Dude was the
brainchild of Nathan Jacobi. In 2002 his wife,
Rhea suffered a stroke that left her wheelchair bound and paralyzed
except for the use of one arm. While Rhea was struggling with her
disability, Nathan was struggling with the Oregon Department of Human
Services to obtain the services they needed for Rhea to live
independently. His experience with the bureaucracy inspired him to
create an organization to advocate for rights for the disabled.
Dude has several
purposes:
To serve as an
advocate for the disabled and to protect their rights.
To assist in
providing advice and counseling to the disabled, their families and
caregivers.
To increase the
visibility of the disabled in the “tab” (Temporarily Able-Bodied) world
and to improve communication and understanding between tabs and the
disabled.
Dude was organized
under the fiscal sponsorship of the Multicultural Association of
Southern Oregon. It is moving toward becoming an independent
501(C)3 nonprofit organization. On April 20, 2004 over 100 disabled and
their friends and family held a rally demanding restoration of services
to the disabled.
Dude’s most notable
accomplishment is HB 3268, which takes effect July 1, 2006. HB
3268, AKA the Dude Bill, requires that people whose state
assistance is being reassessed receive at least 30 days notice and at
least 14 days advance notice of the evaluation procedures to be used.
The bill was sponsored in the House by Peter Buckley of Ashland and Sal
Esquivel of Medford and in the Senate by Alan Bates and Ben
Westlund.
For more information
about Dude visit their website at http://dudesRus.org/
or call 541-779-5151
