Iowa AgrAbility

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IN THIS EDITION:
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CARM'S CHALLENGE
AGRABILITY - WHAT IS IT?
HELP ME UNDERSTAND AGRABILITY!
SO, HOW ABOUT EASTER SEALS?
FARMER MODIFIES TOOLS TO FIT LIFESTYLE
RESOURCES TO KNOW ABOUT
PERSONAL PROFILE: CAROLE VANCLEAVE
PEER SUPPORT UPDATE
QUOTE OF THE MONTH

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CARM'S CHALLENGE
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Lorrie and I would like to CHALLENGE you to be a part of this newsletter. Since I took the job of Peer Support Coordinator for the Iowa AgrAbility Project on April 1, I have had the privilege of talking with over 100 of you. YOU are "UNIQUE" and "VERY SPECIAL." You have a very interesting story to tell. PLEASE call, write or e-mail me about the challenges you face from day to day or the challenges you faced when you first realized you were disabled.

What types of adaptations have you made to equipment, to your home, etc.? In talking to you I have learned that you don't sit around feeling sorry for yourself. You were very hard to reach because you were never home.

EACH OF YOU is extremely productive, involved in community, church and many other activities. Share these stories with us to encourage us to show others that disabled people may have to do things 'just a little differently than they do,' but we don't sit around twiddling our thumbs and waiting for someone to do something for us. If you have time now that the crops are in, we would like to have some PERSONAL PROFILES to include in our newsletter. That would be a more detailed account of your disability and life. I WILL LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM YOU, PLEASE!!!

Carmen Schacht
Peer Support Coordinator
Iowa AgrAbility Project
319-547-21932
cschacht@powerbank.net
6697 345th Ave
Cresco, IA 52136 (CS)

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AGRABILITY - WHAT IS IT???
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Lorrie and I would like to expand on what AgrAbility is so that when I call and say I am with the Iowa AgrAbility Project, you will understand what I am talking about. We have all heard of Easter Seals and Extension. I went to many Extension-sponsored events when Everett and I were first married. In fact, I was a member of the Home Economics Committee when I first met Mary Yearns, an ISU Extension Housing Specialist. She came to Howard County to help with Modest Home Makeovers.

AgrAbility provides help for farm families who are dealing with a disability. Easter Seals and Iowa State University Extension have joined forces with a grant from the United States Department of Agriculture to ISU. It is called the Iowa AgrAbility Project. Mary Yearns (representing ISU) is project coordinator; she and Tracy Keninger (representing the Easter Seals FaRM Program) combine their expertise to help families who are referred to them. (CS)

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HELP ME UNDERSTAND AGRABILITY!
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(Lorrie Long, AgrAbility Program Specialist) I am "new on the job" as an AgrAbility Program Specialist. A couple of years ago, at the ripe old age of 54, I earned my graduate degree from Iowa State University in the area of Human Development and Family Studies with a minor in Gerontology (addresses the experiences of "older" people). Like several of you, I am now trying to understand what AgrAbility is all about. After researching the topic, here is what I have learned.

The Easter Seals' FaRM (Farm Family Rehabilitation Management) Program began in 1986 to help farm families adjust to the permanent disability of a family member. The FaRM Program provides adaptive equipment, modifications, and support services that offer the opportunity for a family to continue their livelihood on the farm and remain active in the community.

Then in 1991, the Federal Government through USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) recognized the need to provide programs to help support agricultural workers with disabilities and their families. USDA offers grants to selected Extension Programs at land-grant universities (which is where Iowa State University fits into the picture) that have formed a partnership with a nonprofit disability organization (Iowa Easter Seals). Currently 26 states have AgrAbility projects. In Iowa, AgrAbility dollars are used to support and expand programs such as salaries and travel expenses of FaRM staff members, building and transporting Iowa State University's accessible housing displays, and training peer support volunteers.

What does Iowa State University Extension have to add to Easter Seals' FaRM Program expertise on disabilities? For one, the ISU campus is linked to 100 County Extension offices in Iowa that have available, free of charge, publications on all different kinds of topics covering everything from planting trees to making decisions about nursing homes. You can find the address, phone number and other information for your County Extension office at:

http://www.extension.iastate.edu/Counties/state.html

Among other human resources, ISU Extension has a housing specialist who will come to your home, free of charge, for consultations on making your home accessible and more convenient after a disability. ISU has staff with expertise in five major areas-- agriculture, families, business and industry, continuing education, and youth and 4-H work. And, as you might guess, there are several subcategories within each major area. For example, within the area "families," I find ISU has experts in nutrition and health, family life, financial management, and housing. To explore this resource treasure check out the website at:

http://extension.iastate.edu

I am awed at the potential and power resident in AgrAbility to make a difference in the lives of agricultural families with disabilities. For example, we now have a Peer Support Leaders' Program. These leaders have personal experience with disabilities; they have now committed themselves to support others going through similar experiences. You can see their pictures, read their stories, and get their addresses and phone numbers by visiting the AgrAbility web page at

http://www.exnet.iastate.edu/Pages/housing/other/agrability/services/peer-support.html

While this all sounds wonderful, it is not an easy process to fit two well-established, already successful, organizations together. It takes a lot of hard work and commitment by many people (and a lot of trial and error). I look forward to being part of the process.(LL)

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SO, HOW ABOUT EASTER SEALS?
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In a recent visit with Carm Schacht (FaRM Peer Support Specialist), I was impressed when she stated that most people "out there" don't understand what AgrAbility is all about. Easter Seals, however, is familiar to them. It is a well-known and highly respected charitable organization. Carm tries to help them understand that the FaRM Program of Easter Seals is a very significant component of AgrAbility. Our hope is that the confidence "the world" has in Easter Seals will eventually be earned by AgrAbility.

In an effort to understand how being a charity organization might affect the quality of their services, Easter Seals recently conducted a research project using the Internet as a medium of contact. Participants in the study (500) ranged from age 25 to 54. Their average income was $52,600 with 70% having graduated from college. Slightly over half of the participants were women (52%).

According to Sara Brewster, Vice President of Marketing Communications at the Easter Seals National Headquarters in Chicago, 93% rated Easter Seals good to excellent; 72% said Easter Seals was an important organization; 52% recognized that Easter Seals helps people with disabilities and nearly 40% understood that when a person has a disability, Easter Seals offers services to family members.

The most frequently used descriptor of Easter Seals was reputable, useful, helpful, and important. Brewster stated that while a high percentage of people have heard of Easter Seals (80-95%), "just over half of our respondents could name services we provide. We still have a challenge to increase awareness of how we help people with disabilities."

We in the AgrAbility program have the same challenge. People like Carmen and our other Peer Support Leaders are important components in this process. (LL)

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UPCOMING EVENTS
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Freewheeler's Peer Support Meeting
Saturday, November 13, 1999, 1:00 p.m.
FAMILY POTLUCK - bring a dish to pass; we will provide table service, coffee and milk.
Geneva United Methodist Church (on highway 3 turn south on county
road S-56; from Hiway 65 turn east on county road C-47).
COME JOIN US! Be sure to invite family members or friends! (CS)

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FARMER MODIFIES TOOLS TO FIT LIFESTYLE 
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RESOURCES TO KNOW ABOUT
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This has not been a good year for many farm families financially. There is a program that is administered through Community Action Agencies that can help. It is the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (Fuel Assistance). Payment is made, once a season, to a heat supplier to help with heat bills.
The annual income guidelines are as follows:
* One (1) household dweller - $12,360
* Two (2) people in the home - $16,590
* Three (3) - $20,820
* Four (4) - $25,050
* Five (5) - $29,280
* Six (6) - $33,510
* Seven (7) - $37,740
* Eight (8) - $41,970

The award amounts range from $40 - $340 depending on certain criteria such as the type of home, children present, elderly in the home, income and poverty level, and type of fuel.

Don't hesitate to take advantage of this opportunity. We pay taxes; when we need a little help, we should use it! To locate the phone number for the Community Action Agency in your area, you can call the main office in Des Moines at 515-281-4893 or email jaburnia@radiks.net (CS)

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PERSONAL PROFILE: CAROLE VANCLEAVE
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I was introduced to Easter Seals FaRM Program in 1991 or 1992. My vocational director in Minneapolis asked if Tracy Keninger could stop by. The program wasn't known by many, but we qualified because of our acreage and the animals we had. Tracy came every month or more often if she was in the area. I had developed a severe case of tendonitis, arthritis, and depression. She had new ideas to try - a sheepskin ring for the steering wheel of the truck, a mower to relieve vibrations, smaller feed buckets, a water hose to replace buckets, a two-wheeled garden cart for moving things from place to place, a large-handled potato peeler and an electric can opener. She suggested taking breaks while doing chores even if it took longer. She helped with a resume, and suggested business cards for a cake decorating business.

Tracy boosted my morale and gave me confidence to go back to work. I had to have some strgeries, and with all the pain, I could no longer endure 40 hours of work or
even part time, so was forced to retire.

When I retired, Easter Seals really helped me. I was raised to believe that your self worth was your ability to hold a job and support yourself and your family. The hardest thing I had to accept was to ask for help. This caused a severe case of depression to the effect that I wouldn't leave the house or take care of myself. Cheerfully, Tracy still stopped by. I was so bad, that on one visit Tracy gave me the task of just going out to gather the eggs. That was a big step forward, because I had developed a fear of leaving the house, seeing people or anything else. I couldn't face not having a job plus having a handicap. Tracy helped turn it around and found good in every small task I completed so that my value was seen in a different light.

I had many setbacks, but Tracy could always find something I was still doing well. Tracy worked out a plan where I would go to the store at an off hour for one or a few items and she gradually increased the time, items and places. I always walked with a cart. I checked on road service in case I had trouble with the truck. I had a CB then and now have a CB and a cellular phone.

During this time, my beloved horses were sent to my daughter's home. At least I could help her and see them and I didn't have to sell them. This plan worked for several years.

The last three years there have been 20,000 miles put on my truck. I can get my own
groceries and supplies and even eat in a restaurant. My beloved horses are back in my pasture again. Occasionally depression slips in and I take a day for me doing what I want to do. I can say "no."

I remember one time when Tracy called to say she would be stopping. I told her not to bother. She stopped anyway. I was very rude and didn't even ask her in. She gave me more help that day than I can ever repay. She showed me there is someone out there who cares for you, even if you think yourself worthless. There is someone who will go the extra mile to cheer your day and give you confidence in yourself. I will never forget it.

Now, my glass is always half full--not half empty. Tracy started PSTN (Peer Support) in Iowa. Our group meets every other month. It gives us a chance to just be ourselves. We have a wonderful group. When you leave, you have so much energy, fun, knowledge and companionship with and for each other. We all handle a handicap in a different way, but there is a special bond we share because we have all gone the steps of loss through a disability. (CS)

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PEER SUPPORT UPDATE
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Peer Support Leaders are making new contacts. Some are meeting together to become better acquainted. (CS)

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QUOTE OF THE MONTH
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It takes strength to fit in. It takes courage to stand out. (CS)

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IOWA AGRABILITY - A joint effort of Iowa State University
Extension and the Farm Family Rehabilitation Management (FaRM)
Program of the Easter Seal Society of Iowa. The program can help
farm family members with a disability meet specific needs.

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This electronic newsletter from the Iowa AgrAbility Project will be sent monthly to AgrAbility families and other interested individuals. Please send comments and suggestions to:

E-mail: agrability@exnet.iastate.edu
Phone: Iowa State University Answerline at 1-800-262-3804
TDD: 1-800-854-1658.

...and justice for all. The Iowa Cooperative Extension Service's programs
and policies are consistent with pertinent federal and state laws and regulations on nondiscrimination regarding race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, and disability.