening to use a weapon of mass destruction. He also was fined $10,000. Denton worked at the El Segundo refinery for 14 years.

I don't think the L.A. Board of Supervisors understands the severity of the effect of closing Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center on people with disabilities (Nov. 13). In many of the independent living centers across California, there are consumers of services who thank Rancho Los Amigos for their independent way of living. Without Rancho Los Amigos they might be in a nursing home, doubting their self-worth and letting their disability get the best of them. But because of Rancho, many people with disabilities are integrated into society as members of the community and the work force.

It's astounding that the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors would decimate the only full workfare program that exists ("County to Slash Relief Payments to $212 a Month," Feb. 14). For their meager check, general relief recipients must work for the county at minimum wage--mowing lawns, trimming hedges, cleaning bathrooms. Even if a general relief recipient cannot work for the county because of a disability, when the individual receives federal disability aid the county is reimbursed by the feds for every dollar expended on that recipient.

Thanks for the recent Calendar Weekend article on pools ("Going for Liquid Gold," Aug. 12). However, nowhere in the article or in the ratings did it mention accessibility features for those with physical disabilities. Who cares if the pool has clear water if readers who use a wheelchair can't even get in and out of it on their own? When grading or recommending facilities, accessibility should always be taken into account. According to the census, almost 20% of the Los Angeles County population has a disability.