N E W    H O R I Z O N S    U N - L I M I T E D    I N C.

N E W S L E T T E R

Winter 2001

First Edition

New Horizons Un-Limited Inc. is a non-profit organization committed to promoting communication and providing information to empower people who have life long disabilities and their caregivers. We intend to carry out this commitment, via our website on the Internet.

Visit our website at: http://www.new-horizons.org.

We would like to hear from you! We invite you to please fill out the questionnaire on our website and e-mail it to us. We need your advice to inform others and to address common concerns. It is our policy that names and addresses will not be given to additional organizations.

Contact us by e-mail at: horizons@new-horizons.org.

Welcome H.O.M.E. (House of Modification Examples) - Bed and Breakfast Retreat - Newburg, Wisconsin - Are you looking for a vacation get away with accessible accommodations? Welcome H.O.M.E. is a bed and breakfast vacation home where guests are encouraged to explore numerous accessible home design ideas and adaptive equipment. Welcome, H.O.M.E. is located in Newburg, Wisconsin, just 30 minutes north of Milwaukee. For just $50.00 per night, this country home provides two great guestrooms and baths, comfortable family room, screen porch outside each bedroom, and a cedar deck, all fully wheelchair-accessible. Visitors may wish to explore the prairie and woodlands along wheelchair accessible hiking trails. Welcome, H.O.M.E. offers free tours to day visitors and provides an accessible basement meeting room that can be used for any type of gathering. The home is for public accommodation only, so no assistance is provided. Welcome H.O.M.E. is not-for-profit and operates via volunteer power. To keep the B 'n B rate affordable and the home tours free, support this unique resource by visiting Welcome, H.O.M.E. To visit, contact Welcome, H.O.M.E. at P.O. Box 333, 4260 West Hawthorne Drive (Hwy. Y), Newburg, Wisconsin 53060, call (262) 675-2525, fax (262) 675-0817, or take a virtual tour of this wheelchair accessible home by visiting their website at www.hnet.net/~welcomehome.

National Newsline for the Blind Network, a service of the National Federation of the Blind, allows people who are blind the access to newspapers through the use of their telephones. The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, Division for Libraries and Community Learning through the state Universal Service Fund is providing local telephone access throughout the state of Wisconsin to the following newspapers: Chicago Tribune, New York Times and the Washington Post.

For an application, write the National Federation of the Blind or call (608) 224-6161 Madison, (414) 286-3010 Milwaukee or (877) 775-5901 statewide. You must fill out an application and return it to the National Federation of the Blind, 1800 Johnson Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21230. Allow them two weeks to process your registration. You will be issued an identification number and a security code. Then call (608) 224-5345, if you live in the Madison area, (414) 286-0600 in the Milwaukee area or (877) 775-5901 Wisconsin statewide to use the service.

Telecommunications Equipment Purchase Program (TEPP) If you need special equipment such as:

• TTY
• Amplified handset or phone
• Telebraille/TTY unit
• Special modem
• Hands-free speaker phone
• Puff activator
• Phone signaling system
• Other specialized equipment

to use basic telephone services in your home or when traveling because of your disability, and if you are a Wisconsin resident, you may be able to receive a voucher (check) for the amount of money to purchase the equipment. Choose the equipment and where you want to buy it. Use the voucher (like a check) to pay the vendor for your qualifying special equipment. You are required to pay the first $100 at the time of purchase and any amount over the voucher amount.

Voucher amounts for equipment purchases depend on your disability:

• Hard of Hearing $200,
• Deaf and Severely Hard of Hearing $800,
• Speech Impaired $1,600,
• Mobility Impaired $1,600,
• Deaf and Low-Vision $2,500
• Deaf/blind $7,200

• However, you may qualify for a co-pay waiver if you cannot afford the $100. Fill out the TAP (Telecommunication Assistance Program) portion on the voucher TEPP application form.
• Applicants for vouchers cannot receive a voucher for equipment for the same disability more than once every three years.
• Announcements for changed and disconnected telephone numbers will be available in voice and TTY readable format.

To get an application form or if you have questions, contact the Public Service Commission, P.O. Box 7854, Madison, WI 53707-7854, TTY (608) 267-1479, Voice (608) 231-3305, Fax (608) 266-3957, e-mail to pscrecs@psc.state.wi.us.

Or contact one of the following:

• The Wisconsin Office for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing at: (608) 243-5626 Voice/TTY.
• The Office for Persons with Physical Disabilities or an Independent Living Center at: (608) 267-9582 Voice, (608) 267-9880TTY.
• Your Local telephone company.
• Vendors of specialized equipment.

Wisconsin Foundation of Dentistry for the Handicapped through the Donated Dental Service (DDS) program offers free comprehensive dental care services to people of all ages with (1) a permanent disability, advanced age, or chronic illness and (2) financial need. There is no cost to qualifying individuals, however if you can pay for part of the care, you may be encouraged to do so. Due to the response for this program, there may be a delay in processing, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible. No emergency referrals are possible at this time. For an application or more information on the program, call (414) 276-0370.