Disabled Protests in D.C. - SB1621 Community Choice Act

[Traveling_Home]

I'll post the video, pictures on yahoo groups in the rainbowgimps group later today or tomorow. Following the arrest of 99 folks the first day at HHS they were processed and released by 2 am. The next day we took over the offices of the American Hospital Assoc (Hospital Discharge Planners refer folks to Nursing Homes owned by Doctors they work for instead of getting folk back in their own home) We video-celled flix and shot them up to youtube from inside while the blocking of their building. THey have agreed to meet with ADAPT for new planning within a month. No arrests so after getting the committment we stopped blocking their garage exit so their staff could go home. Next day went to Capitol hill visit all the diifferent Senators and Congress men about supporting HR 1621 (Harkin sponsored)

We have been waiting for years to get a hearing on that legislation. HAd arguement with some staff, left some in tears but most (Staff) were receptive to the bill. Getting the hearing a committment was the focus. We needed someone to sign off and get a hearing scheduled

40 disabled folk from Pennsylvania went to Arlen Spectors Office and just waited. After the meeting with Spector he wrote a letter to the ranking members of the approriate committees to schedule a hearing within 30 days, signed it, spoke to them on the phone and gave us a copy of the signed demand he sent to the leadership to schedule that hearing. I'll post lots more- press releases, videos in the actions, and photos on the rainbow gimps forum on yahoo.

About 500 wheelers (mainly) showed up for this planned civil disobedience but only 99 ended up arrested

We will be in Chicago in Sept and then prepare for the Democratic convention in Denver

http://www.adapt.org/freeourpeople/aar/cca1/video.htm
http://www.youtube.com/ADAPTvideo
http://ngallery.adapt.org/index.php?cat=10006
adapt.org

[Solo_in_MD]

1. What is the issue in question?

[Traveling_Home]

2. Community Choice Act HEARINGS!!!!

There is an institutional bias in medicaid wherein only a very small portion of medicaid dollars are available for home health and homemaker care to keep people in their own homes instead of forcibly put into a nursing home. In some states there is a waiting list for home care but if you'll agree to go into a nursing home for 90 days then you can be discharged for home care.

The MiCassa legislation has beeb languishing for years - changed name to Community Choice Act - Harkin main sponsor.

The other end of the instituitional bias is having affordable accessible homes. Sec Jackson came and met at at thwe Holiday Inn by the capitol we were staying at to hear our issues and address then. Earlier that morning he had met with of the long-time leaders of ADAPT to here directly of our concerns. We thought it good that he came to us -- but then Ihear we have his address and have had disabled protestors in the past demonstrating in front of his house. Might have given him motivation to meet.

GO to those links I gave. I'm a polio person and the trip back from D.C. has just wasted me.

Thanks for asking. Glad you're interested!!!!!!!

Tom

[Traveling_Home]

3. FROM JFA

Dear Readers,

Below, you'll find a recent press release from ADAPT regarding
their exciting progress brokering meetings with both HUD Secretary
Alfonzo Jackson as well as the American Hospital Association. To
view a short, captioned video of part of ADAPT's meeting with
Secretary Jackson, go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4flNm-gSiM
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

HUD Secretary, Hospital Association Agree To Meet with ADAPT

For Immediate Release:

April 29, 2007

For information contact:
Bob Kafka [phone]
Marsha Katz [phone]
www.adapt.org

HUD Secretary Comes to ADAPT with Commitments, and Hospital
Association Agrees to Meet

Washington, D.C. - This time around ADAPT didn't have to shut down
HUD headquarters, because as HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson
stated, "I came to you," when he and three members of his staff
met with 500 members of ADAPT in their Washington, D.C. hotel. By
the end of the morning, Jackson had stated unequivocally that
"Fair Housing is a right." And he made a number of commitments to
ADAPT, including;

* Informing ADAPT, before the September ADAPT action in Chicago,
on how many housing vouchers for persons with disabilities he
has recovered from the 58% loss in vouchers that the disability
community suffered due to a combination of federal budget cuts,
and misappropriation of vouchers by local entities that
administer the voucher program in communities across the
country.

* Vowing to eliminate the "outrageous" level of discrimination in
housing against persons with disabilities. HUD recently reported
that 40% of the Fair Housing complaints filed with HUD are based
on the "protected class" of disability. This number surpasses,
for the first time in history, the percentage of complaints
filed on the basis of race (39%).

* A promise to facilitate a meeting between ADAPT and Reps. Barney
Frank (D-MA) and Maxine Waters (D-CA). Frank is Chair of the
House Committee on Financial Services, and Waters is Chair of
the Financial Services Committee's Sub-committee on Housing and
Community Opportunity. This Committee and Sub-committee are
responsible for legislation affecting changes to the Section 811
program. ADAPT is calling for a restructuring of the Sec. 811
housing program to provide affordable, accessible, integrated
housing, as well as increase the number of vouchers available
to persons with disabilities, both of which will require action
by Congress. Sec. 811 is the segregated housing program for
persons with disabilities. The segregated housing program for
older persons is Sec. 202.

* Jackson committed to work with ADAPT on implementing ADAPT's
Access Across America Program, which would provide housing
vouchers to persons with disabilities in nursing homes and
ICFMRs that, combined with Money Follows the Person and
previously existing initiatives in the states, will get people
out of nursing homes and into affordable, accessible, integrated
housing in their own communities.

* A promise to meet with ADAPT three times a year, with the next
meeting most likely occurring in Chicago during the next ADAPT
action, September 8-13.

"ADAPT is pleased that Sec. Jackson came to us, and we are
cautiously optimistic at this point," said Cassie James,
Philadelphia ADAPT Organizer. "His own personal experience with
discrimination gives him a window into the unconscionable
discrimination in obtaining affordable, accessible, integrated
housing that is experienced by people with disabilities all over
America. We look forward to the Secretary keeping his commitments
and partnering with us to improve the current sad state of
affairs."

In other action on Tuesday, ADAPT took over the building that
houses the American Hospital Association (AHA), ultimately
receiving a commitment from AHA top leadership to meet with 15
ADAPT members in the next 30 days. ADAPT is demanding that the AHA
endorse the Community Choice Act (S. 799, H.R. 1621); work with
ADAPT to develop a hospital discharge protocol that will steer
people into community services, not institutional services; put
ADAPT on the agenda of the next AHA conference; and finally, write
a letter to all AHA member hospitals encouraging them to make
discharge referrals that do not inappropriately segregate and
institutionalize people with disabilities, thus complying with the
U.S. Supreme Court Olmstead decision.

Commented Gene Spinning Rochester ADAPT, "Hospitals should not be
feeder systems for the nursing home industrial complex, and we
expect AHA to take a lead in reforming the all too common practice
of treating us like cash cows and making automatic referrals at
discharge to nursing homes without even exploring what's available
in the community."

On Wednesday, ADAPT will meet with Mike Hudson, Chair of the
Republican National Committee. ADAPT will also deliver Community
Choice Act materials to every member of Congress. Included in the
materials is a ten minute DVD compiled from the testimony about
the horrors of life in a nursing home that was delivered before a
national panel in Nashville during ADAPT's spring 2006 action.

Source: ADAPT
________________________________________________________________

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