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The National Alliance on Mental Illness Responds to Soap Opera Stars Article
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Thom Bierdz’s account of his brother’s struggle with schizophrenia is horrifying for anyone to read, let alone for someone who has firsthand experience with serious mental illness. The families lack of access to resources or information, a parents desperate and often lonely attempts to be a caregiver, the gradual descent into self medication with drugs and eventual imprisonment, is sadly enough, a common story. However, some facts need to be emphasized. Schizophrenia is a rare mental illness; under 1% of the population is diagnosed with it. The bulk of people with serious mental illness are usually the victims of violence, not the perpetrators. In 2010, most states have a support and information for families in this situation.
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EveryBODY Skates New Jersey
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As part of Hockey Weekend Across America, a group of hockey players with disabilities and their coaches recently embarked upon a three-day journey across New Jersey in an effort to convince area rink owners to allocate at least one hour of ice time per week specifically for disabled hockey programs.
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Earned Income Tax Credit Can Put Money in Your Pocket
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You may qualify to get up to $5,600 back from IRS and not know it. The agency estimates one in four eligible taxpayers could miss out on the Earned Income Tax Credit - or EITC - simply because they don't claim it.
EITC can be a financial boost for working people hit by hard economic times. Eligibility is based on several factors including the source and amount of your income, or combined income if married, whether you have qualifying children and how many. Children are not required, but they increase the amount of your credit. Through new legislation, families with three or more children can get even more money.
If you had less than $48,000 in income from wages, self-employment or farming in 2009, you may qualify. Use IRS's online EITC Assistant to determine your eligibility and amount of your credit. You must file a tax return, even if you aren't otherwise required, and claim the EITC to get it.
No-cost help is available. Volunteer income tax assistance sites or IRS Taxpayer Assistance Centers will prepare your return at no charge. To locate a volunteer site, call your community's 211 or 311 number for local services or call the IRS at 1-800-906-9887.
See if your state also has an EITC. |
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VSA of New Jersey and ThisAbled Debut “Connect” Exhibition at Artworks in Trenton
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VSA of New Jersey and ThisAbled will present the art exhibition “Connect” at Artworks, Trenton’s downtown visual arts center, located at 19 Everett Alley in Trenton from March 20 to May 1, 2010. Featuring ten artists with disabilities, “Connect” showcases the diverse two-dimensional work being produced by emerging and established artists and invites visitors to explore the relationship between arts and disability. The public is invited to attend an opening reception on Saturday, March 20 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
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Former NBA Star Encourages People with Disabilities to Follow their Dreams
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By: Kelly Rouba
Chris Dudley was only a sophomore in high school when he received some news from his doctor that would change his life forever. Dudley, who had been experiencing fatigue and extreme thirst, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 1981—a disease that is caused when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin to control blood sugar levels.
Dudley said his father suspected he might have diabetes and was the one who had him get tested. “My dad’s brother—my uncle—had diabetes, so I was fortunate in that my dad was suspicious to check for that,” Dudley said, adding, “He went to the local pharmacy and got what, at the time, was a way of testing for blood sugar.”
After the test showed that his blood sugars were high, Dudley’s father took him right to the hospital. Upon being diagnosed with diabetes, “I was upset, confused, just didn’t know what it meant, and scared,” Dudley recalls. “I didn’t know much about it, (except that) there was and are some very drastic long-term complications.”
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