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- ADAPT (943)
Wednesday October 25, 1995 [Headline] Group protests beside governor's mansion [Subheading] Demonstrators oppose Engler's support of changes in Medicaid By Heather Morgan and Chris Andrews Lansing State Journal More than 200 people with disabilities surrounded Gov. John Engler's home Tuesday in a demonstration that led to five arrests. At one point, a group of 75 protesters — members of Denver-based American Disabled for Attendant Programs — crossed through Engler's gate and planted themselves at his door for 4 1/2 hours. Neither Engler nor his wife, Michelle, was at the southwest Lansing home. Their triplet daughters were inside with a baby sitter when the protest started. John Truscott, Engler's spokesman, said the 11-month-old children were not disturbed by the protests. The protesters were angry with Engler's backing of Republican-planned changes to Medicaid, the government program that helps pay for health care for low-income families with children and people with disabilities. Passing the funding power from the federal government to states may force more people with disabilities into nursing homes and out of community living situations, they said. They drove home their point with chants such as, "I'd rather go to jail than die in a nursing home." Many of the demonstrators came in wheelchairs. Three locked their wheelchairs to the governor's gate with bicycle locks. One man attempting to run a pizza to those inside the gate was marched away by police. He joined two people using wheel-chairs who were arrested when fellow protesters tried to pass them over the gate. Another two protesters were arrested when they refused to leave when the main group departed at 4 p.m. Those arrested were ticketed but not taken into custody, state police Inspector Gary Post said. "We made a show, we drew some attention. I just hope the public starts to understand that nursing homes are no place to live," said Alan Haynes, 47, of Pueblo, Colo. Haynes was one of those pro-testing inside the gate. The demonstrators gained entrance to the grounds about 11:30 a.m. when the gates opened for a delivery vehicle. They filed out more than four hours later without having achieved their demand an audience with Engler. [Image] [Image caption] Medicaid protest: George Wolf of Topeka, Kan., uses a bull horn to lead a chant Tuesday at the governor's Lansing mansion during a protest by members of American Disabled for Attendant Programs. CHRIS HOLMES/Lansing State Journal. It marked the first time that pro-testers have gotten as far as a Michigan governor's porch. The 70 demonstrators slipped inside the security wall surrounding the house at about noon, when a gate was left open for a delivery truck. They reportedly banged on the front door, but no one answered. Another 125 people, most of whom also were in wheelchairs, demonstrated outside the gates for several hours in cold and drizzle as dozens of police officers watched. A half-dozen protesters were arrested on misdemeanor charges and released for a later court appearances. The group said it would converge on the governor's Capitol office at lunchtime today. The demonstrators are members of American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today (ADAPT), a nation-al organization which is demanding that disabled people receive money to live in community settings rather than be forced into nursing homes. ADAPT co-founder Mike Auberger of Denver said the estimated 200 demonstrators, most from outside Michigan, never threatened the first family with harm. Ironically, Engler supports private home care, because "it offers better care and is less expensive. So they came to the wrong place," said press secretary John Truscott. Auberger said the governor was nonetheless targeted for protest because he hasn't used his growing national prestige to urge Congress to spend more on residential treat-ment for: the disabled. "Sure, this type of action will turn some people off, particularly Republicans," said protester Terrance Turner, 38. Turner, a former Detroiter who now lives in Denver, was shot by strangers outside Detroit's Jef-fries public housing project in 1986 and is confined to a wheelchair. [Image] [Image caption] The entrance to the governor's mansion is clogged with wheelchairs after protesters stormed a gate and tried to occupy the residence. Dale G. Young / The Detroit News "But most people haven't heard of our group, so this will help." Added Judy Savage of Chicago: "We've tried nice and what happens is that people pat you on the head and then ignore you. We're trying to say that people are suffering because of federal cutbacks." Dean Patterson, 58, who owns four Lansing apartment buildings, was among the curious who watched the standoff before its peaceful conclusion. "I sympathize with what they're protesting about," said Patterson. "But I don't agree with scaring the kids. They should keep that protest downtown. "If someone came to my house while I was away and scared my wife, I'd probably want to blow them away." Truscott, the governor's press secretary, said security has been beefed up at the governor's home and office. Asked if Tuesday's invasion will force the administration to rethink security at the home; in a quiet and upscale Lansing neighborhood, Truscott said: "Yep." Detroit News Staff Writer Kenneth Cole contributed to this report. - ADAPT (942)
[This page continues the article from 945. Please see full text on Image 945.] - ADAPT (941)
[Headline] Disabled protesters take over Republican Lansing headquarters BY JUAN ELIZONDO Associated Press LANSING -- About 200 people in wheelchairs or using crutches and canes took over the headquarters of the Michigan Republican Party for more than two hours Monday to demand more money for in-home services. A party spokeswoman said the group arrived shortly after 3 p.m. and began crowding into the office where about eight to 10 GOP staffers were working. Protesters left the building around 5:30 p.m. They said protests would continue through most of the week in Lansing. "They just came in and started blocking the exit. They wouldn't let you out at all. They wouldn't explain what they were doing there," said Lori Tomek, Republican Party spokesperson. About 100 handicapped people appeared to be inside the building during the protest, Its- with about 100 more milling around near the entrances in a noisy standoff with police. They carried signs that read "Free our people now" and "Up with personal assistance services." Organizers claimed handicapped people had come from 32 states to participate in the building takeover. Lansing Township Police Chief Jeff Ashley said one person was arrested for assaulting a police officer. "We are not contemplating mass arrests. That will not accomplish any-thing. . . . We're going to wait them out," he said. A telephone call to the building during the protest was answered by Bob Liston of Ypsilanti, statewide coordinator of a group called ADAPT, or American Disabled for Attendant Pro-grams Today. The group's aim is to direct 25 percent of Medicaid's $65 billion a year in nursing home payouts to cover personal help in homes of the handicapped. The measure, the Community Attendant Services Act, has yet to be introduced in Congress. Liston said GOP headquarters were chosen as the target for the civil disobedience because of Michigan Gov. John Engler's prominence in the welfare revamping effort. "The Republican Party is working with John Engler on welfare reform. . . . He is a voice that has power and we want to have a discussion with him," Liston said. "We are tired of Republican rhetoric." But Engler spokesman John Truscott said the governor supports more home care and the group is directing its protests in the wrong direction. "We will not react to these kinds of tactics," Truscott said. Group members did succeed in getting through to House Speaker Newt Gingrich's office by telephone, where they repeated their demand that Gingrich give them a date by which he will introduce the legislation setting aside more funds for home services. "People are dying in nursing homes and other institutions. We are tired." ADAPT officials had been threaten-ing some type of civil disobedience since last week, but would not specify their target in advance. Bob Kafka of Austin, Texas, a national organizer for ADAPT, said the group plans more activities this week to try to get Engler's attention. A state GOP official who asked not to be identified said the handicappers indicated they may attempt to occupy the governor's office in the Capitol. Susy Heintz, state Republican Party chairwoman, said Monday was the first day of work for several of her staff and she hoped they would be back to work today. Staff writer Dawson Bell contribute ed to this report. Detroit Free Press 10/24/95 - ADAPT (940)
[This page continues the article from Image 941. Full text is available under 941 for easier reading.] - ADAPT (94)
Rocky Mountain News Wed., Dec. 9,1981, Denver, Colo. [Headline] Handicapped set back in battle for lifts on buses The Operations Committee of the Regional Transportation District’s board of directors voted 4-0 Tuesday to stick by an earlier proposal that RTD buy 89 articulated buses scheduled for delivery in 1983 without wheelchair lifts. Its action seriously diminishes the chances that the board will reverse its decision of Nov. 19 to delete the lifts from the articulated buses. But RTD Executive Director L.A. Kimball and three board members agreed to ask the board to reconsider the action after members of the Atlantis Community for the disabled staged a sit-in at RTD headquarters on the day of the earlier vote to protest the decision. The board held a three-hour special meeting on Dec. 1 to hear appeals from the handicapped to put wheelchair lifts on the buses. Atlantis spokesman Wade Blank said members of his organization have been discussing the issue with individual board members and plan to meet with Kimball next week. Blank said he expects to fall short of the 11 votes needed for the board to reverse its position when the issue comes up at the board’s regular meeting on Dec. 17. Blank renewed Atlantis’ threat to file a lawsuit challenging the decision not to buy the lifts and said Atlantis will resume demonstrating against RTD. Atlantis filed a lawsuit in federal court and staged a series of demonstrations aimed at RTD a few years ago after RTD bought nearly 200 AM General buses without wheelchair lifts. U.S. District Judge Richard Matsch ruled against Atlantis in that case, but the case was on appeal when Atlantis and RTD in 1979 negotiated a settlement under which RTD agreed to make half of its peak-hour fleet accessible to the handicapped. The settlement was reached after the federal Department of Transportation issued regulations requiring that all new buses bought with federal funds be equipped with wheelchair lifts and that half of all buses used for peak-hour service be accessible to the handicapped. Those regulations were rescinded by the department in July. RTD officials ordered the articulated buses with lifts in March, while the regulations requiring lifts on new buses were still in effect. Buying the buses without lifts will save $1.1 million, 80 percent of RTD’s federal funds, RTD officials said. - ADAPT (939)
[This page continues the article from Image 937. Full text is available under Image 937 for easier reading] - ADAPT (938)
[Headline] ADAPT rallies one more time By David Wahlberg Lansing State Journal Protesters with disabilities wrapped up in a three-day siege of Lansing institutions Wednesday by blocking off Capitol entrances and demanding attention from Gov. John Engler. "How about we show them what it's like to be in a nursing home," said Verna Spayth of Ann Arbor, dispatching about 300 members of Denver-based American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today, or ADAPT, to position their wheelchairs and walkers at noon in front of all Capitol doors. "We're ADAPT, you're trapped, get used to it," the demonstrators chanted, interspersed with "Engler, Engler cut the crap. Now it's time to face ADAPT." Engler spokesman John Truscott issued a statement saying the governor supports ADAPT's goal of funneling more Medicaid money to in-home services and reducing dependency on nursing homes. "It is obvious that your protests in Lansing have been misdirected," Truscott said. Ben Martin, a 64-year-old retired House worker visiting the Capitol to check on retirement benefits, managed to slip out the south entrance between wheelchairs. "it's kind of tough to get out, but I think they have a right to what they're doing," he said. "They've got a point of view, and they're getting screwed." By 2 p.m., police had carved a trail to the front door, allowing legislators and others to get in. Schoolchildren on tours were frightened by the protest, and some demonstrators were removed from the scene, officials said. ADAPT is targeting Michigan because Engler is a Republican leader of welfare reform, group leaders said. "He will only give enough money for one wheelchair for each person for their whole life," said Charles Johnson, 48, of Detroit. "Nobody can last a whole lifetime with one chair unless thye do stay in a nursing home." ADAPT has been active in Lansing since Monday morning, when the group took over Waldenbooks stores in Lansing Mall and Meridian Mall, pulling copies of House Speaker Newt Gingrich's "To Renew America" off of shelves. Monday afternoon, it protested at the state Republican Party headquarters, and on Tuesday about 150 group members surrounded Engler's home. [Image] [Image caption] Capitol protest: State police officers remove American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today protesters from the Capitol doorways Wednesday. Members of the group blocked entrances and exits of the Capitol following a rally. Photo by: Rod Sanford/Lansing State - ADAPT (937)
State AA News 10/25/95 [Headline] Protest comes to Engler's door [Subheading] People with disabilities demonstrate at his home for 4 hours BY SHARON EMERY ANN ARBOR NEWS BUREAU LANSING — About 200 people with disabilities —many in wheelchairs — took their demands for better services to John Engler's doorstep Tuesday, protesting outside the governor's residence for four hours. Some 60 people made their way onto the property just before noon, when the gates were closed behind them by police. Verna Spayth, a state organizer from Ann Arbor who uses a wheelchair, was among those who got inside the gates. "We want the governor's attention," she said. "We want to expand assistant services." More than 100 people then lined the street in front of the residence, blocking the gates and chanting, "Just like a nursing home, you can't get out." "The idea of terrorizing the first family and the kids is pathetic," said Engler spokesman Rusty Hills. "Their actions discredit their motives." Hills called the protest illegal trespassing. One of the protesters said: "This is called free speech." Four protesters were arrested, according to Sgt. Larry Woodbury, of the Michigan State Police. The governor and Michelle Engler were out, but their 11-month-old triplet daughters were home. Wood-bury said they were never in danger. It was the second day of protests in Lansing by members of the Colorado-based American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today (ADAPT), which on Monday stormed Republican Party headquarters. Calling Engler a national figure on the welfare issue, they want the governor to take the lead in ensuring that money is available to provide personal assistants for disabled people. By helping with activities such as dressing, bathing and eating, attendants allow disabled people to stay out of nursing homes, group members say. They want 25 percent of the Medicaid nursing home budget to be earmarked for community-based attendant services. Protesters wanted to meet with Engler and push him to get U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich's support for the Community Attendant Services Ad, said Bob Kafka, a national organizer from Austin, Texas. Representatives from the governor's office offered to have administration officials meet with the protesters, but they insisted on seeing Engler, said Maureen McNulty, a spokeswoman for the Department of Management and Budget. [Image] [Image caption] AP PHOTO. Dennis Jackson of Topeka, Kan., demonstrates outside Gov. Engler's home in Lansing Tuesday. "The governor will not meet with this group," McNulty said. "Their pathetic and despicable actions ensured that the governor would not meet with them." Protesters left, the residence around 4 p.m., but promised to stage other events. "Groups who employ these types of tactics we won't meet with them," Truscott told a group gathered at the gate. The Engler administration offered to have Chief of Staff Sharon Rothwell or other high-level officials meet with ADAPT representatives if the group would agree to leave. The protesters refused. Only one state trooper was on the premises when the protesters Came through the gates, Truscott said. He said Capitol security was concentrated at a Michigan Militia demonstration downtown when the group began its protest. State officials will review security procedures at the residence, including the timing of the gate opening and closing, said Maureen McNulty, Department of Management and Budget spokeswoman. The protesters were breaking laws by entering the property without permission and blocking entrances and exits, McNulty said. "The governor will not be meeting with this group after this display of terrorism toward 1-year-olds," she said. Michael Auberger, an ADAPT national organizer, said if the governor is going to play in a national arena, there's a price he'll have to pay. "It shouldn't be comfortable for him to decide how people live," Auberger said. Bob Kafka, an ADAPT national organizer from Austin, Texas, said the need for care for people with disabilities is growing as technology advances. "Medical technology keeps us alive, but instead of giving us dignity, they'd keep us away-from society," Kafka said. "This is why people are willing to go to jail and are willing to stand out in the cold." On Monday, the group took over the Michigan Republican Party headquarters in Lansing. They controlled that building for two hours before retreating to prepare for Tuesday's action. The Associated Press contributed to this report. - ADAPT (936)
[Headline] ADAPT: FREE OUR PEOPLE [Subheading] STATEMENT AT THE HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES BUILDING MAY 15, 1995 PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES FROM THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES ARE AT THE HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES BUILDING BECAUSE ALMOST 2 MILLION PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES ARE LOCKED AWAY AGAINST THEIR WILL IN NURSING HOMES AND OTHER INSTITUTIONS. ADAPT WANTS TO FUNDAMENTALLY CHANGE OUR LONG TERM CARE SYSTEM SO THAT PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES WILL NO LONGER BE FORCED INTO NURSING HOMES AND OTHER INSTITUTIONS. WE WANT TO REDIRECT THE CURRENT FEDERAL FUNDING NOW GOING TO NURSING HOMES AND OTHER. INSTITUTIONS TO CREATE A NATIONAL ATTENDANT SERVICES PROGRAM THAT WILL FREE OUR PEOPLE! WE HAVE CHALLENGED THE CLINTON ADMINISTRATION TO ENDORSE A NATIONAL ATTENDANT SERVICES PROGRAM. THEY HAVE RESPONDED! WE WILL BE MEETING WITH SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES DONNA SHALALA AND THE DIRECTOR OF THE HEALTH CARE FINANCING ADMINISTRATION BRUCE VLADECK ON WEDNESDAY, MAY 17TH AT THE HHS BUILDING. ADAPT WILL TELL THEM THAT PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES WILL NO LONGER TOLERATE BEING WAREHOUSED IN INSTITUTIONS LOSING OUR FREEDOM, DIGNITY AND OUR CIVIL RIGHTS. WE WANT THE CLINTON ADMINISTRATION TO ACT! SECRETARY SHALALA MUST ACT! THE TIME FOR CHANGE IS NOW! ACTION NOT RHETORIC! WE WANT THEM TO ENDORSE CASA AND THE IT IS BASED ON. ACTION SPEAKS LOUDER THAN WORDS! WE WILL NOW TAKE OUR MESSAGE TO CONGRESS! ADAPT HAS PROPOSED LEGISLATION CALLED THE COMMUNITY ATTENDANT SERVICES ACT (CASA). CASA WILL CREATE THE NATIONAL ATTENDANT SERVICES PROGRAM THAT WILL FINALLY GIVE PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES AND THEIR FAMILIES A REAL CHOICE OF COMMUNITY BASED ATTENDANT SERVICES. WE WANT CONGRESS TO PASS CASA! ONLY THEN WILL THE NURSING HOME INDUSTRY LOSE IT DEATHGRIP ON PEOPLE IN THIS COUNTRY WHO NEED LONG TERM CARE SERVICES. WE WILL TAKE CASA TO THE LEADERSHIP IN CONGRESS! THEY MUST ACT! THEY MUST FREE OUR PEOPLE! P.O. Box 9598 • Denver, CO. 80209 Voice/TDD 303-333-6698 - ADAPT (935)
THE Montgomery Journal The daily newspaper of Montgomery County, Md. Thursday, May 18, 1995 [Image] [Image caption] Demonstrators that blocked Route 29 for more than four hours are arrested by county police officers yesterday. Katherine Frey/Journal [Headline] Nearly 100 arrested in health care protest By TOM BERSON Journal staff writer Police arrested about 100 disabled people, many in wheelchairs, yesterday after an all-day protest that blocked dozens of people in-side a nursing home provider's headquarters in Silver Spring and tied up traffic on Columbia Pike for hours. Police charged the protesters with trespassing and disorderly conduct after some members of the group Americans Disabled for Attendant Programs Today encircled a Manor Care Inc. building and blocked all entrances and exits, while others lined up across Columbia Pike. It was the largest county police action of the year, but the number of protesters wasn't the only difficulty in clearing the scene. It took hours for police to figure out how to arrest so many people in wheelchairs. Police had to drag and carry some of the protesters, who chanted, "We'd rather go to jail than die in a nursing home." "We really don't want to arrest them," police spokesman Sgt. Prank W. Young said yesterday afternoon. Group members said they had come from 28 states to meet with House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., in search of more Medicare funding for in-home attendant care programs. When Gingrich refused to meet with them, they decided to ask Manor Care executives to sign a letter endorsing their proposal, which calls for diverting some Medicare funding for nursing homes. "So much of the budget goes for nursing homes and not much money goes for in-home attendant services," Nate Butler, 43, of Baltimore, said. "The reason we're here is Manor Care is a major player in nursing homes." [Image] [Image caption] Brenda Hanna (right) of Topeka, Kans., and Shirley Klein of Charleston, W.Va., protest Medicare's funding formula. Jeff Taylor, Journal Manor Care is the fourth largest nursing home provider in the United States, according to company spokesman Gregory Miller. The protesters arrived at Route 29 about 11 a.m. to block traffic until they could get a meeting with Manor Care executives, said protester Bob Liston, 43, of Michigan. Ten protesters met with Stewart Bainum Jr., chairman of the board and CEO of Manor Care Inc. for about a half-hour at noon. Bainum said that the meeting went well and that there was agreement on several issues, although he did not endorse the letter. "The nursing home of today is not the same as it was years ago," Bainum said. There is now much more of a focus on rehabilitation," he said. "Over 80 percent of our patients go back home and lead productive lives for decades to come," he said. Bainum said his company was sympathetic to the protesters and offered to lobby with the group for more overall Medicare funding. Liston said he wasn't satisfied. "We didn't get diddly," he said. The group moved from the street to the doors of Manor Care. The protesters did not allow employees to enter or exit the building for hours, although some were able to squeeze out through the doors with the help of police officers. Vicki Dobinski, a fiscal coordinator from Silver Spring, was able to get out, but then realized she had left her car keys inside. "I don't disagree with the people or the cause," she said. "But not being able to get into my office, I'm a bit frustrated." Valerie Williams, a graphic design-er from Silver Spring, also said she had nothing against the protesters. "They have every right to be angry and be upset and stand up for their rights," she said. Some people stuck in the building were there for a health fair, and didn't work for Manor Care. One of them, Kandy Hirsch, a massage therapist, said she fell down struggling to get out and lost a $40 piece of her massage chair in the crowd. "I don't have any gripe with their politics," she said. "I just have an appointment I'm going to be late for." As the day went on, Manor Care officials began to complain that some people needed to get out to pick up their kids from day care, but the protesters wouldn't budge. [Image] [Image caption] Mary Hither (right) of Philadelphia and Elaine Kolb (second from right) of West Haven, Conn., voice disapproval of Medicare's funding formula. Jeff Taylor/Journal "Whenever you're in a 'war' situation, and you take prisoners of war, you don't ask what they do," said George Wolf, 43, of Kansas. Another protester likened the plight of the disabled to blacks be-fore the Civil Rights Act. "We suffer from segregation just the way any black person did," said Lucy Gwin, 52, of New York, citing high numbers of disabled people who are unemployed or "shuttled off to a home in the woods." While protesters chanted slogans outside the doors of Manor Care, others remained on Columbia Pike where they waved signs at passing cars until the road was closed at about 3:30 p.m. The road closing backed up traffic for miles. One neighbor said she sympathized with the protesters' message, but said they were defeating their own cause by angering motorists. "The traffic is unbelievable," said Margaret Kerr of Silver Spring. "This is a monumental disgrace. I told one of the protesters, 'I'm all for your cause, but I think you're alienating an awful lot of people." More than 50 police officers were called in from all five districts. More than a dozen officers who had been taking a civil disobedience training class at the police academy at the time also were called in. Traffic was blocked at University Avenue and the cloverleaf for New Hampshire Avenue as arrests began at 4 p.m. and continued through rush hour. Students at five county schools were kept in class for an extra 30 minutes because buses were held up in the traffic, said Carolyn Reed, county schools bus operations manager. Police spokeswoman Ann Evans described the logistics of cleaning up the scene as "a nightmare." Police borrowed transport vehicles for the disabled from Ride-On and other county agencies to trans-port the protesters to the Silver Spring Armory, where they were to be given citations for trespassing and released. Others were processed at buildings and streets near the scene. Because the effort was time-consuming and diverted manpower from regular beats, police didn't arrest anyone who left peacefully. Young said. - ADAPT (934)
[Headline] CAPITOL CONFRONTATIONS [Image] [Image caption] ADAPT left Gingrich a wake-up call an his apartment pager system. Photo: Tom Olin Out on the plaza in front of the Washington, DC headquarters of the Department of Health and Human Services, HHS, Mike Auberger's cellular phone rang. HHS Secretary Donna Shalala's aide was calling to complain that inside the Administration's fourth floor offices ADAPT's cries were distracting the staff. Outside, stretching across the plaza and lined six deep, ADAPT and our supporters were holding a press conference, ADAPT style, to announce our arrival in the Capitol and to call again for freedom for our brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, and for our grandparents from the nursing homes of America which still imprison almost two million of us. "Can you hear us, on the inside?" we chanted to the bureaucrats who oversee the national policies which support the institutional bias in our long term care system. Day leader Maria Ways spoke to the crowd saying "ADAPT wants to fundamentally change our long term care system so that people with disabilities will no longer be forced into nursing homes and other institutions. We have challenged the Clinton Administration to endorse a national attendant services program. They have responded! .... We will take our message to Congress! We want Congress to pass [a national attendant services program] CASA! Only then will the nursing home industry lose its deathgrip on people in this country who need long term care services." Secretary Shalala had agreed to meet with us and have her Health Care Finance Administration, HCFA, officials sit down with ADAPT and try to work on ways to end this bias. ADAPT had agreed to focus on other collaborators Congress and its leadership. So 700 ADAPT supporters who had gathered from around the nation for the press conference turned and marched up the hill, destination: the Speaker's office inside the Capitol. [Subheading] CRIPS IN THE CRYPT Just one year ago, while still Minority Whip, Newt Gingrich had met with ADAPT and promised to support a national attendant services program which is consumer controlled. Yet, despite lip service to the program ADAPT is promoting, Gingrich failed to come through. Ongoing, good faith efforts on the part of Georgia ADAPT were shrugged off. Even after ADAPT drafted a bill, the Community Attendant Services Act, CASA, and sent it to him and other legislators to consider sponsoring, Gingrich and his staff would not make a move, would not even say no. Letters and phone requests for a meeting while ADAPT was in town had been ignored. So, once again ADAPT came en force, to Gingrich's door, hoping he would make good on his previous commitments. Marching with 700 is not the same as marching with one hundred. One week post the Oklahoma bombing, federal security was still extremely tight. We entered the Capitol in a steady trickle. As the first of the group entered the restricted area in which the Speaker's office is located, the line strung out through the whole Capitol, through security check, out the accessible east door, down the ramp, and down the driveway to Independence Ave. We had planned to wait until an appointment was made, but Security said anyone who did not leave would be arrested. As arrests started, supporters in the Crypt of the Capitol (the room under the Rotunda) began chanting. "I'd rather go to jail than to die in a nursing home" echoed down the marbled halls. [Subheading] ADAPT MAKES A HOUSE CALL ADAPT was not finished for the day however. We announced we were moving to a shady spot to cool down and have lunch. The shady spot we settled in just happened to be in front of Newt's home, a couple blocks from the Capitol. Hundreds of disabled people out on a picnic creates a scene by itself. [Image] [Image caption] Photo: Tam Olin. The building is owned by the United Methodists. A negotiation team was sent into their office building next door to see if Newt's landlords would have better luck calling him than we had At first there were discussions of proper channels, strategy on our CASA bill, etc. But as it drew closer to closing time and more and more of us began to gather in their lobby, the United Methodists began to call his office in earnest. Then a funny thing happened. We had gathered in the church office, and repeated calls had been ignored by the Gingrich staff. Staff had, at first, claimed Newt was out of town, but it slipped out that he had returned to DC around noon. Then they claimed he was making a speech at the State Department and could not be reached by phone, as all the phones there were out of order. The church people grew outraged as Gingrich's staffs tales grew taller and taller. To add insult to injury, Gingrich's Legislative Director Krister Holladay would put each call on hold and never pick it up again. At one point we were on hold on four lines at once. Media swarmed around. All we asked for was a meeting. First we were told a month's wait, then next week, then Friday. But we were set to leave on Thursday and the Speaker did not offer to cover additional expenses. Finally the head of the United Methodist office said she was joining us and wanted an end to these excuses. But Gingrich was on the lamb. So, as six o'clock came and went, we vowed to seek out the Speaker on Tuesday, and headed for home. The last of our crowd were still trickling in after 11 pm. It had been a long, hard day. At 10:30pm Holladay, the legislative staffer, had called our hotel to offer a meeting next week with five of our people; for the same reasons as before, next week was not acceptable. [Subheading] BACK ON THE BEAT Tuesday we picked up where we left off on Monday. To get into DC from where we were staying we had to shuttle in city buses driven by local transit union members, to the closest Metro stop several miles away. There we set up a relay system and shuttled folks via Metro into downtown. Day two we got off on the stop right outside the Republican National Headquarters. When they saw the first few ADAPT folks arriving, they slammed shut their doors and would not let anyone in without multiple picture ID and a pat down. They had not forgotten our visit last year. Once assembled, we marched over t the Rayburn House Office Building to stop in at Gingrich's district office where we had met with him last year. We had had luck there in the past, perhaps we would have it again this time. That was not to be. We were only met with stonewalling once again. We asked why the Speaker would have pledged support once and then act this way. Why would he ignore a program which would more cost effectively serve people, would get Government off our backs by reducing federally mandated bias for institutions, would support family values by allowing people to remain at home instead of forcing them into institutions in order to receive services, and would support what the people want? His staff had no answer, except to ask the police to arrest us. [Subheading] MESSAGE DELIVERED We returned to Newt's house that afternoon to demand that people be allowed to live in their own homes. We felt the Speaker would best understand the im-portance of one's own home if access to his was made as difficult as he keeps access to ours. [Image] [Image caption] Manor Care was completely surrounded with every entrance blocked. Photo: Tom Olin Charging the front door of the apartment building ADAPT soon packed the circular driveway in front of the building, swarmed up the ramp and covered the lawn and sidewalks. Chants of "Our Homes Not Nursing Homes" and "Free Our People" roared through the air. Tussles at the door got one ADAPT member inside, but Secret Service quickly closed and locked it again. Creative ADAPT members found the intercom system to be let into the building. Instead of simply buzzing inside each apartment, this system connected to the tenants' telephone answering machines. So we filled up Gingrich's tape with messages about community-based attendant services, just in case he was not clear about how we felt about his attempts to trick us. One enterprising ADAPT member, into rock climbing, scaled the building and covered it -- almost to the second floor with our picket signs so Gingrich would get our message in alternate formats. Neighbors looked on, amazed to see how folks receiving services feel about the nursing home industry. Rumor has it that Gingrich had checked into a Quality hotel for the night. [Subheading] CONFRONTING THE OPPOSITION Wednesday was the day for meetings with Shalala and her staff. Wednesday was also the day for the showdown with Manor Care, the third largest nursing home chain in the nation, whose holdings also include Econolodge, Comfort Inns, as well as several other hotel\motel chains. Despite pouring rain ADAPT troops were ready for action. In wave after wave we shuttled to the headquarters of the $2.1-billion-in-yearly-revenues Manor Care Corporation. The Chief Executive Officer Stewart Barnum JR quickly agreed to meet with our negotiating team of Bob Liston, Karen Tamley, Alfredo Juarez, and Cassie James. Tension and confusion over the meeting site almost lead to arrests on the spot, but the police were reigned in and negotiations began. However, different from their big sister corporation Beverly, Manor Care was not even willing to publicly support choice by supporting the creation of a national attendant services program. They used the tired old company line about robbing Peter to pay Paul. ADAPT informed them we want community services for both Peter and Paul, in addition to Mary! That apparently blew their minds. They could not conceive of giving up a penny of the obscene profits they wring from people's lives each year. When negotiations fell through, ADAPT let Manor Care taste what life in a nursing home is all about.‘ Blocking all exits and entrances, ADAPT shut down the headquarters and turned the place into a nursing home. No one went in or out without ADAPT permission. No one appeared to be too fond of this dose of their own medicine. [Image] [Image caption] Folks from 24 states joined ADAPT's protest and no one bitched about the rain which drenched the group several times Photo: Tom Olin. [Subheading] HIGH LEVEL TALKS Meanwhile back in the Capitol, ADAPT representatives and our supporters met with HHS Secretary Donna Shalala. Beltway disability groups were there, and most made it clear they backed ADAPT on this one. Shalala started off trying to convince everyone that we should rally around to support Medicaid and its current programs. But ADAPT countered making it clear that the disability community saw little reason to support the status quo. We argued that to get support for Medicaid, Shalala should offer a bold and better alternative, like ADAPT's Community Attendant Services Act, CASA. People are looking for a change, but right now the only alternative proposed is the Republican's slash and burn plan, which steals the limelight - in large part - for lack of any alternate solution from the Administration. It took the better part of an hour to get her to come around, but by the end Shalala agreed to issue a statement supporting the principles of CASA. Her strong endorsement (see p.9) was issued before 5pm that afternoon. She could not however, endorse redirecting a penny of nursing home funds. Not only did Shalala meet with ADAPT and endorse the basic principle of our proposal, she had Bruce Vladeck, head of the Health Care Finance Administration, HCFA, meet with ADAPT too. Vladeck and his staff sat down with a delegation from ADAPT which included a representative from each of the 24 states participating in this action. Each ADAPT representative outlined a piece of the problem, using a local example to illustrate her or his point. Vladeck and his staff quickly agreed an ongoing dialog was in order, and the rest of the meeting was spent hammering out the plan for this dialog. After these meetings ADAPT's HHS contingent hurried to meet up with the rest of the group. As we neared the protest we got a rare feel for what an ADAPT action feels like from the outside. Police had closed off streets for blocks around the protest site. Traffic was at a crawl and we even had to sneak through the parking lot of a gas station to get near enough to rejoin our group. We later learned that the TV soap operas had been interrupted that afternoon to tell of the protest and the traffic situation. [Subheading] WET 'N' WILD Quickly parking the vans, we came over a hill and were met by the beautiful sight of our fellow ADAPTers in formation around the headquarter& Police milled around them. [Image] [Image caption] Despite torrential rains, ADAPT challenged the third largest nursing home chain, Manor Cue whose profits were 3500 million in 1993. Manor Care also owns several chains of well known hotels and motels. Photo Carolyn Long. It was an eloquent, if wordless, statement about the power of the people, once they refuse to continue cooperating in their own oppression: you want to lock us up for your profits, well you can at least get a feel for the price you extort for your comforts. [Image] [Image caption] Family values, personal responsibility — ADAPT style. Photo: Tom Olin When the police started to arrest they had a big job on their hands. At first, frustrated with their inability to get rid of the problem quickly, police handcuffed people to their chairs and each other. Arrestees were taken to a nearby building for processing. Ironically this building was one Manor Care used to store extra furniture; ADAPT was literally being warehoused by this greedy corporation. Soon however, the sheer numbers began to get to the police, some of whom actually went down the lines of corralled arresters asking if anyone wanted to be "un-arrested." However, we remained firm: We'd rather go to jail than to die in a nursing home! In the end 120 were ticketed. [Subheading] SUPER SUPPORT The Baltimore bus company whose incredible support for our fight for liberty had made our actions possible, arrived and shuttled us home. These fabulous driven, with their chartered buses had shuttled us to various locals all week, including Manor Care headquarters, and had been threatened with arrest by the cops if they returned with more protesters. That night, after watching the ground-breaking video "When Billy Brake His Head and Other Tales of Wonder, ADAPT celebrated the fight for liberty and justice. In various corners of our hotel celebration continued until dawn. Then began the farewells and the long, hard road home. Typical ADAPT, our four day Baltimore action took us down many paths, none of which led to Baltimore. - ADAPT (933)
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