Community Linkage and Donations

The Staff of Asclepius has offered news, entertainment and posts for the Pagan community for over three years. It is a pleasure to have met so many wonderful people. If I could say my disability has given me any joy, it would be the readers and my writing of the Staff of Asclepius. It has grown from a simple post I wasn’t sure anyone would read, to being a part of the Pagan group of bloggers at Patheos and the inspiration for an anthology. Today I offer almost daily community outreach through Twitter by providing news and inspirational stories or quotes. Hours of love are spent writing this blog each week. If you see the worth of the Staff of Asclepius, please donate through your PayPal to my email tara.miller21 (at) gmail.com

Every week there are new press releases, articles, information, and videos popping up concerning Paganism, spirituality, health, or disabilities. Community Linkage is a collection of useful information and sometimes entertainment for you. You can stay informed by adding me to one of your social circles on
Google+ or follow me on Twitter.

“Consider a Text for Teen Suicide Prevention and Intervention, Research Suggests” The research, was conducted by an associate professor of social work from Ohio State University. It looked at social media, specifically MySpace, and the presence of teens wishing to end their lives. Twitter will be the next media researched. Since most teens said they wouldn’t use a hotline, it is suggested that a text option would be better.

“Delta accused of forcing paralyzed man to crawl off of plane” Houston Chronicle

“A former college professor who cannot walk has sued Delta Airlines in federal court, claiming that crew members on two flights told him the only way he could get off the plane was to crawl down the aisle, down the steps and across the tarmac.
D. Baraka Kanaan, who lives in Hawaii, filed the suit July 23 in U.S. District Court in Honolulu, against the airlines and 20 unnamed individuals.”

He was told there would be accommodated and provided an aisle wheelchair. However, it was not provided for either flight. Not only did he have to crawl out of the plane, he had to do so across the tarmac. If this is true, it is a disgusting way to treat another human being.
Disabled street artist Xi Fu paints pictures with his toes. http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2013/07/disabled_street_artist_xi_fu.html

“Nightmares After the I.C.U.” New York Times

Illinois Gov. Quinn signs law expanding gym class exemption for disabled students Chicago Tribune

“Students with disabilities who play organized sports outside of school will be able to skip gym class under a new state law.”

“The Most Powerful Advocacy Tool For People With Disabilities” by Anita Cameron

Ocean from the Deaf Pagan Crossroads is contemplating writing a book.

“Chapters will focus on topics such as accessibility to Pagan events, Pagan sign language, parallelisms between Deafhood and Paganism, thoughts about Paganism from the Deaf Community, thoughts about deafness from the Pagan Community, etc.”