The wonderful people at the ENDependence Center of Northern Virginia, Inc. (ECNV) have a Travel Training program for people with disabilities who want to learn to travel safely and independently using public transportation in the Washington Metropolitan area.

Through the multi-day program that is comprehensive and individualized, the individual will learn a variety of travel skills that will facilitate them to ride their local transportation independently. The travel trainers will work with the individual to learn transit routes to anywhere they want to go.

Call the ECNV Travel Trainers at 703-525-3268 to start the process.

The ENDependence Center of Northern Virginia, Inc. (ECNV) is a community- based resource and advocacy center managed by and for people with disabilities. ECNV promotes the independent living philosophy and equal access for all people with disabilities. ECNV’s website is http://www.ecnv.org/.

The DC Metro is planning to scale back its MetroAccess service for elderly and disabled people as increasing ridership creates an unsustainable financial burden, Metro officials and board members said. With Metro facing a $189 million gap in its $1.4 billion operating budget this fiscal year, as well as $11 billion in projected capital needs in the coming decade, top Metro officials say the agency cannot afford the mounting costs of paratransit.

MetroAccess is Metro’s shared-ride transit service for people who cannot use standard rail or bus service because of age or disability. Transit agencies across the country have reduced such services, said Metro interim general manager Richard Sarles, noting that MetroAccess faces higher demand partly because similar regional services have been cut back.

Source: Washington Post (May 25, 2010)

Data from the U.S. Census is used to assign congressional seats to states, and it directly affects how more than $400 billion per year in federal funding is distributed to state, local and tribal governments. Accurate counts impact several important programs and services that are critical to the disabled community.

Here is what the census means for people with a disability:

* Helps state and county agencies plan for eligible recipients under the Medicare, Medicaid,and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programs.

* Distributes funds and develops programs for people with disabilities and the elderly under the Rehabilitation Act.

* Distributes funds for housing for people with disabilities under the Housing and Urban Development Act.

* Allocates funds for mass transit systems to provide facilities for people with disabilities under the Federal Transit Act.

* Awards federal grants, under the Older Americans Act, based on the number of elderly people with physical and mental disabilities.

* Allocates funds to states and local areas for employment and job training programs for veterans and disabled veterans under the Job Training Partnership Act, Disabled Veterans Outreach Program.

* Ensures that comparable public transportation services are available for all segments of the population under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Metro is reminding riders that priority seats located near the center doors of every rail car are meant for people with disabilities and older adults.As part of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), public transit authorities are required to make priority seating available for people with disabilities and older adults.

While the ADA requires Metro to provide priority seating, it does not allow Metro to enforce it. Therefore customers are asked to be courteous to fellow passengers, pay attention to their surroundings, and keep priority seats available for people who need them. Metro also is encouraging customers who need a seat to be proactive and ask for one.

For more information about accessibility in the Metro system, visit http://www.wmata.com/accessibility or call 202-962-1100 (TTY 202-962-2033).