A half-hour radio show providing critical coverage of disability issues and bringing the insight of the grassroots disability movement to the general public. The show alternates weekly and airs on Odd weeks Friday 2:30pm.

KPFA - Pushing Limits

Pushing Limits – October 8, 2021

Pushing Limits – September 24, 2021

[caption id="attachment_365795" align="alignleft" width="336"] Meganwind Eoyang[/caption] Today, we talk about depression – the feelings - the way it appears during a pandemic - the way people don’t cope - and the way they do cope. Meganwind Eoyang, former street fighter and non-violent communication trainer, [1] joins Shelley Berman to discuss prisons of the mind and prisons of concrete and stone. ---------------- Today is World Suicide Prevention Day [2] Resources: If you live in the US and are having suicidal thoughts, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline [3] at 800-273-8255 (800-273-TALK) for free and confidential support [4]. It's open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For crisis support in Spanish, call 888-628-9454. TrevorLifeline [5], a suicide prevention counseling service for the LGBTQ community [6], can be reached at 866-488-7386. Befrienders Worldwide [7] connects users to the nearest emotional support center [8] for the part of the world they live in. Crisis Text Line [9], is an international service that provides a live, trained crisis counselor via a simple text for help. The first few responses will be automated until they get a counselor on the line -- which typically takes less than five minutes. If you are in the US or Canada, text 741741. If you are in the UK, text 85258 and those in Ireland can text 50808. The National Health Service also lists a variety of resources on its website [10]. ----------------- This program was produced and hosted by Shelley Berman with assistance from Adrienne Lauby, Rod Akil and Doyle Saylor. Meganwind Eoyang is a Collaborative Trainer with the Safer Communities Project of Bay Area Non-Violent Communications.  She grew up involved in street fighting on Chicago’s South Side, studied and taught martial arts and went on to learn full force fighting. Though these activities brought a sense of physical safety, they offered no way of connecting with others. For her, Nonviolent Communication delivered effective ways to connect, and a new way of looking at the world. She is delighted to share NVC principles and tools to spread empowerment and choice. Ms Eoyang offers training in Nonviolent Communication (since 2002) for the public, colleges and organizations; individual NVC coaching and couples support sessions; mediation; and as a founding member of the Safer Communities Project, which she managed for 14 years. She teaches weekly NVC classes for people incarcerated in San Quentin State Prison, in county jails, and for returning citizens and their families You can reach her at meganwind@baynvc.org https://baynvc.org/trainers/meganwind-eoyang-5/ [11] [caption id="attachment_365797" align="alignright" width="548"] Map of Uni-Polar Depression. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Unipolar_depressive_disorders_world_map_-_DALY_-_WHO2004.svgThe unipolar designation indicates that the depression does not alter between the two mood states.[/caption] [1] https://baynvc.org/trainers/meganwind-eoyang-5/ [2] https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/10/health/world-suicide-prevention-day-2021-wellness/index.html [3] https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/ [4] https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/talk-to-someone-now/ [5] https://www.thetrevorproject.org/get-help-now/ [6] https://www.thetrevorproject.org/get-help-now/ [7] https://help.befrienders.org/ [8] https://www.befrienders.org/file/newsletter-jun-2020-2-copy-pdf [9] https://www.crisistextline.org/text-us/ [10] https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/feelings-symptoms-behaviours/behaviours/help-for-suicidal-thoughts/ [11] https://baynvc.org/trainers/meganwind-eoyang-5/

Depression – Pushing Limits – September 10, 2021

[caption id="attachment_364917" align="alignleft" width="505"] Linda Landers (left), a FEMA Disability Integrations Specialist, talks with John Russo (right) through a sign language interpreter after a meeting with local groups in Bastrop, TX in 2011. FEMA was working to provide wildfire assistance. Photo by Patsy Lynch/FEMA[/caption] This program is about disasters and power shut offs.  And, it’s about NEW OPTIONS to help you -- options that came about after an uproar from of the disability community. We talk with Sydney Pickern about who is responsible for the safety of people with disabilities during disaster events.  And, what you can do personally to prepare yourself and help other people with disabilities survive.  Dixie, Monument, Caldor, McFarland, French, Black Butte, Devils Knob Complex, Green Ridge, Jack, Rough Patch Complex, Cedar Creek, Cub Creek, Schneider Springs, Summit Trail & Walker Creek.  These are the names of the major fires burning along the West Coast today. As you read this, 18 thousand Californians are evacuated [1] from their homes, including many with disabilities. Many more are packed and ready to flee.  Other disabled people, including homeless people, have no choice but to live and breathe the smoke from those fires. If you don’t live near a fire today, you could find one burning near you tomorrow.  There’s no escaping the effects of the climate crisis.  So, let’s figure out what to do to protect ourselves. [caption id="attachment_364916" align="alignright" width="379"] Sydney Pickern[/caption] Our guest, Sydney Pickern, has been in the heart of this year’s fire season.  She’s the manager for the Disability Disaster Access & Resources Program [2] (D-DAR) at the California Federation of Independent Living Centers [3] (CFLIC). Her background includes legal work to increase access to local emergency planning and response programs; as well as legislative and regulatory advocacy at the California Public Utilities Commission.  She lives with a significant physical disability and her passion is disability rights, especially at the intersection of race and climate emergencies. Take Action Fill out the 2021 Disaster & Emergency Readiness Survey   [4] Has your Local Independent Living Center [5] offered an Emergency Preparedness session?  If not, call them to ask for one. Fill out the D-DAR Power Safety Shutoff Resources Application [6] Consider Joining Twice a Month Strategy & Planning Calls of the California Disaster Coalition [7], Contact CFLIC for details Check out the Disability Disaster Access & Resources Directory [8] Contact your local Utility (P.G. & E in Northern California) for low income [9] and medical [10] support options   Produced and Hosted by Adrienne Lauby with assistance from Shelley Berman. More about Sydney Pickern Sydney Pickern joined CFILC in June 2021 as the Disability Disaster Manager for the Disability Disaster Access and Resources (DDAR) program. She previously worked as an Equal Justice Works fellow and staff attorney with Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF) to improve access to accessible housing, address barriers to homelessness assistance programs, and increase access to local emergency planning and response programs. Sydney also has experience related to the California Public Utilities Commission planned power outage regulatory proceeding and has been involved in legislative efforts in this area. She is also a member of the CalOES Access and Functional Needs Advisory Committee and is extremely passionate about disability rights especially at the intersection of race and climate emergencies. Sydney also has a significant physical disability, her pronouns are she/they, and she identifies as a queer person. In her off time, she can be found in swimming pools, coffee-related situations, playing with her poodle Merv and working on her chess game. Some of Sydney's favorite movies and tv series are the Science of Sleep, the Darjeeling Limited, Succession, and High Fidelity. She also has a degree in Creative Writing and hopes to rekindle her love of literature soon. [1] https://account.sacbee.com/paywall/registration?resume=253286498 [2] https://disabilitydisasteraccess.org/ [3] https://cfilc.org/ [4] https://disabilitydisasteraccess.org/ [5] https://disabilitydisasteraccess.org/get-services/ [6] https://disabilitydisasteraccess.org/power-safety-shutoff-resources-application/ [7] https://disabilitydisasteraccess.org/about-us/ [8] http://Disability Disaster Access & Resources Directory [9] https://www.pge.com/en_US/residential/save-energy-money/help-paying-your-bill/longer-term-assistance/care/care.page?WT.mc_id=Vanity_carefera [10] https://www.pge.com/en_US/residential/save-energy-money/help-paying-your-bill/longer-term-assistance/medical-condition-related/medical-baseline-allowance/medical-baseline-allowance.page

Emergencies and Disabilities – Pushing Limits – August 27, 2021

Pushing Limits – August 13, 2021

Jonathan Mooney tried to fit into the box of normalcy.  It cost him his education, his sense of self, his friendships and nearly his life.  In his opinion, "Normal Sucks." Jonathan lives with dyslexia and ADHD, and he's dedicated his life to connections with other people who have been treated as not normal.  His latest book, Normal Sucks: How to Live, Learn, and Thrive Outside the Lines [1], explains the shame and waste in the assumption that normalcy is a goal to strive for. "I want you to know, if those judges of normality wound you, like they have me and so many others, how to stitch yourself up and fight for a world that is not governed by those judges." Jonathan Mooney [2] in conversation with Josh Elwood and Adrienne Lauby. With technical support from Rod Akil, Denny Daughters, Sheela Gunn-Cushman and Lucretia Burton. --------------------------------------------------------- I’m a dyslexic writer, speaker, and do-gooder who did not lean to read until 12 years old. I faced a number of low expectations growing up—was told I would flip burgers, be a high school dropped out and end up in jail. Needless to say there hopeful prophecies didn’t come to pass. Opposed to being a high school drop out I became a college graduate from Brown university with an honors degree in English lit; instead of flipping burgers I ended up writing books, the first of which I wrote at the end of the 23 as an undergrad; And instead of becoming an inmate I become an advocate creating organizations and initiatives that help people who get the short end of the stick. I’ve won many awards for all of this —The Harry S. Truman fellowship for public services, Finalist for a Roads Scholarship, LA Achievement award from The Lab school of Washington where I shared the stage with Vice President Joe Biden—and been featured in/on HBO, NPR, The New York Times, NBC, Fast company, and many other media outlets. But what I’m most proud of is not that I proved some people how doubted me wrong—but that I proved the many people—my mom, a teacher named Mr. R, my wife Rebecca—right, not just about my potential but about the potential for all of us who live and learn differently. [1] https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250203212 [2] https://www.jonathanmooney.com/

Fighting Normalcy: Interview w/Jonathan Mooney – Pushing Limits – July 30, 2021

In 2005, Cal Montgomery burst into the disability movement as an intellectual who both made sense and was fun to read.  His three-part series on medicalization [1] in the disability magazine, Ragged Edge, took book reviews to a entirely new level. [caption id="attachment_362403" align="alignright" width="273"] Courtesy: https://pixabay.com/sv/vectors/psykisk-h%c3%a4lsa-flicka-kvinna-arg-3371876/[/caption] Now, after years of writing, entertaining and educating us, Cal Montgomery comes to Pushing Limits.  He'll be in conversation with Corbett Joan O'Toole to discuss some of the people whom the movement has most struggled to include. They'll and ask the question, "What does disability rights look like for those with the highest support needs, anyway?" Here's a taste of Cal's Montgomery's writing: "I've watched people -- mostly people who consider themselves to be supporters of disability rights -- react to me as my ability to control my body deteriorated again and I slowly slipped across whatever lines they were using to mark the boundary between "high-functioning" and "low-functioning." A lot of them can't handle it.  If they're very polite they make some kind of excuse, but either way most of them are no longer in my life." ("Defining Autistic Lives: A review of 'Autism is a World,'" [2]Cal Montgomery, Ragged Edge [3].) "...while services for physically disabled people were to a significant extent organized around actual needs that people wanted met and so transition from large institutional settings to the community could be accompanied by significant gains in self-determination, services for people with I/DD tended to center on containment, control, and cost-effectiveness."  ("Wolfensberger at the Door," [4] Cal's Blog) Cal Montgomery is a white, educated, trans, queer, autistic, physically disabled activist and survivor of long term institutionalization -- and is someone often considered outside the reach of disability rights.  He is active on twitter @Cal__Montgomery [caption id="attachment_362404" align="alignleft" width="307"] Courtesy of Ian Ruotsala. depts.washington.edu/uwautism/research/index.html[/caption] Corbett Joan OToole is a white queer disabled elder in that movement that has excluded Cal and others. Mollie McLeod produced and hosts this program.Cal's older writing is available at Raggededgemagazine.com [5] Corbett Joan O'Toole's book, "Fading Scars: My Queer Disability History", 2nd Edition is available at Amazon [6] [1] http://www.raggededgemagazine.com/reviews/ckmontrubin0605.html [2] http://www.raggededgemagazine.com/reviews/ckmontrubin0605.html [3] http://raggededgemagazine.com/ [4] https://montgomerycal.wordpress.com/2021/02/27/wolfensberger-at-the-door/ [5] http://Raggededgemagazine.com [6] https://amzn.to/3xLpK7R

High Support Needs? An Interview with Cal Montgomery – Pushing Limits – July 16, 2021

Today's Program:  Disrupting Ableism with Artful Activism Featuring Lateef McLeod and D.J. Saravese Lateef McLeod [1] is a poet, blogger, activist, and PhD candidate in the Anthropology and Social Change Doctoral program at California Institute for Integral Studies. His poetry, activism, and scholarship are all informed by his experience living in the Bay Area with cerebral palsy. He published his first book of poetry, A Declaration of a Body af Love [2], in 2010, and his second poetry book, Whispers of Krip Love, Shouts of Krip Revolution [3], in 2020.   David James Savarese [4] [5] is an artful activist and founder of Listen2Us: Writing Our Own Futures. The recipient of an Open Society Foundations Human Rights Initiative Community Youth Fellowship [6] in 2017-2019, he is also co-producer and narrative commentator of the Peabody award-winning documentary Deej: Inclusion Shouldn’t Be a Lottery [7]. A graduate of Oberlin College, he has published widely, including his chapbook, A Doorknob for the Eye, and a notable essay in the 2018 Best American Essays, “Passive Plants.”     This event was part of  The Hastings Center's events series, "The Art of Flourishing: Conversations on Disability," supported  by the National Endowment for the Humanities. https://www.thehastingscenter.org/who-we-are/our-research/current-projects/the-art-of-flourishing-conversations-on-disability-and-technology/ [8] [1] https://www.lateefhmcleod.com/ [2] https://www.amazon.com/s?i=stripbooks&rh=p_27%3ALaTeef+H+McLeod&s=relevancerank&text=LaTeef+H+McLeod&ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1 [3] https://www.amazon.com/s?i=stripbooks&rh=p_27%3ALaTeef+H+McLeod&s=relevancerank&text=LaTeef+H+McLeod&ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1 [4] https://www.djsavarese.com/ [5] https://www.djsavarese.com/ [6] https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/grants/open-society-youth-exchange-fellowships [7] https://www.deejmovie.com/ [8] https://www.thehastingscenter.org/who-we-are/our-research/current-projects/the-art-of-flourishing-conversations-on-disability-and-technology/

Disrupting Ableism with Artful Activism – Pushing Limits – July 2, 2021

Pushing Limits – June 18, 2021

Pushing Limits – June 4, 2021

Pushing Limits – May 21, 2021

Pushing Limits – May 7, 2021

[caption id="attachment_357602" align="alignright" width="438"] Bobbi Pompey[/caption] Able-bodied people tend to freeze up when someone with an unfamiliar disability shows up in their environment.  They suddenly turn away, speak foolishly, or bumble too aggressively in our direction.  The result is awkward - and sometime dangerous. Questions arise:  Should I help someone by pushing their wheelchair?  Can blind people cross the road without assistance?  What do I do if I don’t understand someone with a speech limitation? The disability etiquette that answers these questions is our starting point with our guests this week. Laura Millar and Bobbi Pompey, two activist/service providers from the disability community, don't stop with etiquette.  They use these common questions to open doors to fundamental issues.  Going deeper than Miss Manners ever did, they’ll talk about assumptions, the limits of assistance, stereotypes, the beneficent helper syndrome and more. Join Eddie Ytuarte for a validating and challenging thirty minutes. Biography of Laura Millar:  Laura Millar a blind sex educator, community organizer, researcher and self-proclaimed disruptor! With a Master of Public Health as well as a Masters in Human Sexuality, Laura conducts research and facilitates conversations that examines how individuals who are blind or low vision learn about and navigate the world of dating, sex and intimate relationships. [caption id="attachment_357603" align="alignleft" width="373"] Laura Millar[/caption] Laura offers everything from one-on-one education to in-services, trainings and workshops, for individuals who are blind or have low vision, their family members and the organizations that serve them. Laura is committed to ensuring that sexual health information and services are comprehensive, inclusive and accessible for everyone. If you have questions or would like to talk to Laura directly you can email her at laura@lauramillar.com [1]. Let’s create a culture of consent together. Bobbi Pompey is a Rehabilitation Teaching Specialist at San Francisco's Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired. [2]   This program was produced and hosted by Eddie Ytuarte.               [1] https://kpfa.orgmailto:laura@lauramillar.com [2] https://lighthouse-sf.org/

Beyond Disability Etiquette w/ Laura Millar & Bobbi Pompey – Pushing Limits – April 23, 2021

Pushing Limits – April 9, 2021

Pushing Limits – March 26, 2021

A half-hour radio show providing critical coverage of disability issues and bringing the insight of the grassroots disability movement to the general public. Pushing Limits advances the voices of people who live with disabilities. It is produced by a collective of media makers and activists who themselves live with disability.

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KPFA - Pushing Limits

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