PARALYZED VETERANS OF AMERICA

Mission Statement:

The Bay Area and Western Member Chapter of the Paralyzed Veterans of America is dedicated to the task of improving the quality of life of Veterans with paralysis due to spinal cord dysfunction and to the protection of their civil rights. We are committed to the duty of assisting paralyzed Veterans by advocating for unfettered access to VA health care and barrier-free access to the community.

Our goal is to ensure the fulfillment of the need for the health and well-being of our Members, and all paralyzed Veterans, through education, information and referral, medical research, and physical, psychological, and recreational therapy.

Background Information:

The Paralyzed Veterans of America, Bay Area & Western Chapter (BAWPVA) is a nonprofit, Veterans service organization located in Palo Alto, CA. The BAWPVA serves spinal cord injured and/or dysfunction Veterans located in Northern California and the Pacific Islands. The Bay Area & Western Chapter is one of 34 chapters of the Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) located across the United States. Bay Area & Western Chapter of PVA services provide direct support to the chapter's members. Programs operated by the BAWPVA are Sports & Recreation, Hospital Liaison, Government Relations, Membership, Service, and Communication.

The BAWPVA Sports program sponsors wheelchair basketball and quad rugby teams. The organization also sponsors wheelchair bowling tournaments and members to attend various individual sporting events for the Paralympics. Annually the BAWPVA sponsors a team to the National Veterans Wheelchair Games and the Disabled Veterans Winter Clinic. During the National Veterans Wheelchair Games paralyzed Veterans get to participate in track & field, team sports, swimming, bowling, shooting, obstacle courses (slalom), as well as many other sporting activities. The BAWPVA’s Recreation program includes providing tickets to sporting events, community outings, barbecues, and weekly bingo at the SCI/D Center at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System.

The Hospital Liaison program allows the chapter to ensure that paralyzed Veterans are receiving access to quality healthcare at the Veterans Administration Hospitals in their local communities. The BAWPVA visits the Spinal Cord Injury/Dysfunction Center on a regular basis to visit with staff and patients to ensure everyone is receiving the care they need. The organization also visits other VA hospitals to ensure if Veterans need to use their facilities they have the appropriate access to care.

The Government Relations program is divided into two programs: Legislation and Advocacy. On the legislative front, federal, state, and local governments are monitored on an ongoing basis, so as to ensure that measures pertaining to California Veterans and other persons with disabilities meet the needs of the Membership. The Chapter’s Director of Advocacy meets with Chapter Members throughout the year to advise them on issues of concern to their rights as citizens with disabilities. Where necessary, he or she will intercede whenever a Chapter Member faces accessibility issues that they are unable to resolve on their own. As examples of the many and diverse issues confronted by our Members, BAWPVA was able to secure additional accessible parking spaces at the Sonora VA Out-Patient Clinic after one of our Members noticed that construction materials were blocking existing spaces. A review of the Clinic revealed that they were using an incorrect formula to calculate the number of accessible parking spaces required under the law. Another example was a newly injured Veteran was unable to find an accessible parking space at his apartment complex in Sacramento and met with resistance from management over the question of who was responsible for the costs of providing the modifications to the parking lot. A letter from the organization resulted in newly reserved accessible parking space for the Veteran at management’s expense. Finally, the organization worked with the Army & Air Force Exchange Service, so as to bring the rest rooms at the McClellan Park (Sacramento) Base Exchange into compliance with federal accessibility statutes.

The Paralyzed Veterans of America, Bay Area & Western Chapter was established in October 1962. For 50 years now they have been assisting paralyzed Veterans throughout Northern California and the Pacific Islands with their needs.