[HPN] Re: Help these disabled persons to be moreindependant

[Thomas Cagle]

Hi Sonny,
First let me say thank you. You did all that I hoped you could from where
we both sit.

Next let me agree that it IS possible for one disabled person to abuse
another. This is why PCA prorgams that work have supervision and
safeguards. Without that oversight no PCA program can work. I will
mention as an aside that depression is a common consequence of disability
so it is not always the PCA (helper) who is abusive.

My gut feeling from long observation of successful PCA's is that telling
which ones will work out in advance, and with which disabled person is
not forecast-able by me or any other supervisor I have seen. There simply
has to be a trial period that is closely supervised. To assist people to
learn how to, Hmmm let me be blunt, be good servants and good directors.
Just about no one in america has had this kind of assistant-director
relationship for most of the last century. So there is a large learning
curve that needs to be worked through.

No I don't want people with mobility disabilities to be injured. It will
take flexibility by all parties to find the right person for such
supports to work. I refuse to rule out any physicaly ablebodied person
solely due to the fact that they were homeless. 

Thank you Sonny

Tom C
On Wed, 2 Feb 2000 08:46:40 -0500 "I CAN!" <icanamerica@email.msn.com>
writes:
>Dear Thomas and others on HPN:
>
>We passed the names and request on to others in the Leesburg area in our
>Louisiana Homeless Coalition and asked for help in that area.  We also
sent the
>request to state funded agencies as PCA here is a State funded service
for those
>with needs.  The providers have also developed part time and full time
private
>pay PCA and volunteer PCA staffs which may be able to help.  We received
a
>couple of notes, including a thank you from the family, but have no idea
what
>has happened if anything.
>
>As many of you know, the cross service from one population of "special
needs"
>folks to another is NOT encouraged in most states as the providers and
the
>families may be placed at some measure of risk.

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