CDCAN
DISABILITY NEWS
California Disability Community
Action Network
Advocacy Without Borders:
Remembering Bob Roberts,
Mary Ann Jones, Jeannette
Nishikawa & Jane Jackson
News Impacting People With Disabilities, Mental
Health Needs, Seniors
Goes out to over 45,000 people, organizations,
policymakers across California
Marty Omoto - martyomoto@rcip.com
website: www.cdcan.us
Report #166-2007 -
November 16, 2007 - Friday
Memorials This Weekend
* MARIN INDEPENDENT LIVING CENTER DIRECTOR BOB
ROBERTS
* MEMORIAL NOVEMBER 18TH AT 1 PM MILL VALLEY
* ROBERTS PASSING FOLLOWS DEATHS OF 2 OTHER
ILC DIRECTORS
* NOVEMBER 17TH MEMORIAL IN OAKLAND FOR JANE
JACKSON
SACRAMENTO (CDCAN) - The lives of two respected and
loved disability and senior advocates will be remembered and celebrated by
family, friends and advocates in two memorial services this weekend
for Bob Roberts [pictured left], the executive director
of the Marin Center for Independent Living, who passed away on October
6th, and Jane Jackson [photo below right] , a longtime
Bay Area disability, human rights and peace advocate who died September
26th. [Note: the CDCAN Report sent out via email had
"November 16th" in the headline for Jane Jackson's service - it
is November 17. The text of this story however had the correct date of the
17th]
The passing of the two happened within six weeks of the
deaths in late August and September of two other leading advocates, Mary
Ann Jones and Jeannette Nishikawa.
Jane Jackson Memorial Service - Celebration of Her Life
and Work
November 17, 2007 (Saturday) - 1:00 PM
St. James Episcopal Church
1540 12th Avenue, Oakland, CA 94606
Donations in JaneJackson's name may be sent to
Episcopal Relief and Development, c/o St. James Episcopal Church, 1540
12th Ave., Oakland, CA 94606
Rememberances can be sent to: janejackson7555@sbcglobal.net
Bob Roberts Memorial Service - Celebration of Life
November 18th (Sunday afternoon), from 1:00 PM to 5:00
PM
Mill Valley Community Center
180 Camino Alto, Mill Valley, CA
According to Lousia Roberts, Bob Roberts only daughter, all are
welcome to attend. Refreshments will be served at 1:00 PM, with family
and friends scheduled to begin speaking at 2:00 PM.
An accessible van will depart at noon from Whistlestop at 930
Tamalpais Avenue in San Rafael. Users of this shuttle should
arrive at Whistlestop by 11:45 AM Sunday morning. The shuttle will
return to Whistlestop after the end of the Roberts memorial. For
information, call (415) 459-6245.
Louisa Roberts also asked if anyone attending the Roberts Memorial Services coming from the Redwood Valley area of Northern California could help by providing a round-trip ride for a monk from the Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery in Redwood Valley. Please contact Louisa Roberts, directly if you are able to offer this transportation: louisajeanroberts@
yahoo.com
The Roberts Family said that tax-deductible donations made in honor of Bob Roberts can be sent to Marin Center for Independent Living or Bell Springs Foundation (Bob Roberts non-profit wilderness retreat). Checks to either organization can be mailed to:
Louisa Roberts also asked if anyone attending the Roberts Memorial Services coming from the Redwood Valley area of Northern California could help by providing a round-trip ride for a monk from the Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery in Redwood Valley. Please contact Louisa Roberts, directly if you are able to offer this transportation: louisajeanroberts@
The Roberts Family said that tax-deductible donations made in honor of Bob Roberts can be sent to Marin Center for Independent Living or Bell Springs Foundation (Bob Roberts non-profit wilderness retreat). Checks to either organization can be mailed to:
Susan Malardino 710 4th Street San Rafael,
CA 94901
Roberts Passing Stuns Disability and Senior Communities
The passing of Bob Roberts, age 52,
on October 6th shocked and saddened disability and senior
advocates across California. His death reportedly was caused by a
previous health condition and also complications of a fall that occurred
September 11th. Roberts was one of the founders and the executive
director of the Marin Center for Independent Living.
Roberts was a longtime member and leader on
the board of directors of the California Foundation for Independent
Living Centers, the statewide association of independent living
centers. He was also active with other organizations
including the Blind and Visually Impaired of Marin, and was a vice
president for the Northern California In-Home Supportive Services
Consumer Alliance. He was an active and respected leader in promoting
the rights of persons with disabilities and seniors to live in their own
homes independently, including in-home supportive services (IHSS),
participating in numerous CDCAN Townhall Telemeetings and other advocacy
events.
Roberts Death Follows Mary Ann
Jones, Jeannette Nishikawa and Jane Jackson
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Roberts'
death stunned the disability and senior community, already reeling
from the a string of losses of disability advocates, including two
other independent living center directors and a longtime disability
and human rights advocate, all within a 6 week period. In
addition, several California independent living centers have lost
executive directors due to retirement.
Roberts' passing follows the
September 26th death of Bay Area disability and human rights advocate
Jane Jackson, and on September 24th the death of Mary Ann Jones [pictured
left], who headed the Westside Independent Living in Los
Angeles for the past ten years. Jones' passing followed the August
28th death of Jeannette Nishikawa [pictured below
right], who was the executive director of the Disabled
Resources Center, the Long Beach independent living center.
Nishikawa was a part of the center for over 27 years - the last
14 years as executive director. Both Jones and
Nishikawa, like Roberts, were longtime leaders with the statewide
California Foundation for Independent Living Centers (CFILC), headed
by Executive Director Teresa Favuzzi who said she and her staff
and other independent living center directors were
"devastated" by the losses.
Ironically funeral and memorial services
were just held for Jones on October 2nd and for Nishikawa on October
6th, the same day that Roberts passed away.
Jane Jackson Was Active in Social Justice
Issues
Jane Jackson, who was age 73, died in her home in
Santiago de Cuba, Cuba and was born in Tuxedo Park, New York
and moved to San Francisco in 1968. Her daughter,
Libby McMahon said shortly after that move, Jackson continued to
be active in numerous events, protests, rallies fighting for
disability and other civil rights, including a take-over
of the federal building in San Francisco demanding
passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. From the 1950's
up until her death, Jackson, according to her daughter and friends,
traveled the world fighting for social justice and through those
activities, eventually becoming friends on a first-name basis with
Cuban President Fidel Castro and South African Archbishop Desmond
Tutu.
Her daughter said that when AIDS started claiming so
many lives in San Francisco in the early 1980s, Jackson chained
herself to the federal building to pushing for more funding
for AIDS research. She was cited by police 37 times and at one point
faced 18 months in prison and nearly $20,000 in fines according to her
daughter.
"I am a human rights activist," Jackson said at the time. "My commitment compels me to do what I believe in - that is why I am here."
In August 2006, at age 72, she was hospitalized after a 41-day fast outside the federal building in Oakland to call for troop withdrawal from Iraq. Her health was never the same after that said her daughter.
"I am a human rights activist," Jackson said at the time. "My commitment compels me to do what I believe in - that is why I am here."
In August 2006, at age 72, she was hospitalized after a 41-day fast outside the federal building in Oakland to call for troop withdrawal from Iraq. Her health was never the same after that said her daughter.
Jackson is survived by two daughters, Libby McMahon of
Carmel and Shelly Norstad of Corte Madera; an adopted daughter, Lurdes
Bolona of Havana; a brother, Dan Smith of Kentfield; three grandsons;
and one adopted grandson.
Advocates Remember Jackson and Roberts
Disability and human rights advocates - especially
those in the Bay Area, like Maggie Dowling, who previously worked
at the Marin Center for Independent Living, mourned the double
loss of Jackson and Roberts, whose work and activism centered around
the Bay Area. Dowling described both as mentors and
also good friends whom she relied on tremendously and said their
deaths were a "tremendous blow". Dowling,
who is host of a local radio show focusing on disability and
senior issues, is herself facing a critical health crisis as
a result of being recently diagnosed with cancer described as
"extremely serious".
Jenny Houston, a parent with a son with traumatic brain
injuries and one of the group of people, that included Bob Roberts,
who helped to found the Marin Center for Independent Living said that he
was a "We've lost so many great disabled people in Marin, too.
I miss them all and will surely miss Bob...He once said to me that he didn't
think he would be remembered. How wrong he was"
Phil Shepard, the Marin Center
for Independent Living deputy director said that Roberts
"...dedicated his life to this agency, he worked very, very long
hours. He'd want us to keep going to keep the agency working for these
people."
Peter Mendoza, a disability rights
advocate, and former chair of the State Council on Developmental
Disabilities and currently a member of the California
Rehabilitation Appeals Board said Roberts' death "...is a major
loss for the disability community" and that "he was not
only a tireless advocate, he was someone we really depended
on."
Other advocates, including Teresa Favuzzi of the
California Foundation for Independent Living Centers, say
that Bob Roberts leadership and advocacy will be missed in
the coming months as California's slides further into a budget
crisis that threatens massive cuts and reductions to services
for people with disabilities and seniors. [for more on the
lives of the three independent living center directors who passed
away, go to the CFILC website at www.cfilc.org]
Bob Roberts' leadership, said Marty Omoto, director of
the California Disability Community Action Network, "was crucial
during some of the darkest of times our communities have faced when
enormous budget cuts were proposed in 2003 and 2004. He stood for decency
and justice" adding that "Bob Roberts, Jane Jackson, Jeannette
Nishikawa, and Mary Ann Jones will be missed most of all because
their families needed and loved them, as we all did as friends and
advocates. For that alone they will never be forgotten, and because
of their work, we are compelled to continue on and remember
their example, that a single person can make a difference."
Omoto wrote a commentary called "A
Life That Mattered" that he said was dedicated to their lives and
memories. For a copy of the commentary go to the CDCAN website at www.cdcan.us
Please: Contributions
Urgently Needed!
Advocacy Without
Borders
Advocacy Without Borders: Connecting People With Disabilities, Mental Health Needs, Seniors, Traumatic Brain & other injuries, People with MS & other health needs, including People of color, different languages, cultures, Families, Workers, Providers, & Organizations to Rights & Unified Action. This report - and the CDCAN townhalls, and other events and projects are for all of them and for promoting advocacy without borders toward unified action. We are one community.
To respond to this report reply to: Marty Omoto at martyomoto@rcip.com CDCAN website: www.cdcan.us
To continue the CDCAN website, the CDCAN News Reports. sent out and read by over 45,000 people and organizations, policy makers and media across California and to continue the CDCAN "Advocacy Without Borders Townhall Telemeetings" which since December 2003 have connected thousands of people with disabilities, seniors, mental health needs, people with MS and other disorders, people with traumatic brain and other injuries to public policy makers, legislators, and issues. Please send your contribution/donation (make payable to "CDCAN" or "California Disability Community Action Network):
CDCAN
1225 8th Street Suite 480
Sacramento, CA 95814
or go to the CDCAN website at and click on "DONATE TO CDCAN" to contribute using credit card via Paypal.
The CDCAN Townhall Telemeetings are partially funded by a small grant from the USC UCEDD, Grant #90DD0540 from the Administration on Developmental Disabilities. (note: the opinions expressed or content in these reports do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the USC UCEDD.
MANY THANKS to Arc Contra Costa, Pause4Kids, Manteca CAPS, Training Toward Self Reliance, UCP, California NAELA, Californians for Disability Rights, Inc (CDR) including CDR chapters, CHANCE Inc, Parents Helping Parents, Arriba, Strategies To Empower People (STEP), Alta California Regional Center, Harbor Regional Center, Tri-Counties Regional Center, Asian American parents groups, Resources for Independent Living and many other Independent Living Centers, several regional centers, People First chapters, IHSS workers, other self advocacy and family support groups, developmental center families, adoption assistance program families and children, and others across California.
Advocacy Without Borders: Connecting People With Disabilities, Mental Health Needs, Seniors, Traumatic Brain & other injuries, People with MS & other health needs, including People of color, different languages, cultures, Families, Workers, Providers, & Organizations to Rights & Unified Action. This report - and the CDCAN townhalls, and other events and projects are for all of them and for promoting advocacy without borders toward unified action. We are one community.
To respond to this report reply to: Marty Omoto at martyomoto@rcip.com CDCAN website: www.cdcan.us
To continue the CDCAN website, the CDCAN News Reports. sent out and read by over 45,000 people and organizations, policy makers and media across California and to continue the CDCAN "Advocacy Without Borders Townhall Telemeetings" which since December 2003 have connected thousands of people with disabilities, seniors, mental health needs, people with MS and other disorders, people with traumatic brain and other injuries to public policy makers, legislators, and issues. Please send your contribution/donation (make payable to "CDCAN" or "California Disability Community Action Network):
CDCAN
1225 8th Street Suite 480
Sacramento, CA 95814
or go to the CDCAN website at and click on "DONATE TO CDCAN" to contribute using credit card via Paypal.
The CDCAN Townhall Telemeetings are partially funded by a small grant from the USC UCEDD, Grant #90DD0540 from the Administration on Developmental Disabilities. (note: the opinions expressed or content in these reports do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the USC UCEDD.
MANY THANKS to Arc Contra Costa, Pause4Kids, Manteca CAPS, Training Toward Self Reliance, UCP, California NAELA, Californians for Disability Rights, Inc (CDR) including CDR chapters, CHANCE Inc, Parents Helping Parents, Arriba, Strategies To Empower People (STEP), Alta California Regional Center, Harbor Regional Center, Tri-Counties Regional Center, Asian American parents groups, Resources for Independent Living and many other Independent Living Centers, several regional centers, People First chapters, IHSS workers, other self advocacy and family support groups, developmental center families, adoption assistance program families and children, and others across California.