Crisis Coaching

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Support Veterans with PTSD and their Support Animals

How you can help sponsors our Lobbying work - and improve accessibility for all people with animal in medical service. Presently the Americans with Disabilities Act lags behind other disability laws and limits service animals to only dogs and horses. However, since 1990, when the ADA passed, many different types of animals medical serve their owners. It's time to bring the laws into alignment.

As is, someone can travel - fly, take a train, or public transit with any animal in medical service - yet arrive at a business, such as a hotel or restaurant, and be turned away if the front lines people (or back office management)  opt to not "reasonably accommodate"  this person with disabilities. Its time the law needs to be more clear - "What does REASONABLY ACCOMMODATE mean in law?" What is does not mean in our opinion, is that management and owners need to stop harassing, causing public displays of hostility, or using the ADA as a way to publicly and privately attempt to demean, insult, and discriminate against people with disabilities.

We are not "you people..."  (referring to people with disabilities) which is a phrase the author has heard way too often in the past seven years.

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Veteran’s Day (U.S.) / Remembrance Day (Canada) November 11, 2017

MAKE A DIFFERENCE TODAY

SUPPORT VETERANS WITH PTSD AND THEIR “SERVICE” ANIMALS  

Crisis Coaching needs your help. Help us get conflicting laws about service and support animals helping people with disability to match up.

Did you know that at least 540,000 Veterans (U.S. statistic) and 10% of Canadian war vets suffer from service related PTSD?

These Vets, and others needing service and support animals can travel on airlines, obtain housing, employment and bring their working four-footed companions with them. However, across other industries, such as hospitality/ tourism, medical facilities, and churches these people with their working partners may be turned away because the Americans with Disabilities Act only recognizes SOME dogs and horses!

PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), for example is not a new disorder. It was first noted during the American Civil War (called “Soldier’s Heart”), then during WWI (“Shell Shock”), and WWII (“War Neurosis”). When PTSD symptoms showed up during combat, it was called “Combat Fatigue.” After 1980, the disorder became known as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (or PTSD, or PTS).

Not just Veterans have PTSD (or PTS). Others, such as the one in six North Americans who grew up as victims of abuse, most have some form of PTSD. Others who were victims of domestic violence, or other trauma as a child, teen, or adult develop this. Survivors of sexual torture, and other torture, or extreme psychological abuse, usually have this. If you were ever held against your will, you may likely have PTSD.

Emotional Animals - Not Recognized as Service Animals

Many veterans, and others with PTSD, have support dogs, or other animals, serving them to help them cope with life. However, under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA: 1990), these dogs providing emotional support for PTSD sufferers are NOT considered service dogs. Service dogs (or horses) have to provide a specific “task.”

Providing support and giving psychological comfort to someone who has PTSD, or is a multiple trauma survivor, is not a “task.” There may be no training involved. Therefore, the PTSD “service” dogs do not qualify under the ADA as service dogs. Canadian laws are similar in structure on this point, following the ADA.

Canada is also similar in that its transportation legislation follows U.S. laws and ALLOWS for “emotional support animals,” such as PTSD support animals (any type of animal, example: cats and capuchin monkeys, ferrets, pigs, or other)

Under The Air Carrier Access Act (U.S. federal law), these emotional support dogs - as well as other emotional support animals - ARE permitted to travel with their owners in the airplane cabin.

Under The Fair Housing Act (U.S. federal) and Fair Employment and Housing Act (California, for example, and most U.S. states), these dogs, and other emotional support animals, are permitted to live in all housing and accompany someone to work with rare exception. Such exemptions are: at a medical facility (hospital) or a church; these are gray area for “reasonable accommodation” of a person with disabilities.

All(!) legislation stresses the importance of “reasonable accommodation” (U.S.) and Canada describes it as a “duty to accommodate.” At least in the U.S. some businesses, such as the hospitality industry (hotels and restaurants), staff, or management (only possibly directed by a misinformed franchise owner) seems to take “great righteous pleasure” in refusing entrance to people with people with disabilities. They only have eyes to see visually noticeable disabilities and if the person is harnessed with a “service dog.” (I.e. blind person with dog on guide dog harness.) Then to make more of a scene, the untrained front desk person or waiter/ server may be left to decide on their own if they want to consider the guest as “disabled enough.” They seem to ignore the part of the legislation noting that “reasonable accommodation” must be offered to all people with disabilities, not just the people with ADA qualified “service” dogs or horses.

Further, today the Americans with Disabilities Act law is outdated. It was passed in 1990. In addition, architectural specs, such as the ability for someone in a wheelchair to access sinks, soap, towels and bathrooms in general may not be enforced. Clearance around hotel beds, or access to and from bathrooms might be blocked. Restaurants often store highchairs against a wall in such a way to be blocking a path to bathrooms. Other times, it may be that ramps that are too steep.

How Animal Support Has Advanced since 1990 When the ADA was Written

Since 1990, many other animals are being trained for medically providing tasks to people with disabilities. Ferrets assist children with epilepsy. Cats, like mine, assist with assisting an owner with smooth breathing and waking up someone with sleep apnea. Other animals are also used, such as pigs and capuchin monkeys.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

 As a Healthcare Lobbyist, and dual citizen (American and Canadian) whose adult life work for almost 25 years is in improving quality of life for people with disabilities, my goal is to present before the U.S. Congress and before Legislatures across Canada to help “clean up and align conflicting legislation.” It is time to recognize that ALL animals in medical service are service animals. Animals in service medically, are usually under tight control of their owners. They are not wandering, loose, or likely to bite or attack someone.

 Crisis Coaching needs your help TODAY. PLEASE sponsor our lobbying to help Vets and others traveling with service and support animals who travel and stay in hotels, access restaurants, and other public buildings to come and go with equal accessibility - “hassle-free.”  

How this applies to you, a family member, or friend: If you travel with an emotional support animal or an animal trained to support your medical need that is not a dog or horse, you could fly and travel with your animal, then be turned away at a hotel! You could even call ahead, talk to a shift manager, to have your animal approved, then on arrival at a hotel (tired from travel) be treated rudely and quite harshly turned away because in “their opinion” your animal is not a service dog or horse. OR - You could be left in limbo for hours in their lobby, or have added stress for days while the hotel claims to be “sorting this out with their insurance department” or “franchise owner.” Instead of the hotel valuing you as a guest and appreciating you paying sometimes upwards to $200/ night for accommodation, you may be treated like a low-life second-class unwanted citizen

Still other “more professional and welcoming” hotel staff might request to take copies of your “proof that your animal is a service or support animal,” which under the ADA law, they are not allowed to request.

Then more and more, some franchise owners within the chains are compassionate, and familiar with the laws and follow them - providing not only access but a kind greeting. Two of the best were Carlton Suites in La Jolla, CA, that provides all dogs with stuff animal new toys (a monkey), snacks on arrival, and has water bowls just off lobby for the thirsty ones. Another, a Marriott, in Newbury Park, CA, rolls out the welcome mat for medical support animals. And more and more hotels at least in California, are accepting ALL animals, pets and service / support animals. I can tell you first hand, giving a tired animal that has been traveling a new toy on arrival that is memorable and will bring back the owner, as well.

In case you are wondering: There is no official federal registry for service or support animals. Those that charge for certificates are businesses. Some businesses will register animals in their business database. This is why Crisis Coaching provides, FREE, the blank certification you can take to your doctor or veterinarian to complete (fill out). We are not an animal registry, but you can carry your own certification with you. If you cross the border, it always helps to have a “well pet” certificate as well. Service and support animals are not required by law to wear a “service vest.”

Our Daily Project: Our Online Training Program

 We are also working daily on creating the largest “one-stop online training program” for creating transparency on aging in America and Canada. Too many young people are burying young mothers (prescription drug overdose, stroke, vehicle accidents, brain tumors or injury, breast cancer…) and teens are being responsible for continuing the raising of younger siblings. Still others are challenged with maintaining job or career stability (travel with work, work overseas, Military, First Responders, Key / Essential employees, entertainment industry / media/ journalists). When the first video training (proposed: 16 modules - over 100 hours of training and support materials accessible 24/ 7), anyone anywhere in the world will have a go-to resource accessible through opt in.

Soon you will be able to opt-in and watch us online as we up load build the training site.

Help Crisis Coaching TODAY. Your sponsorship is urgently needed! We are developing a FREE basic training program for Americans and Canadians to help professionals better prepare for case management and caregiving of a loved one.

By training and preparing for when - not if - a family healthcare crisis happens, professionals can take steps to stabilize their career or job, make important decisions in advance, and stabilize assets, and create transparency within the family so siblings and other relatives have the best chance of continuing to get along and supporting each other through emotionally high-charged emergency events.

No amount of sponsorship is too little. $8 to $80 or $800 or more - every one of us makes a difference!

As your healthcare federal Lobbyist, I urgently need your help raising $20,000 to meet Crisis Coaching overhead expenses through the end of 2017.

Your sponsorship dollars make such a difference!

Thank you in advance! PLEASE kindly forward this Sponsorship article to others who care about Veterans and others with disabilities. If you are in a position to Partner with us for fundraising, please contact: fundraising@crisis-coaching.com

NOTE: Corporate sponsorship levels to join our Coalition start at $2000 up to 20 employees.

Sponsor Levels Named after Sample "Service" Animals:
Required Information



 

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Crisis Coaching is a community wealth enterprise. It is funded entirely by individual and business sponsorships, and work product and service we generate. We do not accept government grants as we do not want to be subject to conflicts of interest. The basic training program for Crisis Coaching will be available on the Thinkific platform coming soon.

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