The Tennessee Council of the Blind invites you to come and join us for our state convention. It will be held Aug. 27-29 at the Comfort Suites located at 2521 Elm Hill Pike in Nashville. There is complimentary shuttle service to and from the airport. We will have numerous speakers, exhibits, live entertainment, awards banquet, a live auction, and a heaping helping of southern hospitality. Contact Dan Dillon, TCB president, at (615) 874-1223 or at [email protected] for more information.
The purpose of American Council of the Blind Human Service Professionals (ACBHSP) is to provide a forum to enhance the professional development of its members who are in positions such as rehabilitation counselors, teachers, psychologists, and others interested in vocations that are involved in human development. We do this using conference calls, e-mail lists, and other forms of open communication. Although our organization is composed primarily of people in the human service professions, anyone is welcome to subscribe to our e-mail list, join our organization, and attend our conference calls. You can subscribe to our e-mail list by going to www.acb.org/mailman/listinfo/acb-hsp and filling out the form on that page under the subscribe heading.
Our conference calls are held on the first Sunday of each month at 8:30 p.m. Eastern time (5:30 Pacific). Our next conference call will be held on Sunday, August 1. The number to call is (218) 844-3388, and the access code is 222-477(ACB-HSP).
If you wish to become a paying member of ACBHSP, please send a check or money order in the amount of $10 payable to ACB-HSP to our treasurer, Deanna Austin. Her address is: Deanna Austin, 5248 Spring Creek Ct., Indianapolis, IN 46254.
The Utah Council of the Blind has a new service which connects everyone in the state with a live person for questions and peer counseling. The Utah Connection, which is much like the Washington Connection, has been adapted so that from noon to 8 p.m. on weekdays (except Friday, which ends at 6 p.m.) a live person answers the phone. Utah residents call 1-800-273-4569 or locally (801) 299-0670. Volunteers are available to talk about the challenges of sight loss. People who are blind answer the phone, offer advocacy and referral as well as help with the adjustment to blindness. The service has been available for four months now and is quite busy. PSAs about this and other Utah Council of the Blind programs are being released. We hope that people losing their sight can receive information as well as feel supported in adjusting to the life changes.
In addition to this 800 service there is also a new project which is called the Blind Grape Vine. On Saturday nights from 5 to 7 p.m. Mountain time, everyone who wishes to join on a conference call to share ideas, talk technology and blindness issues, share recipes, and experience a little peer counseling are invited to call (605) 475-4500 then dial the code 22377 followed by the pound sign. This conference line charges your long distance so you need a cell, cheap long distance, or unlimited long distance. Calls come in from many parts of the country with great results. There is a moderator to be certain everyone has a chance to talk. Of course, you can just listen if you prefer. Feel free to join and get acquainted!