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Heim / Albúm / Free Our People March, 144 miles Philadelphia to DC, September 2003 85
ADAPT was 20 years old in 2003. The Free Our People March was an 144 mile march started in Phlly by over 200 people, and then joined by 100 more ADAPT activists from Baltimore to DC. It took two weeks and was an incredible feat of organization and commitment. Each day we rolled and walked the whole day, stopping only for a midday lunch break. At night we camped (mostly in church parking lots) as local groups welcomed us again and again. Each day the whole encampment had to be torn down, moved and set up anew; and each night hundreds of power wheelchairs had to be charged so they were ready for the next day's travel. We even had Royal Flush port-a-potties that travelled with us, as accessible bathrooms for hundreds of people were in short supply. We had wheelchair mechanics, and kitchen crew for lunches, to name a few supports.
We went from a huge rally in Philly, through pouring rain to Glenolden PA, to Wilmington DE where we held a rally which was attended by then Senator Joe Biden, a co-sponsor of our bill MiCASSA. From there we went to New Castel to Bear, DE. Then we headed on to Northeast MD Nazarene Camp, to Havre de Grace, to Aberdeen, to Whitemarsh, to Baltimore. In Baltimore we held another rally & press conference at the Inner Harbor and an additional 100 activist joined the march. We went on to Arbutus, then Jussup, then Beltsville, to DC. On the last day we marched across DC to hold another rally in Upper Senate Park where MiCASSA co-sponsors Sens. Harkin and Spector and Congressmen Davis and Shimkus, joined us calling to FREE OUR PEOPLE. All our activism seemed to attract a hurricane because that night one threatened DC and the city was shut down - many legislators fleeing town, but typical ADAPT luck, we had completed our journey.
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Chicago Sun Times Wednesday, September 17, 2003 Featured Letter [image] [image caption] Participants in the "Free Our People March" travel last week along Route 40 in Maryland, about the halfway point between the start in Philadelphia and its destination in Washington. Photo courtesy of Tom Olin [Headline] Disabled get on the move for freedom We just celebrated the 40th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech. Forty years later, people with disabilities still have a dream of escaping nursing homes institutions and going back to the community. About 150 disabled activists-- many in wheelchairs--convened at 4 to begin a 150 mile march on Philadelphia to Washington. [s] two-week "Free Our People March" will end at Washington [k] in our nation's capital today to [m] the need for more home- and community-based attendant services, and to call attention to the institutional bias that lingers in this country. More than 80 percent of Medicaid long-term care dollars are spent keeping people institutionalized, while less than 20 percent as- people who want to live in their homes and apartments, where they are much happier. [pulled quote] We have a dream to live independently [text resumes] There's federal legislation that would address this issue: the Medicaid Community Attendants Service and Supports Act. Introduced by Rep. Danny Davis (D-Ill.), H.R. 2032 would assist people with disabilities--regardless of age--in nursing homes back into the community, using the same Medicaid funding that's used to keep them institutionalized. Statistics show that people are much happier and productive living in their own homes instead of languishing in nursing homes. The major obstacles of MiCASS's passage in Congress are the nursing home lobbyists in Illinois and around the country. Profit is their bottom line, and they have deep pockets to buy off legislators. They continue to be a threat to the civil rights of people with disabilities. They disregard the quality of life for people stuck in their institutions; they see the almighty dollar sign and don't hear the cries of the people who want out. About 5,000 people with disablities will descend on Washington Park to rally for justice and the right to live in the mainstream community. We have a dream to live independently, free from segregation, as Dr. King could have related to. It's time to have our dream realized. Larry Biondi, independant living advocate, Progress Center for Independent Living, Forest Park - ADAPT (1481)
Weather Today: Heavy rain, wind High: 69 degrees 100 percent chance of rain Tomorrow: Partly cloudy High: 70 degrees 10 percent chance of rain The Pitt News www.pittnews.com Pit preapres for its first road game at Toledo...page 18 Friday, September 19, 2003 One of America's great student newspapers-since 1906 [Headline] Rally for disabilities [image] [image caption] Free our people march and rally gets a little help from Pitt students. Pitt's School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences Student Advisory Board traveled to Washington, D.C. Wednesday for what members described as "the largest gathering of disability rights activists since the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990." Image courtesy of Tamara Mills - ADAPT (1457)
[Flyer] "I call for solidarity among all those who love justice, all who love life, to create a revolution that will empower every single human being to govern his or her life, to govern the society and to be fully productive of life quality for seld and for all." -Justin Dart For more information contact ADAPT at: ADAPT 1339 Lamar Square Drive #101 Austin, Texas 78704 (512) 442-0252 Email: adapt@adapt.org www.adapt.org www.freeourpeople.org September 17, 2003 [next page begins] Free Our People March and Rally Our people have marched 144 miles from the Liberty Bell to Capital Hill. We demand the passage of MiCASSA (S.971 and HR 2032) and No More Stolen Lives! September 17, 2003 1:00 PM-3:00 PM Upper Senate Park Washington, DC - ADAPT (1454)
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OBITUARIES/4B OPINION/5B www.journalstar.com/local LOCAL JOURNAL STAR B Wednesday, October 1, 2003 [Headline] Funds sought for home care [Subheading] State Capitol rally is held to bolster support for MiCASSA, which would shift federal Medicaid money to community-based services. BY MARK ANDERSEN Lincoln Journal Star Bundled against the cold as he spoke from his wheelchair in support of increased home-care funding, Tim Kolb explained the issue in terms a child could follow. In "Finding Nemo," Kolb said, a clown fish found himself among pleasant companions in a supposedly safe environment, the office aquarium of an eccentric dentist. Yet, more than anything else, Nemo wanted to return to his ocean home. In the real world, Kolb said, too many Americans find themselves forced to live in nursing homes because of inadequate funding for home-based care. About 50 people withstood a cold wind on the Capitol steps at noon Tuesday for the Free Our People rally, intended to raise support for the Medicaid Community-Based Attendant Services and Supports Act, dubbed MiCASSA by disability rights activists. First introduced in the House in 1997 and in the Senate in 1999, MiCASSA would shift Medicaid funds from nursing homes to community-based services and establish a national program of services. Supporters say it would end the institutional bias of Medicaid, the federal medical program for the poor that also pays for a lot of nursing home care. Under the current system, every state that receives Medicaid is required to provide nursing home services. but providing community-based services is optional. As a result, 75 percent of long-term Medicaid dollars go to nursing homes, MiCASSA supporters say. The issue is of particular importance to Nebraska, which ranks second be-hind only Iowa in the percentage of people over age 65 who live in nursing homes, they say. The difficulties of finding and paying for home-based care are an everyday is-sue for 56-year-old Laura Moore, who attended the rally Tuesday. Moore was born with cerebral palsy, but her biggest challenge has been in finding a way to keep her husband at home. Paul Moore, now 66, stopped breathing and swallowing following heart surgery almost two years ago because of the polio he had contracted as a teenager. Following his lengthy hospitalization and rehabilitation, Laura Moore said, "They told me I'd never get him out of the nursing home." He has been living at home since Sept. 17, 2002. He frequently does woodworking projects. Unfortunately, their home-care costs run $500 more per month than their in-come, Laura Moore said. They've exhausted their savings and inheritance, and the only advice people give her is to put her husband in a nursing home, she said. "We're supposed to forget about living," she said. Home-care aide Jennifer Irvin said, "It's all about the money." If Paul Moore lived in a nursing home, Irvin said, the state and federal governments would pay for his care. At home, even though the costs might be no different to taxpayers, they aren't covered. Joan LaBelle of the League of Human Dignity, which sponsored the rally along with ADAPT Nebraska, said one woman's story illustrated the difficulties imposed by the current system. LaBelle said she had been working with a woman for more than a year to get her out of a nursing home so that she could live with her son. "Three weeks before she was to leave," LaBelle said, "she died." Reach Mark Andersen at 473-7238 or mandersen@joumalstar.com. Local news tips? Call the City Desk, 4737306 Page Design- Stem Bate [image] [image caption] TED KIRK/Lincoln Journal Star. The Free Our People rally was called Tuesday by the League of Human Dignity and ADAPT Nebraska in support of the Medic-aid Community-Based Attendant Services and Sup-ports Act - ADAPT (1468)
[Headline] Why We Need MiCASSA NOW! The Medicaid Community Attendant Services and Supports Act: First, the bill...would give individuals who are currently eligible for nursing home services or an intermediate care facility equal access to community-based attendant services and supports. Second, for a limited time, States would have the opportunity to receive additional services and supports and for certain administrative activities. Third, the bill provides States with financial assistance to support "real choice systems change initiatives" that include specific action steps to increase the provision of home and community based services. Finally, the bill establishes a demonstration project to evaluate service coordination and cost sharing. -Senator Tom Harkin May 1, 2003 Freeourpeople.org - ADAPT (1466)
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