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- ADAPT (954)
10/23/95 Lansing State Journal [Headline] ADAPT plans to protest [Subheading] Handicapper group prepares for action to improve home aid By John B. Albright Lansing State Journal They're mum about just when and where and what they will do, and to whom they will do it. But hundreds of people with disabilities rallying Sunday at the Radisson Hotel in downtown Lan-sing were preparing to demonstrate for their cause: more aid-at-home funding for handicappers. Leaders were describing what's to come as acts of civil disobedience. "In the past, we have done things like blocking traffic," said Verna Spayth of Ann Arbor, a polio survivor and one of the organizers of the group called ADAPT. "We have shut down buildings. We have trapped people who could make decisions on the redirection of Medicaid money," she said. "Trapped them in their offices to give them a little taste of what it's like to be some place, not in control," Spayth explained. "Strategically placed chairs in front of doors can cause those doors not to open at all," Spayth said, referring to the wheel chairs that she and others were using as they assembled on the mezzanine floor of the Radisson ahead of a welcome address by Mayor David Hollister. "These chairs are rather heavy." The demonstrations may come anytime today through Wednesday. "We will be in faces for three days," Spayth said. Members of Denver-based ADAPT — American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today said they are mainly angling for Gov. John Engler's support for more home-aid money from Medicaid. Denouncing nursing homes as prisons with financial bars, ADAPT members want federal legislation to tilt 25 percent of Medicaid's nursing home funds to pay for personal help in homes of handicappers. Bill Earl, 32, of East Lansing, among 300 or, more of the handicappers who attended Sunday's session, said he hated his stay some time ago in a Grand Rapids nursing home. "I was told when to get up, when to go to bed," said Earl, a cerebral palsy survivor now getting about eight hours a day of personal help at his apartment home under Medicaid funding. Hollister told the handicappers that the new baseball stadium under construction for the Lansing Lugnuts will be handicapper-accessible. A former Democratic lawmaker in the Michigan House, Hollister said he's been trying to set up a meeting between ADAPT leaders and the Republican governor. But he's not taking a side on a move to get federal legislation to mark a quarter of Medicaid's $64 billion a year in nursing home funds for home aid. "What we have to do is eliminate barriers and allow people to be their own advocates, and that's what my role is," Hollister said. A Community Attendant Services Act, not yet introduced in Congress, would help keep many people with disabilities out of costly nursing homes, advocates have said. Spending $21,000 a year for home care for one person might head off a $40,000 tab of a nursing home, said ADAPT organizer Bob Kafka of Austin, Texas. - ADAPT (955)
PHOTO: A crowd of ADAPT protesters fills the picture. All are in warm jackets, several with red caps. Behind them, silotted against the sky is a statue of a man standing next to something he is resting his hand upon. Some city buildings are visible above the crowd to one side and autumn trees are in the background. In the front is a red headed woman (Shona Eakin) with a red color leader flag. To her left is Gwen Jackson's face at the edge of the picture and in front is Gordie Haug with his arm over his head. - ADAPT (956)
A photo of the same crowd as in ADAPT 955 but from farther back so you can see it is at the entrance to some grounds, probably the state Capitol grounds. Several ADAPT people are facing the crowd, looking like speakers addressing a rally. At the front of the crowd a man in a motorized wheelchair and brown jacket has the ADAPT flag attached to his chair and flying over his head. The crowd goes back along the sidewalk past the statue of the man and it looks like a march ending at this rally. - ADAPT (957)
PHOTO: A mass of ADAPT protesters facing toward the Michigan Governor's house. Behind them you can see a part of the circular driveway and a fancy neighbor's house. In the forground you can see Doug Chastain on the far right side of the photo with orange and white stripes on his sleeve. Behind him is a row of people including Latonya Reeves in a white wrap, George Roberts with buttons all over his red cap, Erik von Schmetterling in a grey hoodie facing the camera, among others. Behind Erik is a man standing in a red coat and to his right is Joe Ehman, to his right is Diane Coleman in a blue hoodie, and to her right is Raymond ___ in white glasses. Behind the man in the red coat is David with Wittie in black. Everyone is very bundled up with hoodies, scarves, warm coats and more. - ADAPT (958)
PHOTO: A view of the crowd of protesters up by the Governor's midcentury modern house. In the forground four police officers are walking, one in a helmet, the other three with police caps, all looking grim. - ADAPT (959)
A crowd of ADAPT protesters further from the Governor's house, perhaps at the gateway to his driveway. On either side is a pack of protesters facing the house and in the center, somewhat lined by about 10 police officers, a line of ADAPT people are coming away from the house. In front is a woman in a motorized wheelchair with a poster that says Our Homes NOT Nursing Homes. Bheind her is San Antonio Fuentes with his hand extended out. Behind him another person in a wheelchair and behind them Sue Davis is in an orange rain poncho. To the left of the line, between the police officers you can see Bob Kafka in a brown hat and red sweatshirt, in front of him Tom Olin is taking a picture and in front of him Mike Oxford is standing looking past the police at the people in the line. Everyone is dressed very warmly. - ADAPT (96)
Rocky Mountain News 9/5/81 Denver, CO Handicapped buoyed by judge's ruling By JANE HULSE, News Staff A Denver judge Friday dismissed charges against 20 able-bodied protesters who invaded the Denver mayor's office last spring because 23 other protesters in wheelchairs had not been ticketed. That, said County Judge Edward A. Simons, is reverse discrimination. The unusual ruling by Simons was hailed by the handicapped community as a "significant” victory. The ruling stemmed from a protest May 15 in the office of Mayor William H. McNichols Jr. concerning budget cuts that would affect handicapped residents. The demonstrators were ordered to leave the building at 5 p.m. after McNichols refused to meet with the group about the cuts in the city’s health-care systems budgets. When the group refused to leave, those in wheelchairs were not ticketed, but the able-bodied protesters were charged with interference —- a misdemeanor carrying a maximum penalty of 90 days in jail or a $300 fine. None was taken to jail and booked. The attorney for the protesters, John Holland, argued that his clients were entitled to equal protection under the law and that the law shouldn’t be enforced selectively against one group. “It takes a message to the mayor that he can’t insult the disabled community by ignoring them," said Wade Blank, a spokesman for the disabled. “The disabled are telling me that next time (they meet with McNichols) he will have to treat them differently.” He said the ruling will cause the handicapped people to become even more outspoken and demonstrative about fighting for their rights. Knowing they would be subjected to jail at demonstrations doesn't frighten them, he said, noting that the jail has wheelchair access. Blank said the city’s decision to ticket only those demonstrators who were not in wheelchairs had the effect of making the handicapped feel as if they weren't being recognized as people. “It made them feel like second-class citizens he said. He said the handicapped demonstrators knew they were breaking the law by refusing to leave and “they were willing to pay the price.” According to the ruling, the city decided not to ticket the handicapped for fear that some weren't able to remove themselves from the office or didn’t understand the orders to leave. But Simons noted that “the time and resources were available to make those determinations." The judge also stated, “The fact that none of the disabled persons were charged in spite of their active resistance to leaving renders the city's evidence insufficient to overcome the inescapable conclusion that the defendants have been denied equal protection of the laws.” - ADAPT (960)
PHOTO: Double doors to an office are held open by two standing ADAPT members while two lines of folks in wheelchairs enter the office. In the doorway on the left is Bobby Simpson. On the far wall of the office you can see a line of equipment, a clock and a photo of a man. The office appears to be filling up with ADAPT members. This is probably the Michigan Republican Party Headquarters. - ADAPT (961)
This is a photo of further inside the same office. There is a line of ADAPT folks mostly in chairs snaking through the desks and tables. The room is lit by florescent lights, there is a coke machine and a Bush poster on the wall. A doorway in the far wall shows that ADAPT has penetrated in to other rooms in the building. Thom Wilson is looking at papers on a desk but behind him a couple of women working on computers are somewhat visible. Pat ___ from Georgia has part of her head visible at the bottom of the picture; behind her Ken Heard is heading into the room with his head back, ponytail hanging down. - ADAPT (962)
PHOTO: Mike Oxford stands in the middle of displays of books, a Waldenbooks sign over his head. He is using a megaphone. Around him are ADAPT protesters filling the aisles of the store. LaTonya Reeves is behind him in a read coat, and in front Randy from California looks down at his lap. This is the protest of Gingrich at a bookstore carrying his new book. - ADAPT (963)
PHOTO: Another scene inside the bookstore. ADAPT folks filling the aisles with book displays all around. Linda from Pennsylvania is at the center with a white sweatshirt. Someone on a vent is sitting behind her and someone in a Kansas ADAPT sweatshirt is standing behind her amid the displays. - ADAPT (964)
PHOTO: Yet another scene inside the bookstore. ADAPT folks filling the aisles so it would be difficult to get through the store. JT Templeton is in a blue hat and blue ADAPT shirt holding something, possibly a whistle on a string, in front of his chest. to his left in a tie dye ADAPT shirt with her beautiful red hair is Sharon ____ of Denver, an escapee from Tennessee where there were no attendant services. - ADAPT (965)
Detroit Free Press Saturday, October 28, 1995 Hugh McDiarmid Politics [Headline] GOP in a dither to find Bonior foe Demonstration Redux: Engler's staff went ape and his wife, Michelle, loudly condemned it. But the governor's own reaction to Tuesday's demonstration at the governor's residence by 200-plus handicapped home-care advocates was...well, softer. On WWJ-AM radio's "Ask the Governor" Thursday, he labeled it "guerrilla theater, 1990s style." But he said the goal was to get media attention and, in that, they were "pretty effective." - ADAPT (966)
[Headline] Michelle Engler livid about protest [Subheading] Handicapped people at governor's mansion went over the line BY HUGH MCDIARMID Free Press Staff Writer She'd had two days to cool off, but on" Thursday, Michigan's first lady, Michelle Engler, was still furious. "It was frightening. I felt totally helpless," she said. "And I am still outraged and appalled by these the tactics." She was referring to Tuesday's raucous, surprise, midday demonstrations by more than 200 handicappers --most of them from out of state — at the governor's residence in Lansing. Neither Michelle nor Gov. John Engler was at home. But their triplet daughters, whose first birthday comes in 18 days, were there being cared for by a nanny. Sixty-seven protesters, many in wheelchairs, pushed through the outside gate and massed on the front porch, periodically shouting and chanting slogans and, for a tune, pounding on the doors and windows. The others demonstrated on the street and curb out front. "These people were banging on doors and windows . terrorizing innocent people inside," said Michelle Engler, who, at the time, was attending a Cobo Hall luncheon in Detroit she was honored for her work on breast-cancer awareness. "When they called me and told me what was happening, I was terrified...frightened. All I could think about was my 11-month-old babies." Engler, a 36-year-old attorney, described herself as "an avid advocate" of the First Amendment, including free speech and the right to peaceably assemble, but she said Tuesday's demonstration was "over the line." "If they want to picket, they should stay outside the gate. They can picket me, they can picket him," she said, referring to the governor. "But just stay away from my family." See ENGLER, Page Six (unavailable at this time) [This page also continues the article from Image 952. See 952 for full text] - ADAPT (967)
[Headline] Wheelchair protesters [Subheading] Activists with disabilities travel so they can stay home Yvonne Duffy The 300 or so members of American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today (ADAPT) who stormed Gov. John Engler's residence and blocked entrances to the state Capitol in Lansing last week have dispersed, perhaps leaving in their wake more questions than answers. Who are these Wheelchair "terrorists," as administration officials called them, who demonstrate against government leaders and the health care industry to seek less Medicare spending for nursing homes and more money for in-home care? They are dedicated men and women, most with significant disabilities, who spend their own money to travel from all over the country to participate in ADAPT "actions." Some cut their protest teeth back in the 1960s. Others have come more recently to the disability movement, and are new to the idea that they may be able to influence their destiny. Many are former nursing home residents who have experienced firsthand the mind-numbing isolation, indifferent care (at best), and lack of freedom that inevitably accompany institutionalization. The woman who screamed from the governor's driveway, "Let (lawmakers) lie all night in their own (waste)" probably is a former nursing home resident. She understands all too well that once one undergoes such degradation, one is changed forever. The World Institute on Disability defines personal assistance services as "assistance of another with those tasks which individuals would normally do for themselves if they did not have a disability." ADAPT maintains that adequate personal assistance services and other support could enable one of every 10 nursing home residents to live in his or her own home, resulting in a better quality of life and reduced cost to taxpayers. [Image] [Image caption] Wayne Becker of Austin, Texas, and Hector Racine of Brandon, Vt., were among protesters at governor's house. File photo by Julian H. Gonzalez/Detroit Free Press. Why did ADAPT choose to turn the national spotlight on Michigan? As Republicans attempt to return more government power to the states, members of the Denver-based organization seek federal legislation that would unify the hodgepodge of services now administered by states. Since Engler is perceived as an influential force in a national welfare reform, ADAPT wants to educate him on the need to include community-based personal assistance services in the final package. Engler also is regarded as a close associate of House Speaker Net Gingrich, who was targeted by ADAPT last May. Gingrich has verbally endorsed the idea of national legislation governing personal assistance services. Yet he has not introduced in the House ADAPT's proposed Community-based Attendant Services Act (the measure's acronym, CASA, means "home" in Spanish). That bill, if passed, would make these services a reality. ADAPT members believe people with disabilities are the real experts on what they need. An essential feature of the CASA bill is consumer control, based on need rather than age or specific disability. This approach to independent living contrasts sharply with the medical model now used by most states to determine eligibility. To finance the proposed program, ADAPT calls for redirecting 25 percent of the current Medicare allocation for nursing homes. The proportion now earmarked for in-home assistance is less than five percent. The need is crucial: A 1992 Families USA study reported that 64 percent of Americans who needed personal assistance services could not get them. In Chicago last year, personal assistants struck for a day to protest their low wages and lack of benefits, stranding the employers who relied on them to get out of bed. Hiring honest, responsible people to provide personal assistance, for little more than the minimum wage and without health care or retirement benefits, is fast becoming next to impossible. In a healthy economy such as ours, these essential jobs are among the first to go unfilled, as demand for workers opens up higher-paying positions. What drives ADAPT members to undergo financial expense and personal hardship as they demonstrate around the country year after year, to try to focus attention on an issue about which few Americans care? They keep on because they are acutely aware--often from personal experience--of what most other people with disabilities can scarcely bear to acknowledge, because the specter is so horrifying. Each of us who must depend on personal assistance services to live is but a heartbeat away from a nursing home. Yvonne Duffy writes the "Disabled in America" column for the Free Press