Heartland Chapter of the American Council of the Blind of Indiana

Meeting Minutes

Recorded by Sandy Adams, Secretary

Virtual meeting via Zoom on April 20, 2020

Present:  Mike Adams, Sandy Adams, (secretary), Ted Boardman (president), Tim Davis, Bill Fierman (treasurer), Barbara Salisbury, Rhett Salisbury, Mary Stores, Sherry Wells

Welcome and Introductions

Ted Boardman called the meeting to order at 6:37 p.m. and welcomed everyone.  Roll call was taken verbally and recorded as above.

Ted explained that the minutes of the previous meeting had been sent to each member of the chapter via email and asked if there were any corrections or additions.  None were voiced.

Bill Fierman motioned that the minutes from February 17, 2020 be accepted.  Mary Stores seconded the motion.  A voice vote was taken and the motion passed.  There were no objections.

The Planning Committee had met in March and looked ahead to a possible stay-at-home order and resources that could be used on-line. 

State and National Announcements

There will be more announcements about the July National ACB virtual convention. Barbara said there will be a lot of transportation workshops and roundtables. 

We are still planning on having the Joint State convention with Ohio in November here in Bloomington. 

Barbara strongly urged people to join the ACBI mailing list  This will be important because of the way voting may take place this year. It is everyone’s right to vote privately. We might need ACB Indiana members to know and act on something in a relatively short turn-around.

Ted shared the following information. This information was also posted to the Heartland ACB website and promoted on the front page.

Pandemic Outbreak Isolation: Coping and Thriving

Creating Your Own Personal Handbook: How to effectively keep and manage your digital life

• Note taking: Using an application purpose-built for storing and finding information in the form of notes, scanned documents, web pages. Suggestions: Evernote, Apple’s Notes application and others
• Your digital file. Categorizing things can be helpful.  Typically you are more likely to file something when it occurs. You may be unlikely to go back to file things retroactively.
• Your most sensitive information (e.g. your passwords, credit cards, identification cards, and notes with sensitive information) should be kept in apps designed to keep sensitive information safe.  We’re now more reliant on online services than ever. Reusing the same old easy-to-remember passwords is analogous to locking your front door with rubber bands. 
  • On iOS, you can use the Keychain to store and autofill passwords and forms, and Wallet to keep payment cards. The Notes app stores your notes with encryption. Your Apple ID is your master password, and you must keep it safe.
  • LastPass is a digital vault that has a free plan which includes syncing to all your devices. This is particularly useful if you have passwords on devices from multiple manufacturers (Apple, Microsoft, Google, Amazon)
• Email: File important (emphasis on important) email as you get it into folders.  
  • Think about how you will want to search for information when creating folders to organize. Will you want to find email by organization name, or by subject? It may be a mix of both.
  • Have you marked recipients as VIPs (iOS) or similar category with Android? This can not only allow you to filter your inbox to just show email from people you’ve categorized, but change how you get notified about email from important people. 
• Websites: Do you bookmark sites to a single list, or do you create categories of bookmarks and file the bookmark at the time you make it? Having bookmark folders set up so you can file as you bookmark is recommended, as many people do not go back after the fact to organize their bookmarks menu.  
• Are you using a synchronization feature to keep all your bookmarks synced across multiple devices? Safari, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Edge all support syncing bookmarks, but you may need to log in in the browser to activate this feature.
• Some examples for bookmark folders: Accessibility Tools, Bill Paying, Books, Grocery, Restaurant Menus, Transportation, TV.

Physical Safety and Wellness

• Do you have an emergency medical kit handy? It does not have to be a big metal box marked “Emergency Kit.” It can be a box of items you think you may need. Suggested items:
  • Your preferred pain killer
  • Band Aids
  • Antibiotic ointment
  • Gauze wrap
  • Tape
  • Rubbing alcohol
  • Digital talking thermometer
  • CDC has mask making guidelines that are updated to describe the instructions to make a no-sewing mask.

• Your digital life security
  • Running security software on computer
  • Healthy skepticism when reading email: Is the sender really who they claim to be from? Were you expecting this attachment? Is a threat of discontinuation of service and request for verification real? If you have any doubts, do not reply or click on any link in that email. Call or reach out to the sender using any other method.

• Your Accessibility Toolkit
  • Video assistants
  • Keeping devices and your knowledge of how to use them up-to-date
    • OS updates
  • Take advantage of training or knowledge sharing opportunities
  • Mobility apps
    • Lyft, UBER, Token, Compass, Microsoft Soundscape
      • Bone conducting headphones are recommended for Soundscape, because you want to be able to hear well as you walk, while also hearing the 3D audio cues.

Managing stress and feelings of social isolation

If you are managing your stress well, consider some preventative steps, summed up with the three M’s:  Movement, mindfulness, mastery

Also, small acts of kindness are boosting for both giver and receiver

• Planning and preparing can help you feel less worried about the unknown
• Avoiding alcohol and substances that can cause a depressed mood
• Take breaks
• Stretch and exercise
• Make time to unwind
• Get plenty of sleep. Maintain good sleep hygiene:
• Talk to people about your concerns: Often just verbalizing a problem can help you process
• Write about what is troubling you. This can be particularly helpful to process traumatic events. After you finish, erase the document as recording thoughts is not the point, but rather the act of turning tramatic thoughts into words on a page to help your brain process them.
• Proactively check in with family to ask how they are doing
• Watch others for signs of distress:
  • Unexplained bedwetting in children
  • Unusual drug or alcohol use
  • Unusual headaches or stomach distress
• Know what medications your loved one is taking
• Find out ahead of time what options are available for mental health treatment
  • Options provided by your health insurance
  • Local providers friends or family can recommend.
• Take a break from pandemic news coverage. But plan to “dip back in” to stay informed at regular intervals. 

Barbara Salisbury suggested getting outside, listen to the birds.  

Find things to laugh about.  She will send out email with some humorous comments about dealing with the pandemic.

Look for hopeful things.

Get things done that you have felt you have not had time for before.

Do something for someone else – can call people who live alone or may not have family.

A couple of comments made from several attendees about having pets in the room, including the bedroom, can be comforting.  Mary mentioned that essential oils may be helpful.  Cedarwood has melatonin which may aid with sleep. 

Fear, anxiety and grief are totally normal in this situation.

If you are experiencing persistently low mood, anxiety, lack of concentration, persistent sleep problems or inability to experience joy, please consider seeking professional assistance.

It doesn’t have to be expensive. First, check with your insurance company benefits to see if mental health benefits are provided. Often, they will spell out what providers are included. For those employed, there is possibly an Employee Assistance Program that include tele-concealing.

There are also local psychiatrists that are less expensive. Catholic Charities is one such group that provides behavioral health counseling on a sliding scale starting from zero, depending on your income.

Also keep in mind if you have previously experienced drama and anxiety, you could be more vulnerable in this challenging time.

Food

• Mary reports Instacart grocery delivery is “getting better” in regard to product descriptions provided by the shopper picking your items. It is important to tip well.
• You may want to consider ordering directly from local restaurants if you want to maximize their profit. See this article in BusinessWeek about food delivery service fees impacting already razor-thin profit margins.
• Mary also mentioned on-line Farmer’s Market.  Place an order and get a driver to take you there.  They put items in the trunk of the car so minimal contact

Online Resources for Entertainment, Education, Saying Informed

• Watch movies and television with friends using a group watching app. TwoSeven is a free browser-based extension for Firefox and Chrome that lets you watch content together with friends, while being able to talk to them. 
• More options are outlined in this article from The Verge

• Monroe County Public Digital Library
• You need a library password, which is also called a PIN. There is a way to request one online and a staff member will be in touch with you within 24 hours to complete the process.
• Access to licensed content typically requires you go to the linked provider, create an account, and specify your Monroe County account information.
• There are some specific eLibrary Index web pages that effectively describe and link to the content so you do not have to hunt through the libraries’ website. There is also contact information so you can actually talk to a staff member for assistance.

• Herald-Times full text archive
• New York Times online
• Books: Overdrive thousands of audiobooks. According to the librarian, the widest selection and easiest access would be to access books through BARD. That is not to say that some of these other providers the library has licensed are not accessible. Some offer specialized content and learning materials, for example, that you would not find on BARD.
  • BuzzFeed Quizzes to help you find your next great read
• Magazines
  • ConsumerReports.org – accessible with library account
• Education
  • Learn a new language using Rosetta Stone or DuelLingo
  • GCF Learn Free: Simple lessons in technology, using social media
  • Khan Academy
• Videos: Kanopy does have some films with audio description. Most are on subjects related to disability, and there is not an easy way to find which films have audio description. Hoopla does not have descriptive audio content. You can find some by searching for “audio description,” but that will also include titles without. We have brought this up to library staff, and they are raising the issue with these providers.

• BARD: Sign up through Indiana State Library, download the BARD smart phone app or request a compatible digital reader

• ACB’s Descriptive Audio Index – What, and how, to watch with audio description. If you have not yet watched a movie with audio description turned on, you won’t believe what you are missing.

• Amazon
  • Free audiobooks
    • Listen to Hundreds of Free Audiobooks, From Classics to Educational Texts: Audible’s new service is aimed at school-age children participating in distance learning but features selections likely to appeal to all. 
• • Alexa: Can read Kindle books you have purchased using natural sounding, high quality text-to-speech output, and of course play Audible books. Each month, there is a new free selection. Just ask: “Alexa what’s free on Audible?”

• KNFB’s Newsline: Access via telephone or the mobile app breaking news, thousands of newspapers, magazine ads, job listings, retail ads, tv listings. Sign up through the Indiana State library.
• The mobile app now includes the basic functionality of the KNFB Reader, for free. The KNFB Reader was a $99 app that reads printed material out loud.

Business and other discussion

Posting of meeting minutes was discussed.  Options were posting approved minutes on the Heartland Facebook page; posting on the ACBI website with a link to the Heartland Chapter or posting to the Heartland Chapter website with links to other places like Facebook.   Ted noted that he has not seen organizational minutes posted to Facebook. 

Mary volunteered to do on-line publicizing and sharing of information about the Heartland Chapter of ACBI.  Rhett seconded her self-nomination.  Voice approval was noted.  No objections were voiced.

A formalized distribution method of contact via email was discussed.  A list serve could be set up that would include the emails of paid chapter members.  It could be maintained annually as the dues are paid.  Presently the email list consists of individual email addresses that are copied by one individual to another.  This item was tabled for now because not enough members were present at this time to take a vote.

Barbara suggested a future meeting topic could be about using Facebook.

The Planning Committee did develop a list of possible social events including some outdoor events.  Their intention was to survey the interests of members but in this current social distancing environment there may be limited opportunities for face-to-face socials.

The May meeting will be a virtual event.  Some suggestions are a Zoom time to socialize, an audio described movie or a virtual cocktail hour.  These choices could be emailed to the group to see which activity appeals to the most individuals.

Barbara suggested that a phone call to some of the members who did not attend this Zoom meeting might be helpful to keep members involved in the chapter.  Mary and Ted volunteered to make these calls. 

Meeting adjourned at 8:15 pm. 

Action items:

Ted will get a member list and share it with Mary.  They will look at the list to see if they can manage to make the calls that need to be made to some members who did not attend this Zoom meeting.

An email will need to be sent to members surveying interests in the proposed May social event.  The third Monday in May is the 18th.  Proposed activities are:  a Zoom time to socialize, an audio described movie or a virtual cocktail hour.