Viability

Join us in Western Mass! Let’s get together and celebrate our accomplishments and shared experiences!
See you in Westfield soon!

Join Us for the First Western MA Caring Force Rally on September 17th! | Providers' Council We are thrilled to announce the inaugural Western MA Caring Force Rally, and we want you to be a part of this important event! On Tuesday, September 17th, we invite you, your staff, and the people you serve to join us at Scanlon Hall at Westfield State University from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM, with the p...

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Listen to anything on the go with the highest quality voices | ElevenLabs The ElevenLabs Reader App narrates articles, PDFs, ePubs, newsletters, or any other text content. Simply choose a voice from our expansive library, upload your content, and listen on the go.

We love the artistic expression of our members and program participants!

This going to be amazing!
Join us to celebrate in community!

RSVP for Western MA Caring Force Rally Event Address: Westfield State University, Scanlon Hall, Westfield, Massachusetts Date: Tuesday, September 17th Registration and networking begins at 9:00 a.m. Program starts at 10 a.m.

Franklin County YMCA is offering Adaptive Swim Lessons! Learn more at https://tinyurl.com/YMCAAdaptiveSwim

It's Dog Appreciation Day! Our DRS employees love their fur babies and we know you love yours too!

Share a picture of your service dog or family pup in the comment section below!

Proud of our artists!

Artist at Viability explores collage placing torn paper on canvas and adding acrylic brush strokes to compliment his color choices and shapes!
The final touches pressing clear acrylic layer perfecting the finished creation! Just magnificent!

When swimming in lakes, ponds, and other natural bodies of water, be aware of tree limbs, rocks or other obstacles and steep drop-offs that can take you by surprise. See more water safety tips: mass.gov/SwimSafe

Water Safety Water recreation is a great way to stay cool and have fun. Learn how you can beat the heat and stay safe.

The National Weather Service NWS Boston has issued a heat advisory for parts of Massachusetts until 7PM tomorrow, and residents should do what they can to stay cool and safe as temperatures rise 👇🏻

⏱️ Minimize time outdoors
💧 Drink plenty of water
🐶 Never leave kids or pets alone in the car
🏘️ Check in on neighbors
🚨 Call 911 in an emergency
❄️ Seek out air conditioned buildings like libraries and community centers

For more safety tips, visit mass.gov/mema/heat

Hot & humid weather continues today, with heat indices ranging from 95-100 away from the immediate coastline in MA, RI & CT. Therefore, the heat advisory continues today & has been extended into Sat. Also, scattered showers & thunderstorms this afternoon in CT & northern MA.

Do you own an Android (Google) device? There are many accessibility tools you can use

https://support.google.com/pixelphone/answer/6006564?hl=en-GB

🤩 these are amazing! Wouldn’t you agree? 🤩

Made by our Olympus Day Program.
For more information visit https://viability.org/programs-who-we-serve/day-programs/

Free Community College for eligible MA residents! Via Holyoke Community College

Haven't you heard!? Community College is now FREE for eligible Massachusetts residents!

Learn more here: https://www.hcc.edu/admission/masseducate

We need your help! It only takes a minute!

TIME SENSITIVE: We only have DAYS to act, so ACT NOW + SHARE!

Please use our action alert at the link below to ask the Governor to not veto any disability line items or language in the FY25 budget, including the restoration of PCA cuts and establishment of a PCA workgroup.

https://p2a.co/jHLFxrf

Thank you to all of you who took the time to call and email your legislators! This is big step forward and more work need to be done in order to provide a livable wage to community-based workers and ensure the delivery of quality services to the people we serve in our communities!

This is where it started and still lots to do to ensure full access and inclusion of individuals with disabilities to all aspects of society! We are here to help you to Via the U.S. Department of Labor

Celebrating 34 years of the Americans with Disabilities Act! Today we honor the ADA, which helped pave the way for greater accessibility and equity for people with disabilities in the workplace.

In honor of the anniversary of the ADA and Disability Pride, we are so proud to launch the new podcast, “Accessing Life,” where self-advocates will be talking about these issues and so much more. Produced by Michael Orzel, who is an OPWDD staff member who has a developmental disability, this podcast series features the voices of lived experience in the public conversation about disability. I am so excited to see New Yorkers with developmental disabilities use this platform to express themselves and discuss their daily challenges and successes while learning from each other and teaching the rest of us. Via


https://youtu.be/4vjJEXPPwrc?si=_r_d6VEYO9a8ggpQ

At Viability our mission is to build a world in which individuals with disabilities and other disadvantages realize acceptance, inclusion, and access. For more than five decades, our network of services are designed to promote access, equity, and inclusion for individuals with disabilities and other disadvantages, our programs connect individuals’ choices, strengths, and goals with options for employment, job training, skill-building, and community living. The result is a community of connection that is richer for all.

National Disability Employment Awareness Month, or NDEAM, we celebrate the value and talent workers with disabilities add to America’s workplaces and economy. NDEAM takes place annually each October, but its purpose is to confirm our commitment to ensuring disabled workers have access to good jobs, every month of every year. That’s the spirit behind this year’s official theme: “Access to Good Jobs for All.” Via the US Department of Labor.

Announcing the National Disability Employment Awareness Month 2024 Theme During National Disability Employment Awareness Month, or NDEAM, we celebrate the value and talent workers with disabilities add to America’s workplaces and ...

Do you own an iOS Apple Device? There many ways you can take advantage of the accessibility features this platform offers right out of the box!

https://www.apple.com/accessibility/

Feee Summer Meals For Kids in the 413! Via 413Cares

Summer Eats locations in Western MA Find locations where kids can eat for free during the summer in Western MA.

Thank you Senator Jo Comerford for all your work!

On Thursday, the Senate will debate a much-needed long-term care reform and oversight bill, S.2889 — An Act relative to long-term care and assisted living.

This is timely given the situation at Highview Nursing Home in our district. I’ve visited Highview twice in the last two weeks to walk through the facility and meet with staff and officials from Athena Health, which owns and operates Highview. And I’ve had several meetings with state officials, pressing them to hold Athena accountable. This bill will give the state more tools to do just that.

Similarly, the Attorney General just moved three facilities owned by BluePoint Healthcare into receivership, and I am working with DPH to closely monitor another BluePoint owned facility, Quabbin Valley Healthcare in Athol.

What is clear is that Massachusetts must strengthen its oversight of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities. We need more tools to protect and support residents in these facilities, to ensure they receive consistent high-quality care, and to ensure the organizations managing long-term care facilities are accountable for the care they provide to residents.

The proposed legislation:

*makes comprehensive reforms to protect residents by improving oversight and standards in Massachusetts for assisted living *residences (ALRs) and long-term care facilities;
ensures that aging residents have access to high-quality care, delivered by qualified staff;
*strengthens oversight and creates provisions to ensure that facilities do not sacrifice quality of care because of financial difficulties;
*protects LGBTQ+ residents; and,
mandates outbreak response planning at long-term care facilities.

Read more about the policy provisions included in this legislation here: https://senatorjocomerford.org/addressing-long-term-care/.

Building off of the provisions included in the base bill, I filed three amendments to address key issues impacting those using long-term care services that were brought to my attention by constituents:

Restrict MassHealth estate recovery
MassHealth, the state’s Medicaid program, demands repayment after death from the estates or families of low-income people who received Medicaid health care services after age 55. Over 90 percent of these repayments to MassHealth come from the forced sale of the family home.

My amendment restricts MassHealth’s estate recovery program to only federally required recoveries and exempts CommonHealth members and personal care attendant (PCA) services from recovery.

Expand access to community-based care for seniors and people with disabilities
Providing care to people in their homes and communities reduces strain on nursing homes and allows people to receive care where they are most comfortable. But current law makes seniors and people with disabilities ineligible for home care if their income goes just a penny above the income limit, a policy often called the “cliff effect.”

My amendment allows eligible people to receive MassHealth home and community-based care even if their income is over the program income limit, if they pay a premium equal to their income above the limit.

Spouses as caregivers
Current state policy penalizes seniors and people with disabilities who wish to employ their spouse as their caregiver.

My amendment reverses that policy and directs MassHealth to recognize and compensate spouses as caregivers if requested — just as other relatives are already permitted to serve as paid caregivers.

Did you know that Viability has a program for Deaf and Hard of Hearing individuals? The DHILS (Deaf and Hard of Hearing Independent Living Services) these services are available in Holyoke and near you communities and also in the Berkshire! To learn more visit
Viability.org/DHILS
Berkshire DHILS - Viability
Western Mass DHILS - Viability

Do you have hearing loss, are you deaf of hard of hearing?
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With real-time captioning technology makes phone calls easy and accessible for the deaf and hard of hearing community.
Download here for Apple iOS and Android devices

https://www.innocaption.com

Stay Cool 😎 during the heatwave. Contact your city or town hall for information about available cooling centers in your area.

During the heatwave, stay Cool 😎
Cooling center in Western Mass. Via Senator Jo Comerford

Warming & Cooling Centers Find cooling and warming centers across all Berkshire, Franklin, Hampden, and Hampshire Counties in Massachusetts.

Attention Chicopee, Stay cool during the heatwave! 😎

Attention Cooling center available at Center for Human Development. Stay cool during the heatwave 😎

Thank you to our friends at CHD for hosting cooling centers. See info below!