Project Description:
To provide a statewide clearinghouse of disability information services and resources to include individuals of all ages, all disabilities and all nationalities. Pathfinders program areas include:
1.Statewide Multilingual Information & Referral/Assistance HELPline,
2.Internet Clearinghouse of Disability Resources on Pathfinder's website. Resources include a statewide Database of Community Services, statewide Camino Seguro database of bilingual providers, statewide Calendar of Disability Events, Disability Resources Library, Access Nashville accessibility project, Autism portal for Tennessee and Multicultural Resources)
3.Multicultural Activities (Spanish parent support group(s), Camino Seguro database of bilingual (Spanish) providers, Multicultural Alliance on Disability, media outreach and technical assistance)
4.Community Training and Outreach Activities
2012-2013 Summary
I. Statewide Multilingual Information & Referral/Assistance HELPline.
This year __individual callers contacted Pathfinder by phone and/or email with ___ total contacts made. Information and assistance were provided to ___ refugees and immigrants. This year individual callers were from ___ out of 92 counties in TN, ___ international countries of origin, and __ states across the U.S. The five most requested service needs this year included: HOUSING, SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY,
II. Internet Clearinghouse of Disability Resources on Pathfinder's website.
A. Databases include 2150 agencies and over 4,000 programs across the state. Updated annually. This year website had __ visitors who viewed ___ pages on the database from _____ cities or towns in Tennessee
B. Calendar of Disability Events has over 165 registered users. This year the calendar was upgraded and searchable by topic and region with an option to customize an agency's personal calendar events on their agency website. This year the calendar had ___ visitors who viewed ___ pages on the site.
IB. INTERNET: TN CLEARINGHOUSE OF DISABILITY INFORMATION. Website includes a statewide database of 2100 community agences including resources for refugees and immigrants and is updated annually; Camino Seguro statewide database of Spanish providers maintained by 15 bilingual agency partners across the state; library of disability resources that is topic specific and includes over 1,450 links; flyers and tipsheets from the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center and updated materials including TN Support Group List and TN Autism Resources that is updated annually.
IC. COMMUNITY OUTREACH. Staff attended 115 meetings in the community including meetings in Memphis, Johnson City, Jackson, Oak Ridge, Knoxville and Nashville to network with agencies and identify programs and services.
II. EDUCATION & TRAINING PROGRAMS
The purpose of the Education & Training Program is to increase awareness of disability services, especially regarding Tennessee Disability Pathfinder programs and various programs with Vanderbilt Kennedy Center.This year 1034 individuals from across the state received Pathfinder training.
IIA. COMMUNITY TRAINING SERIES ACROSS THE STATE. In collaboration with local agencies Pathfinder spearheaded 3 regional workshops including: Advocacy Services in Johnson City, TN (East TN); Access to Affordable Healthcare in Nashville (Middle TN); and Recreation and Leisure Activities in Jackson (West TN). UT Boling Center UCEDD was a joint sponsor for the workshop in Jackson TN.
IIB. PRESENTATIONS AT LOCAL AND STATE EVENTS. There were 25 presentations at local and state events on: Multicultural Diversity, Finding Resources in TN, Self-Advocacy, and Disability Etiquette.
IIC. ACCESS NASHVILLE is an accessibility and service learning program for college students. There were 7 Access Nashville related presentations at 4 area colleges and an Access Nashville Replication Training with staff from Lawrenceburg (Middle TN) and Jackson (West TN).
III. MULTICULTURAL OUTREACH PROGRAM. The mission of the Multicultural Outreach Program is to help alleviate barriers to accessing disability resources, provide cultural awareness education and training, and provide case management to individuals and families with diverse cultural backgrounds.
IIIA. Statewide Information and Referral HELPline (all languages, nationalities, ages) serving 300 individual callers from 34 countries of origin this year.
IIIB. Manage a statewide database of over 250 bilingual (Spanish) providers across the state that is maintained by 15 agency representatives. A Camino Seguro Manual has been developed as a replication model for creating, establishing, and maintaining a community database that is web based and designed by Vanderbilt Kennedy Center technology services.
IIIC. Collaboration with Community agencies to assist multicultural families with disability information and increase accessibility to disability services (Vanderbilt Autism Clinic, Sports 4 All, Southminster Presbyterian Church, Catholic Charities, Alignment Nashville, Vanderbilt Cultural and Linguistic Council, Meharry Medical College, Division of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, Vanderbilt Junior League Family Resource Center and others)
IIID. Annual Conference and community presentations on Cultural Competency and Disability. This year Tawara Goode from the National Center on Cultural Competency was the keynote speaker. There were over 100 people who attended. One outcome was the organization of Alliance for Disability and Cultural Diversity group that meets regularly to discuss ways to address barriers for accessing services for refugees, immigrants, and other underserved populations.As a result of this conference, Pathfinder spearheaded a community group, Multicultural Alliance on Disability, organized to assist non-Englishing speaking families access and receive disability services eligible for and available.
IIIE. Sponsor two monthly Spanish support group(s) for parents with children who have disabilities using an education and peer support model. A Parent Support Group Manual has been developed for replication purposes. Provide technical assistance to a Meharry Support Group for parents from Nigeria.
IIIF. Spanish media outreach in the community has focused on Middle TN but is expanding to East and West TN in 2012-2013. Activities have included:
o WGNC Radio La Sabrosita 810 AM, Richard Cardenas? Morning Talk Show, a weekly radio interview with community agencies from February to November. Pathfinder schedules weekly speakers from Camino Seguro to participate. Pathfinder and Kennedy Center receives recognition on the talk show.
o WLLC- Telefutura Spanish television is running a 30 second Spanish PSA about Pathfinder that will be shown indefinitely.
o Alexander Santana, Pathfinder Multicultural Coordinator, was interviewed on Que pasa Nashville, local WTVF Channel 5 television station
o Carolina Meyerson writes a monthly article about disabilities in La Campana-Nashville Spanish newspaper distributed in Middle TN.
Area of Emphasis
Quality Assurance, Education & Early Intervention, Child Care-Related Activities, Health-Related Activities, Employment-Related Activities, Recreation-Related Activities, Quality of Life, Other - Cultural Diversity, Other
Target Audience:
Professionals and Para-Professionals, Family Members/Caregivers, Adults with Disabilities, Legislators/Policy Makers, General Public
Unserved or Under-served Populations:
Racial or Ethnic Minorities, Disadvantaged Circumstances, Limited English, Geographic Areas, Rural/Remote, Urban
Primary Target Audience Geographic Descriptor:
Single-County, Mulit-County, State, Regional
