Crisis as Opportunity: Advocacy, Too, is Art
Regular readers will recognize the Chinese graphic CTD is using to mark our Crisis as Opportunity articles. The left part of the word means danger, the right side means opportunity, together the full word means crisis. Our point is that, within the economic downturn and state budget crisis, one can find opportunities to advocate for good, smart, cost-efficient public policies to benefit people with disabilities.
Art is our theme this month. Creativity is necessary not only to produce a piece of art but also to build connections. Relocation contractors support the relocation of persons with complex needs from nursing facilities to the community. This can involve major pieces like housing and attendant services to small practical necessities like towels for the bathroom and forks to eat with. Coordinating such diverse components to match an individual’s needs involves connections and hard work with the resulting thing of beauty: the independence of a human being. The State should make this piece of art more appealing by converting relocation services into a Medicaid expense, drawing federal match funds and increasing relocation contracts without any extra state revenue. While they’re at it, the Legislature should extend the population served to people relocating from State Supported Living Centers and private ICFs to the community.
The same art should be used for discharge planning from hospitals and rehab centers. The dominant route goes from the hospital or rehab center to a nursing facility, but why? As the national leader in relocating people from nursing facilities to the community, Texas has demonstrated the cost efficiency and empowerment in giving people the choice on where to receive services. The State should remove any barriers and promote discharge planning straight to the community.
Inclusive Live Theater in Texas
All around the state, Texans with disabilities are using theater to open up discussions about disability within our culture and to give actors and playwrights with disabilities a venue to pursue their craft. Dionysus Theater of Houston is the state’s only full-standing, inclusive theater. Founded in 1997, by Debra Nowinski, Dionysus Theater’s mission is to “change lives… one act at a time.” The company produces original and repertory plays in Houston and around the state, offers classes year round for youth, and performs for area schools. Dionysus’ most recent production, The Boys Next Door, a story of “four developmentally disabled men living in a communal residence under the watchful eye of a sincere but increasingly despairing, social worker” opened this weekend and will play through May 2nd. Captioning is available at all performances. Click here for performance schedule, ticket pricing, and upcoming productions.
Coming soon:
The 7th Annual Cinema Touching Disability Film Festival & Competition!
Texas’ preeminent disability film festival, Cinema Touching Disability, is back for its seventh year and is now accepting entries into its short film competition.
Deadline: August 31, 2010
The festival will showcase an array of disability-themed films, including feature length films, competition official selections and other shorts which illustrate how people with disabilities lead both ordinary and extraordinary lives.
Filmmakers of all ages are encouraged to participate. All Official Selections will be screened at our main event, and first prize in each division is $500! Entry is free, and films must include disability in some way. Short films will be selected in the Emerging Division for independent filmmakers and in the Scholastic Division for high school and middle school students. Visit the official website for details and instructions on how to enter.
The festival will be held October 15-16, 2010, at the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar, Austin, Texas. Mark your calendars now! In the mean time, join the festival facebook page and the festival twitter page for to-the-minute updates and news about disability films around the world, and check out our youtube page to view past films and previews!