Helping Hands
Center for Independence honors people and organizations who support independent living for people with disabilities·including Metroland.

At an annual awards breakfast last Thursday (May 4), the Center for Independence, a nonprofit that supports people with disabilities in living independently, honored eight individuals and institutions for work that furthers CFI·s mission.

Marge Kanuk, of Realty USA, was honored with the Barrier Free Housing Award for being the go-to realtor in the region who goes the extra mile to both help people with disabilities to find accessible and affordable housing and qualify for financing to become homeowners.

Bank of America·s Libris Government Operations in Menands received the Employer of the Year award for a recent sustained effort to recruit, train and creatively accommodate employees with disabilities. The effort has been good for business and brought the company qualified and dedicated staff, said Elizabeth Ward who accepted the award.

Frederick Erlich and Don White each received Ed Roberts Advocacy Awards, named after the ·father of the independent living movement.

Erlich is the founder and CEO of Living Resources, an agency that works with more than 875 people with disabilities. Living Resources recently started the College Experience Program, a collaboration with the College of Saint Rose that gives young people with disabilities the chance to experience life on a college campus.

Don White, an engineer who became paralyzed due to a spinal cord injury 14 years ago and has become an advocate for universal design accessibility, was honored specifically for his work as founder of the Upstate Access Network. UAN trains volunteers with disabilities to investigate and rate the accessibility of entertainment and recreation venues in upstate New York. These ratings are listing on UAN·s Web site upstateaccess.org.

John T. MacDonald III, mayor of Cohoes, was given the Public Official of the Year award for his work improving and streamlining the process of receiving parking access signs and curb cuts.

Brianne Nobis and Mike DiScipio each received a Self Advocacy Award. Nobis, a participant in Living Resource·s College Experience Program, has served on the Down Syndrome Aim High board for more than five years, organized social events for Aim High and written for its newsletter.

DiScipio, a member of the Albany County Sheriff·s department who experienced a spinal cord injury in 1999, was honored for his work promoting stem-cell research, as well as helping others adapt to living with spinal cord injuries.

Metroland·s Miriam Axel-Lute was given a Special Recognition Award for her reporting on a recent policy change in Albany County regarding supplemental needs trusts and Medicaid that would have had a disastrous effect on the ability for many people with disabilities to continue living in the community [·Breaking the Trust,· Jan. 5]. The policy change has since been rescinded [Loose Ends, Jan 19].