The event was hosted by “Over the Edge,” a Canada-based professional rappelling agency, and it was to raise money for Special Olympics Connecticut. This is the third year they’ve gone over the edge to build funds and awareness, and this is the second year in the City that Works.
via Reporter rappels building to benefit Special Olympics | New Haven Register.
Christopher Capozziello has spent decades capturing the life of his twin brother, Nick, who has cerebral palsy, in striking monochrome photographs. ‘For years I archived the pictures without ever looking at many of them,’ Christopher says. ‘About 10 years after the first pictures were made, and with a growing pile of photographs, I started to question why I continued to make these pictures.’ Here’s a selection of the finest images – which have been collected in a stills film, The Distance Between Us
For more on this story, visit: The Distance Between Us: photographing my brother’s disability – in pictures | Art and design | theguardian.com.
The New Haven Line’s brand-new West Haven train station will be officially open for business on Sunday, Aug. 18, Metro-North Railroad has announced.
Located between the New Haven and Milford stations, West Haven was designed, constructed and funded by the State of Connecticut. Metro-North partnered with the Connecticut Department of Transportation to build a “first-class facility” that includes two 1,100-foot platforms, which fit 12 train cars in length, the railroad said on its website.
For more on this story, visit: Metro-North’s New West Haven Station Opens On New Haven Line Sunday | The Port Chester Daily Voice.
This year’s observance of International Youth Day focuses on the issue of youth migration. Of the annual total of some 214 million international migrants, young people constitute more than 10 per cent, yet too little is known about their struggles and experiences.
The reasons young people migrate are many. Some are fleeing persecution, others are escaping economic hardship. Some are alone, others part of a family – with parents, siblings and even children of their own. Some have communities to go to, others must make new connections. In transit and at their final destinations, many young migrants face equal or greater struggles, including racism, xenophobia, discrimination and human rights violations. Young women, in particular, face the risk of sexual exploitation and abuse.
Poverty, crowded and unsanitary living conditions and the challenges of finding decent employment are regular features of the migrant experience. These challenges are exacerbated by the current global economic and financial crisis. Migrants are also often accused by communities and politicians of taking jobs from local people, exposing them to further risk of discrimination. In other cases, young people left behind by migrating parents face psychological and social challenges and greater vulnerability.
It is important to emphasize the positive contribution young migrants make to societies of origin, transit and destination – economically and by enriching the social and cultural fabric. Most work hard to earn a living and improve their circumstances.
The remittances they send to support families in their home countries are a major contributor to economies worldwide. When they return home, young migrants often enhance development by applying skills and ideas acquired abroad. And, in many cases, women are empowered through migration as they gain financial and social independence.
In October, the United Nations General Assembly will host the second High-Level Dialogue on International Migration and Development. I urge Member States to consider youth migration. Working with and for young people is one of my top priorities. On this International Youth Day, I encourage Member States, youth-led organizations and other stakeholders to act to promote the rights of all young migrants and maximize the development potential of youth migration.
Ban Ki-moon
A group of Connecticut veterans Thursday spoke of how their lives were knocked off course while they waited for the U.S. Veterans Affairs Department to process their disability claims.
At a Hartford roundtable discussion organized by U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., vets related experiences such as seeing their homes foreclosed upon while their cases languished in a disability claim backlog at the VA.
As heating season approaches, Norwalk Economic Opportunity Now Inc. is accepting applications for financial assistance on fuel and energy bills under the Connecticut Energy Assistance Program.
The program is available to income-eligible residents in Norwalk, New Canaan, Wilton, Westport, Weston, Darien, Stamford and Greenwich.
via NEON Is Accepting Energy Assistance Applications From New Canaan | The New Canaan Daily Voice.
When Jeffrey J. Vanderploeg goes to national conferences and talks about the mental health services available to children and adolescents in Connecticut, his counterparts from across the country let him know how the state compares.
“We’re sort of the envy of most other states because we have so many intensive, in-home, evidence-based practices,” said Vanderploeg, associate director of the Connecticut Center for Effective Practice at the Child Health and Development Institute of Connecticut.
Even so, the vast majority of Connecticut youth with mental health problems don’t get the help they need, according to Vanderploeg and his colleagues in a report released Monday by the Child Health and Development Institute.
via Report: Strong children’s mental health services, but limited access | The CT Mirror.
Though I feel like my dog is the one saving my life, I know doctors are the real reason why I’m still here, why my heart continued beating, and my lungs continued breathing while my body was self-destructing. But doctors around the world are slowly realizing and respecting the incredible healing power of pets. Dr. Finkelstein agrees, stating, “Dogs can’t remove our appendix. But, their love, devotion, endless kindness can provide great relief when we need it.” I’ve come across doctors who regularly prescribe pet therapy to their patients, and doctors who bring their own dogs with them to patients’ appointments. I just spoke to another stroke survivor who attributes all of her strength to her beloved cats. There is definitely some truth to the magic of pets.
For more on this story, visit: Can Dogs Help Some Patients More Than Docs? | Harshada Rajani.
A Connecticut advocacy group for the hearing-impaired has filed a lawsuit against a move theater chain for failing to provide accommodation for deaf and hard of hearing movie patrons.
The suit was filed this week in U.S. District Court in Connecticut against Bow Tie Cinemas, which operates a dozen theater complexes in Connecticut and also has cinemas in six other states. The plantiff is the Connecticut Association of the Deaf, which is being represented on a pro bono basis by attorneys at McCarter & English. The Connecticut Office of Protection and Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities and the National Association of the Deaf are alson involved.
For more on this story, visit: Advocacy Group For Deaf Files Suit Against Theater Chain.
A partially paralyzed man is suing Delta Airlines, claiming he was forced to crawl on and off his flights and across the tarmac because he wasn’t provided with the equipment he needed to board and exit the plane, according to a complaint.
D. Baraka Kanaan, 40, of Haiku, Hawaii, filed the suit in U.S. District Court in Hawaii against Delta Airlines and 20 of the carrier’s employees and agents. The suit, filed on July 23, seeks damages after he endured “intense physical and extreme emotional suffering” from the ordeal.
In the suit, Kanaan said the airline subjected him to “appallingly outrageous treatment” both on his flight to Nantucket, Mass., on July 27, 2012 and on his flight back to Maui, Hawaii, two days later.
For more on this story, visit: Disabled Man Claims Delta Forced Him to Crawl – Yahoo!.
