BEINEINU NEWS & NOTES
September 3, 2023
Lego Braille Bricks
Lego braille bricks are now available for sale to the public. The first sets will be available in English and French with Italian, German and Spanish language versions coming in early 2024.
The "Lego Braille Bricks — Play with Braille" set comes with 287 pieces that are “fully compatible with other Lego products and the studs on each brick are arranged to correspond to the numbers and letters in the braille system.” The printed symbol or letter will on the brick under the studs. A baseplate, which people can build on, includes braille on it, as well. The company will make its audio and braille building instructions available for other sets, allowing blind people of all ages to enjoy Lego building.
Lego also provides free braille bricks sets to organizations that educate blind children.
Survey For NJ Families
The New Jersey Department of Children and Families' Children's System of Care is collaborating with Rutgers, Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling to conduct a survey regarding experiences of New Jersey families who have children with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (whether diagnosed or not). The survey is approximately 30-60 minutes long, depending on the number of children and time spent on open-ended responses. To participate see https://eagletonpoll.rutgers.edu/family/
Making Stores Accessible to People Who are Visually Impaired
The design of a store (specifically the storefront) can significantly affect how people who are blind or visually impaired navigate in cities. One of the biggest problems for these individuals is finding store entrances because they need more detailed location information about where the entries are on existing maps. A website called DoorFront.org — created by The City University of New York (CUNY) and Lighthouse Guild — aims to collect accessibility data of New York City storefronts using crowdsourcing and artificial intelligence (AI) and, with the help of volunteers, check the accuracy of the accessibility information that AI has tagged on Google Street View via the Internet. The result is accurate and robust location information to help people with vision impairment better navigate and shop in New York City.
DoorFront.org needs volunteers to review and confirm the collected storefront location data. Interested participants can sign up on www.DoorFront.org for free and immediately begin to note whether a store in their area is accessible for visually impaired people to enter. In return, they'll receive a letter recognizing their effort to help their community. Your efforts will go a long way in helping people who are blind or vision impaired to access their city!
Camp Funding
Mishkon has received an increase in their OPWDD budget for camp scholarship. Eligible families can now apply for reimbursement.
Documents required:
* OPWDD FSS Family Reimbursement Application
* Cover Letter
* Camp invoice with address, dates of attendance & cost
* Camp Permit
* Proof of payment if camp is fully paid off
* Life plan including a goal that is pertinent to camp & how camp helps the family in section I
* The Jewish Board, FSS in section V
* Current LCED
Eligibility requirement:
- OPWDD approved
- Living in Brooklyn
- The camp needs to be in NYS If the camp is being funded through OPWDD (waiver) then FSS cannot be used for the extras.
Email questions and documents to: Sarah Danzig Pearlman