Smoke Detectors: Funding Assistance That is Available for Ohioans who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing
A publication of the Ohio Legal Rights Service (OLRS)
February 2003
The information provided in any OLRS publication is not a substitute for legal advice. You should consult with a lawyer concerning your rights in a specific case. Contact your local bar association or visit the Ohio State Bar Association Web site to find a lawyer in your area.
Contents
This booklet is protected by copyright under United States law and by international copyright laws and treaty provisions. You may copy and distribute the work provided that you use the work for personal, noncommercial use; do not add the work to a collection or use it with any other text, photographs, artwork, etc; do not modify or alter the work in any way or delete or modify any copyright; and do not publish or post all or any part of the work on any Internet site or in or on any other media without obtaining the prior written consent of Ohio Legal Rights Service.
Copyright © 2003 Ohio Legal Rights Service. All rights reserved.
This handbook gives information on how a person who is deaf/hard of hearing (D/HOH) can get help to pay for a smoke detector in his or her home.
- Most traditional smoke detectors alert a person to the presence of smoke or fire by making a loud sound. This may not be helpful to a person who is deaf/hard of hearing and cannot hear the sound.
- A person who is deaf/hard of hearing may need a smoke detector that uses something other than sound (for example a strobe light) to alert them to the danger of smoke or fire. But this kind of smoke detector is often more expensive, and sometimes difficult to find.
- This handbook can help a person who is deaf/hard of hearing get a smoke detector that meets his or her needs.
Return to top
A person who is deaf/hard of hearing (D/HOH) who lives in public housing is protected by a law called Section 514 of the Rehabilitation Act. That law says that a person who lives in housing that is paid for with public money has the right to ask for a reasonable accommodation for his or her disability, and the landlord has to provide it. The "landlord" may be the public housing authority or any landlord who rents to people who pay rent with public money, like housing vouchers or subsidies.
Thus, a person who is D/HOH who lives in public housing has the legal right to get a strobe-type smoke detector from the housing authority or landlord as an accommodation. The housing authority or the landlord, not the person, must pay for the smoke detector. If the housing authority or landlord refuses to pay for this accommodation, the D/HOH person can ask for help by contacting these agencies:
Ohio Legal Rights Service
50 West Broad Street, Suite 1400
Columbus, Ohio 43215-5923
800-282-9181 toll-free
614-466-7264
800-858-3542 toll-free TDD
614-728-2553 TDD
Internet Website: http://olrs.ohio.gov
Ohio Civil Rights Commission
1111 East Broad Street, Suite 301
Columbus, Ohio 43205
888-278-7101 toll-free
614-466-2785
614-466-9353 TDD
Internet Website: http://crc.ohio.gov/
Return to top
If a deaf/hard of hearing (D/HOH) person lives in private housing and needs financial assistance to buy a smoke detector, he or she can contact agencies in his or her area for information and assistance. The agencies are listed by geographical on the following pages of this handbook.
Return to top
Cincinnati Area Red Cross
720 Sycamore Street
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202-2185
Phone: 513-579-3000
The local Red Cross will pay for a smoke detector unit for a deaf/hard of hearing (D/HOH) person's home, then the person's local fire dept installs it.
Independent Living Options (ILO)
632 Vine Street, Suite 601
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202
513-241-2600
513-241-1707 TDD
ILO serves Adams, Brown, Butler, Clermont, Hamilton, Highland and Warren Counties. ILO has a standard policy to ask at Intake if a D/HOH person has a working smoke alarm at his or her residence and if the batteries work. ILO has smoke alarms and batteries donated by the Red Cross. D/HOH individuals need to fill out an application for specialized alarms and ILO can then obtain the specialized alarms. The local Fire Department installs them.
Hearing, Speech & Deaf Center of Greater Cincinnati
2825 Burnet Avenue
Cincinnati, Ohio 45219
513-221-0527
513-221-3300 TDD
Return to top
Currently the Red Cross does not have the funding to provide smoke detectors, and Services for Independent Living, Inc. does not have a program. It is suggested that deaf/hard of hearing (D/HOH) individuals in the Cleveland area contact the City Hall and Fire Department of their municipality to see if they provide smoke detectors.
Return to top
Mid-Ohio Board for Independent Living (MOBILE)
690 South High Street
Columbus, Ohio 43206
614-443-5936
614-443-5957 TDD
MOBILE, the Independent Living Center, serves Franklin County. MOBILE will provide smoke detectors for people. Individuals who want one must fill out an application. As of January 2003, MOBILE is awaiting a grant from the city of Columbus, and should know by March 2003.
Walmart
The District representative at Walmart, Ms. Sherer, is awaiting approval for grants. The grants can only be given to 501(c)(3) agencies. If Community Centers for the Deaf or Independent Living Centers have that status they may get in touch with her in May or June, 2003. Ms. Sherer's office is at the Hilliard Walmart store. She is in her office Monday - Friday from 2 pm to 4 pm. Her number is 614-876-7850 ext. 185.
Return to top
Red Cross
370 West First Street
Dayton, Ohio 45401
937-222-6711
937-222-8320 TDD
The American Red Cross purchases flashing fire alarms and then the local fire department installs them. (As of January 2003, the program is on hold as the grant money has been spent. However, ARC is looking for other monies and funding sources.)
Community Services for the Deaf
Fidelity Building
211 South Main Street, Suite 500
Dayton, Ohio 45402
937-640-8032
937-222-7921 TDD
Return to top
Linking Employment, Abilities and Potential (LEAP CIL)
2100 North Ridge Road
Elyria, Ohio 44035
440-324-3444
440-324-2113 TDD
LEAP CIL serves Erie and Lorain Counties. LEAP does not have any funding, generally they refer individuals to their local Lions Club for assistive devices.
Return to top
The Ability Center of Greater Toledo
5605 Monroe Street
Sylvania, Ohio 43560
866-885-5733 toll free
419-882-2387 TDD
Deaf Resource Center
1801 Adams Street
Toledo, Ohio 43624
419-243-1111
419-243-7777 TDD
The Ability Center serves Fulton, Henry, Lucas, Ottawa, Williams and Wood counties. The Ability Center collaborates with the Deaf Resource Center in Toledo and has a financial assistance program to assist individuals to purchase specialized equipment. Contact either The Ability Center or the Deaf Resource Center.
Return to top
D.E. Sievers & Associates
6309 Bradley Blvd.
Bethesda, MD 20817-3243
301-469-0278
301-469-0524 TDD
In this company, Mr. Sievers is a distributor who sells smoke detectors with strobe lights at the HUD discount price. Contact him for the current prices on smoke detectors and to order smoke detectors for the bedroom and hallway.
Return to top
This publication was produced by the Ohio Legal Rights Service, 50 West Broad Street, Suite 1400, Columbus, Ohio 43215-5923. Telephone 614-466-7264/800-282-9181 TTY 614-728-2553/800-858-3542 Web site: http://olrs.ohio.gov
Ohio Legal Rights Service and this publication are funded in part by grants under the following federal laws:
- Developmental Disabilities Assistance (DD) Act, administered by the Administration for Children and Families;
- Protection and Advocacy for Mentally Ill Individuals Act (PAIMI), administered by the Center for Mental Health Services of the U.S. Department of Human Services; and the
- Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended, administered by the Office of Education Services and the Rehabilitation Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Education.
Ohio Legal Rights Service does not discriminate in provision of service or employment because of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, military service, disability, or age.
Return to top
Related Topics:
