Greater Louisville Council of the Blind

A Chapter of the

Kentucky Council of the Blind

ADVOCACY AND ISSUES

Sidewalk Advocacy

The Greater Louisville Council of the Blind, the Clifton Community Council, and the Clifton Heights Community Council continue our quest to obtain a sidewalk along the north side of Brownsboro Road west of Ewing Avenue. This sidewalk would give blind and visually impaired pedestrians increased safe access to the many businesses and residential areas along that side of this extremely high-traffic highway. It now appears that work will begin around March 1, 2010, on this project. Thanks to 9th District Councilwoman Tina Ward-Pugh, Cassandra Cullin of the Clifton Community Council, GLCB members Bill Deatherage, Adam Ruschival and Bill Wright, and countless others for their tireless support of this effort.

More GLCB Advocacy

The Greater Louisville Council of the Blind advocates for blind and visually impaired people. Here are some examples of how we can help.

1. A couple received an eviction notice. Their living conditions were deplorable, and their landlord was unscrupulous. The wife was blind, and her husband was a disabled veteran. The Greater Louisville Council and the Kentucky Council of the Blind helped them utilize community resources to move into a much nicer, more affordable apartment.

2. A parent was unhappy with the quality of education her visually impaired child was receiving from the local public school. With the guidance of Council advocates, the parent was able to successfully fight the harassment from the county school system and enroll her child in the Kentucky School for the Blind.

3. Following a recent "Dining Out" activity at a local restaurant, two GLCB members called a taxi to go home. When the taxi arrived, the driver refused to transport the people because one of them was accompanied by a guide dog. A few weeks later, another taxi driver refused a ride to a young blind woman because she also was accompanied by a guide dog. Both cases were satisfactorily resolved when GLCB representatives followed up with the management of the taxi company.

4. A young blind mother needed to utilize local paratransit services to take her little child to preschool and to go to work. She was denied services; GLCB advocates assisted her throughout the appeals process and she obtained the services she needed.

More Issues

GLCB believes that blind and visually impaired people should be able to identify their own money without help from others. Color and size of bills are two ways money can be changed.

GLCB members are actively involved in advocating for improved public transportation, both throughout the metropolitan Louisville area and between Kentucky cities. The Greater Louisville Council knows that, without affordable, frequent and reliable transportation, blind and visually impaired people cannot have access to the education, jobs, and basic community services.

Pedestrian safety is a major issue for the Greater Louisville Council of the Blind. A GLCB member recently suffered a broken leg when he and his guide dog were hit by a car as he was returning home from a local restaurant. GLCB works for more sidewalks, more audible pedestrian signals, more detectable warnings on curb cuts, and audible indicators on quiet cars.

For more information about GLCB advocacy and how we can help, call us at (502)897-1472, or email GLCB with your questions and concerns.