Welcome to the CCB Courier for November 06, 2026
CCB Town Hall: Your Voice Matters!
The California Council of the Blind invites all members to a special Town Hall listening session on Saturday, November 14, from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. Pacific.
This is your opportunity to speak openly, share your thoughts, express concerns, and offer ideas about the future of CCB. We want to hear from you!
The session will be facilitated by our ACB Board Liaison, Kenneth Semien Sr., to encourage open and meaningful dialogue.
We strongly encourage all members to attend and make their voices heard!
Zoom information is coming soon. Stay tuned to the Courier and our mailing lists for details!
Your Voice Is the Most Important Ingredient!
Thank you for acting! Since launching at the end of August, dedicated advocates have generated over 1600 constituent letters to California state leadership regarding ongoing service breakdowns at the Department of Rehabilitation (DOR).
Making sure the legislature understands the serious crisis at the Department of Rehabilitation in California takes sustained pressure. To prove systemic failure and hold DOR fully accountable, we must back up our stories with hard proof. Here is how you can help right now:
A group of community advocates created an in-depth survey to capture the exact ways clients and applicants are being affected by service delays and cuts. Please complete and share it so concrete data can be presented to legislative committees.
Details on privacy and optional fields are listed right at the top of the survey.
https://forms.gle/paXarWvb9o9ssV6S6
Please forward our campaign link to at least one friend, colleague, or family member. Adding your own personal story makes these letters especially powerful, but sending the pre-written message as-is works great too, every letter counts:
https://actionnetwork.org/letters/hearing-request?source=direct_link
Progress takes persistence. Contact Regina Brink at regina.brink@ccbnet.org or call (800)221-6359, option 3 with any questions.
Requesting Appointments with Your Legislator:
First locate the legislator for the CA State Assembly and Senate for your District. Contact Regina Brink with Governmental Affairs if you have trouble locating them. Now here’s how to Schedule.
Step 1: Do not use the portals as they have been unreliable and we often can’t tell with a screen reader if the request has been sent or not. Call the District office if you’re going in person or the Capital office if you’re scheduling a statewide call with a key legislator. Tell them you are having trouble with their website due to your visual disability and would like the email of the scheduler.
Step 2: Email a personalized letter.
Step 3: Send follow up emails at least three times.
Step 4: Call again to say you are having trouble scheduling. If this does not work, that's ok. You've done your best.
If you are able to schedule and would like further resources or have any questions, contact Regina Brink at regina.brink@ccbnet.org or call (800)221-6359, option 3.
suggest a theme for the 2027 Convention.
CCB has long been recognized as a leader in innovative actions and initiatives that improve the lives of blind and low vision individuals. Now, more than
ever, we are working together to preserve the rights of the blind and low vision community in California and beyond.
Please submit your theme ideas by November 20 to Alice Turner at
aliceturner1201@gmail.com
or call her at 650-388-0095.
The Convention Planning Committee will vote to select the theme, and the winning suggestion will receive a $25 Amazon gift card.
We look forward to hearing your ideas!
Friday Night Live
Join us for Friday Night Live with CCB! Friday, Nov 13, 7:00PM PT Relax and connect with CCB friends on the second Friday of each month. Enjoy casual conversations, current events, share personal news, comedy, or an interesting tidbit. Pop in, pop out. We just want to say hello and connect with you, even if just for a few minutes. All are welcome! We look forward to seeing you there! For the Zoom link and more info email: joe.derrick.green@gmail.com
or call (559)351-4797
Courier submissions:
In order to submit an item, please provide the message either to the office or to Andrea DeKlotz directly at 714-921-0289 or submit.courier@ccbnet.org by 5:00 pm on Wednesday before the Courier is recorded. Also, please make sure your message states in the subject line that it is for the Courier, or it may be missed.
In the interest of providing as much information to our members as possible, we ask that you limit submissions to 75 words or less.
Please note that any ads will run for no longer than three weeks, and CCB is not responsible for any transactions between persons resulting from these ads.
Thank you for reading.
