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AMERICAN BUS ASSOCIATION November 4, 1998 To: Ms. Linda Anthony on behalf of representatives of ADAPT From: Michele Janis, Vice President, Communications, Marketing and Membership (202) 842-1645 Peter J. Pantuso, ABA's president and CEO is available to meet with up to six representatives of your organization on or before December 15, 1998. Mr. Pantuso will be joined at this meeting by ABA's Chairman of the Board of Directors. The agenda for the meeting will include issues surrounding the Department of Transportation's rulemaking on accessibility to Over-the-Road Buses to persons with disabilities, including ABA's pending litigation. We will be in touch in the next few days to arrange the exact time and location of this meeting. 1100 New York Avenue, N.W. • Suite 1050 • Washington, D.C. 20005-3934 (202) 842-1645 • (800) 233-2877 • Fax (202) 842-0850 • E-mail: abainfo@buses.org • Web Site. www.buses.org * page 11 * [Image] [Image caption] Photo by Carolyn Long
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Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Secretary Washington, D.C. 20201 To ADAPT: The Secretary of HHS and top Administrative officials agree to meet with 15 Adapt representatives by January 3, 1999 to develop a transition plan that will result in each and every state complying with the most integrated setting requirements of the ADA. The meeting agenda will include the Secretary's assurance that she will work with ADAPT so that the FY 2000 Budget includes sufficient funds to carry out the aforementioned objective. Sincerely, [signed] John J. Callahan [typed] John J. Callahan Assistant Secretary of Management and Budget [two images] [caption for both images] Photos by Susan Briggs
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The Columbus Dispatch Wednesday ■ OCTOBER 27, 1999 [Headline] Disability-rights group meeting here [Subheading] The organization has staged numerous demonstrations and acts of civil disobedience in recent years. By Steve Stephens Dispatch Staff Reporter A group of disability-rights activists, known for blocking buses and political offices across the country, will be in Columbus beginning this weekend for an event billed as the organization's "last national action of the millennium." American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today will host about 500 activists for a six-day program beginning Saturday at the Hyatt on Capitol Square, said Mike Auberger, the group's organizer. Auberger said it's likely that the group will stage acts of civil disobedience in Columbus. "How far that goes depends on the response we get" from state and local officials, he said. "One of the things that you'll find with ADAPT is that we try to hammer our point home with the folks who want to keep the status quo," Auberger said. "Sometimes that includes demonstrations, sometimes meetings. There have been arrests in the past. No one comes with the goal of being arrested, but the issue is important enough that people feel their personal freedom is secondary to getting the message out." Some of the issues that group members are fighting for include more Medicaid money for in-home health care and less for nursing homes. The organization also has protested problems with accessibility on commercial buses. "We're in Columbus because Ohio is one of the 10 worst, states when it comes to providing community-based services — services that allow people with disabilities to continue living in their own homes," Auberger said. The state "spends significantly more money to institutionalize people" than for home-based care, he said. "Somebody with a disability, young or old, should have the option to choose" between institutional and in-home care, he said. Group members have staged, numerous acts of civil disobedience to Make their point, Auberger said. In August, 33 protesters were arrested in St. Louis, during a meeting of the National Governors' Association after they handcuffed. them-selves to buses at the meeting site. Protesters in the past year also have been arrested. in Memphis, Tenn., and Austin, Texas,. and have blocked the entrances to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services building and Democratic and Republican headquarters in Washington, D.C. Sgt. Earl Smith, Columbus Police spokes-man, said officers will assume that the activists will abide by the law, though police will be ready. "The fact that someone is handicapped or disabled doesn't preclude them from going to jail," Smith said. He said that those who break the law to make a point "do a gross disservice to people who are trying to change things legitimately." "But it's not unrealistic to expect a fringe element in any group," Smith said.
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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT THE DEPUTY SECRETARY WASHINGTON, D.C. 20410-0050 May 11, 1999 A D.A.P.T. 201 South Cherokee Street Denver, CO 80223 Dear A.D.A.P.T Members: As per our discussion this afternoon (May 11, 1999), I will arrange a meeting with the Secretary sometime during the week of June 6, 1999, to address your concerns. These concerns include the five items you handed out today (see attached). In that meeting, we will provide you with a timeline on implementation of the items labeled three and four on your list. Regarding the 232 program we will provide you with the information you requested as to what regulatory discretion HUD may have in its implementation of that program, as well as a deeper discussion on how we can work together to address the concerns you have shared with me. I will ask that representatives of all the program areas attend this meeting so that your other issues may also be addressed, including those regarding fair housing enforcement and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. Today, Thea Spires will provide you with copies of a letter HUD has already sent out to our grantees regarding Section 504. Sincerely, [signed] Saul N. Ramirez, Jr. [typed] Saul N. Ramirez, Jr.
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Post-Tribune Sunday, May 9, 1999 A5 REGION [Headline] Disabled travel to capitol, will lobby for legislation [Subheading] Local ADAPT members say the proposed legislation would give people with disabilities more options, BY DAVIE ANN BROWDER Staff Writer Facing down big government agencies never is easy. After all, the scenario pits individuals against the power and money of the United States. It's easy to get squashed like a bug. Nevertheless, local members a ADAPT, a national grass-roots disability rights organization, along with hundreds of others from throughout this country, are in Washington, D.C.. today fighting for passage of legislation. The Community Attendant Services Act (CASA) would allow federal money, such as Medicare and Medicaid, to follow the individual instead of the institution providing care. Luis Roman of Hammond has been to other rallies in Washington, and he's been asked to speak to newcomers today to tell them what to expect over the next week in the capitol. Beside the beat. the waiting, the animosity of some bystanders. there's always the chance of at Roman said. But its worth it, he said. Roman, who has been blind for 11 years, stated the case for the bill succinctly. "It's about choice," he said. "A person who is able to, should he allowed to stay home and not be forced into a nursing home. "That person who can stay at home is happier, they live longer. and it's cheaper for the taxpayer." Right now, people with disabilities have three choices, he said. They can go to a nursing home, be classified as homebound where loss of all government support results if one leaves the house, or rely on family for total care without government help. "Really, everybody has a vested interest in the bill," he said. "If you're planning on getting old, or you may become disabled through an accident or illness, don't you want to have options." Jana Longfellow also is attending the rally, her first. Longleflow is deaf, but can read lips. "I'm going to learn how to fight for people's rights," she said. And indeed, much of her five days in D.C. will be spent on the streets and in public buildings, lobbying elected officials and governmental agencies. As a quadriplegic, Terry McCarty of Lowell usually can rely on her companion dog, Frija, a German shepherd. But McCarty is leaving Frija at home with friends and making the trip alone. McCarty successfully waged a battle to leave a nursing home and live on her own about seven years ago, so the CASA bill is close to her heart. "It was kind of scary living alone at first," she said, noting that when she left the nursing home she didn't have anyone to stay through the night with her. Greg Mitro of Hobart, also an ADAPT member, took the time to label each part of his wheelchair before the trip. The reason was because once Mitro boards the plane, his wheelchair is disassembled and shipped with him. Often, he said, people with disabilities are overwhelmed with the difficulties involved in taking a trip such as this. Obstacles include ending transportation to the airport, getting loaded onto the plane by inexperienced flight attendants, getting around in a strange city, staying in a hotel, and then taking to the streets for a public protest. The threat of arrest looms. ADAPT members block access to the building, they're likely to be jailed. Mitro tells people not to let the prospects keep them imprisoned at home. "That's such a great feeling empowerment," he said. "You fee like, 'wow, l'm not alone in all this." "It's such a sense of community that develops among everybody a then everybody watches out each other. [image] [image caption] Greg Mitro of Hobart prepares Thursday for his trip to Washington, D,C., to lobby for passage of the Community Attendant Services Act. Leslie Adkins/Post-Tribune
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THE BLADE: TOLEDO, OHIO TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 1999 [Headline] Protesters converge on Taft's office [Subheading] Group wants more funding for home-based health care BY JAMES DREW BLADE COLUMBUS BUREAU CHIEF COLUMBUS Disability-rights activists occupied part of a state office building yesterday, demanding to meet with Governor Taft and trying to convince a legislative leader to hold hearings on a bill that would shift more government funding to home health care. Members of American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today from across the nation, meeting this week in Columbus, shut down some of the elevators in the Vern Riffe Center. They sang, "I'd rather go to jail than die in a nursing home," but there were no immediate arrests. Activists in wheelchairs jammed the top floor of the building where Mr. Taft's office is located, and the 14th floor, where House Speaker Jo Ann Davidson (R., Reynoldsburg) has her office. "All we're asking for is real choice," said Toledoan Shona Eakin, speaking by cell phone from outside the speaker's office. "Instead of Ohio spending 11 cents of every dollar on home health care, it should be more even." Mr. Taft and Ms. Davidson weren't in the building. They spent most of yesterday barnstorming the state in sup-port of Issue 1 — the constitutional amendment on today's ballot which would let the state issue general obligation bonds for school and higher education projects. The protest forced many state workers to use the stairs or the building's freight elevator. Estimates of the number of protesters ranged from 300 to 500, with about 20 from the Toledo area. In Ohio as in many other states, ADAPT members said, the majority of federal and state funds for long-term care of the disabled flows to nursing homes and other institutions. They called on Mr. Taft and legislative leaders to endorse legislation to use more Medicaid funding so disabled citizens can receive care in their homes. "Ohio spends nine times as much money on institutions and nursing homes as they do on community-based services, which is exactly the opposite of what people would prefer," said Stephanie Thomas, an ADAPT organizer from Austin, Tex. Over the past two years, Ms. Thomas said, Ohio has dropped from 17th to 35th nationwide in spending on Medicaid waiver services. Jon Allen, a spokesman for the state Department of Human Services, said he couldn't verify the group's claim. He said if the cost of home health care exceeds that of a nursing home, the state would lose federal funds and Ohio taxpayers would have to pick up the bill. Mr. Taft offered to meet with ADAPT members tomorrow night, but the group declined. Ms. Thomas said it was unclear whether Mr. Taft wanted to hold a "Hi, how are you?". meeting or a full-scale session on home health care for the disabled. [image] [image caption] A woman handcuffs herself to a door in the Vern Riffe Center during a demonstration by disability rights activist
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Republican National Committee Thomas J. Joseflak Counsel November 2,1998 To the Leadership of ADAPT: I have been authorized to state that the leadership of ADAPT will be given the opportunity to address the Platform Committee of the Republican National Convention in the year 2000. I have also been authorized to commit to a meeting with the ADAPT leadership and Chairman Nicholson on Thursday, December 3, 1998. At that meeting you may address any other convention related questions that you may have. Included in the meeting agenda will be a discussion addressing the full convention and the position paper we have discussed. Please contact me at (202) 863-8638 to set up a time to meet with Chairman Nicholson. Sincerely, [signed] Tom Josefiak [typed] Tom Josefiak [image] [image caption] ADAPT Day Leader Steve Verriden reads victory letter from Republican Party Headquarters. Photo by Carolyn Long • Dwight D. Eisenhower Republican Center • 310 First Street Southeast • Washington, D.C. 20003 • (202) 863-8638 • FAX: (202) 863-8654 • http://www.rnc.org • TDD: (202) 863-8728 * page 8 *
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Saturday, January 30, 1999 [Headline] 40 disabled pr testers disrupt state office [Subheading] Noisy group removed from building housing attorney general; cops hand out 9 summonses By John Ingot News Staff Writer About 40 disabled protesters disrupted a quiet Friday at the office of Attorney General Ken Salazar. The nearly three-hour sit-in ended when Denver police officers removed the shouting protesters from Salazar's office, 1525 Sherman St., and issued summonses. "I thought it would be the usual --- a little photo op and getting their name in the paper," police Sgt. Rich Mahony said. "But I guess it doesn't work that way anymore." Members of ADAPT, a national group representing people with disabilities, began protesting in the reception area of the attorney general's office around 11:30 am. ADAPT was upset with Colorado's support of a Georgia law, which the group said would violate the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act. The law, under review by the U.S. Supreme Court, would allow the state to place people with disabilities in institutions in-stead of community programs. Former Gov. Roy Romer and 20 other governors had issued a court brief supporting the Georgia law. Denver police arrived about 1 p.m. After telling protesters that they could either leave or be are rested, police began removing them from the office. Police issued nine summonses for disturbing the peace and obstruction of a governmental process. Both charges are misdeameanors and carry fines. None of the protesters was taken to jail. "We're going to tell some folks that it's not a good idea to go to jail on a Friday because you might not get out until Monday, said Joe Ehrnan, an ADAPT organizer. Organizers said Owens asked Salazar's office to look into the issue. Ken Lane, spokesman for the attorney general, said he-lad no idea protesters would show up on Friday. He was not happy with the way ADAPT handled the issue. "We offered to meet with ADAPT officials," Lane said. "In fact, WC offered a meeting with Ken Salazar next week, and they refused." But ADAPT members don't plan to leave until they get what they want. "Ultimately, it means we've got to come back," said Michael Auberger, the national organizer for the group.
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Democratic National Committee Steve Grossman, National Chair Governor Roy Romer, General Chair November 2, 1998 Representatives of the DNC, including the Executive Director, will meet with representatives from ADAPT. This meeting will take place at a mutually agreeable time but no later than November 30, 1998. The meeting will include but is not necessarily limited to: Development of a position paper that recognizes the current institution bias in the long-term care system and that home and community services must be the first priority in long-term care funding. The DNC supports service in the most integrated setting. The DNC will work to develop, promote and pass legislation in the 106th Congress that will allow people with disabilities, regardless of age, or diagnosis (and family members as appropriate) to choose and control where and how long-term services and supports are delivered. This legislation must include financial incentives and sufficient funding so that no eligible individual shall be denied their choice of home and community services. The meeting agenda will also include ADAPTs inclusion in addressing the Convention and ra-ADAPTs inclusion on Platform deliberations. Sincerely, [signed] Janet V. Green [typed] Janet V. Green Executive Director [Image] [Image caption] ADAPT surrounds Democratic Party Headquarters. Photo by Bill Shumaker Democratic Party Headquarters • 430 South Capitol Street, S.E. • Washington, D.C. 20003 • 202-863-8000 • FAX 202-863-8174 Paid for by the Democratic National Committee. Contributions to the Democratic National Committee are not tax deductible. * page 10 *
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[Headline] ADAPT: Demonstrators continue protests Jon Allen, a spokesman for Romer-Sensky, confirmed that the director had agreed to meet Tuesday afternoon. By that time, however, police vans were on their way. "At that point it became a law enforcement issue, not an agency policy matter," Allen said. Allen said Romer-Sensky is still willing to meet with ADAPT members. The demonstrators pleaded with the officers not to make arrests because a meeting had been planned. But the officer in charge told them he had received orders to clear the building entrance and arrest those who didn't leave. "We were negotiating in good faith, and then the (officer) took it in his own hands and said there wasn't going to be a meeting," said Mark Mankins, a protester from Riverside in the Miami Valley. Those arrested were taken to the R-Reynoldsburg Ohio State Fairgrounds, cited with criminal trespassing and released a few hours later. Scott Milburn, Taft's press secretary, said the protesters have had a standing offer to meet with state officials since last Friday. Milburn said the state is considering billing ADAPT for damages during the demonstrations. Those include two broken doors, a carpet in Taft's office and security costs. The protesters still want to meet with Taft and with the House Speaker Jo Ann Davidson, R-Reynoldsburg. [pulled quote] "We were negotiating in good faith, and then the (officer) took it in his own hands and said there wasn't going to be a meeting." --Mark Mankins A protester form Riverside [text resumes] They want David-hearings on proposed legislation that would allow use of Medicaid money for home care rather than requiring the disabled to live in nursing homes. Milburn said the demonstrations have now put any possible meeting between Taft and ADAPT on the "back burner." Nearly 90 percent of Medicaid long-term care dollars are spent on nursing homes, with the rest being spent on home-based care, ADAPT officials said. Despite a past bias towards institutional care, Ohio has been pursuing development of home- and community-based care for disabled people, Milburn said. Bob Kafka, a national ADAPT organizer, said that by blocking access to the Rhodes Tower, members were declaring that the building was a "nursing home" for a. day. "So they can feel for one day what people in nursing homes and institutions feel every day," he said. Kafka said the group has used similar tactics in other cities. The protesters are likely to target another state building today.
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The History of ADAPT By Homer Page A few years ago, Mike Auberger and his colleagues at ADAPT were frustrated because they could not buy a hamburger at McDonald's. They took action. McDonald's settled. Now you see people with disabilities in McDonald's TV ads. This victory over a major corporation helped define the power of the disability rights movement and the strength of the leadership of Mike Auberger. ADAPT is a unique organization. Mr. Auberger is its national organiz-er. This is the new title that the orga-nization has chosen for its leader. However, our hierarchical language which uses terms such as leader, director, president, has a hard time expressing exactly what ADAPT means by the title, "national organizer." Over the last two decades, ADAPT has been at the forefront of the disability rights movement. Its activism has frustrated and out-raged those who have been its tar-gets. It has galvanized its powerless membership into an effective army for social change. It has an impres-sive list of victories, even though those who have opposed ADAPT will tell you the organization's "radi-cal" tactics had no influence on their decisions to find accommodations with the ADAPT demands. Disability Life Magazine sat down with Mike Auberger to find out more about the man and the organization that he co-founded in 1983 and now "leads." DL: Mike, tell us about your background. MA: My father was in the military, so I grew LLD an army brat. We lived in Europe and all over the U.S My father was a very outspoken man and a radical Republican. After he left the military in the late 1960s, we lived in Ohio where he led a property tax revolt. I was born in 1955, so I grew up during the Civil Rights Movement and the anti-war protests. When I look back at my father's influence on me and at what was going on in those years while I was growing up, I can see how it all came together. I grew up believing that all people should be treated fairly, with respect and dignity, and that everyone should be treated equally. DL: What is the nature of your disability? MA: I received a spinal cord injury when I was 17 years old. I was riding a luge at Lake Placid, New York Back then, no one had heard of a luge, so I just had to shy it was a bobsled. Now the luge is very glamorous. DL: You were just a teenager and you were quadriplegic. What did you do to make a life for yourself? MA: I had my father's sense of equality and willingness to fight. That helped a lot. I went to Xavier College in Cincinnati and got a degree in accounting. After college I went to work for the IRS I worked five years for the government but I could see that I was going nowhere with them. DL: What brought you to Colorado? MA: While I worked for the IRS during the late 1970s and early 1980s, I did some camping in the Colorado mountains. I came to Craig Hospital in Englewood, Colorado, for some rehabilitation work and to get my life together. I decided to stay in Colorado. I left IRS and started making plans to leave Craig. I needed to find an agency that could provide an attendant service, so one of the Craig nurses brought me a list. She mentioned Atlantis, but told me that I wouldn't want to use them because they were a radical group. That was all I needed. A radical group was just what I wanted. DL: How did ADAPT get started? MA: Wade Blank was a very charismatic person. His roots went back to the Civil Rights Movement and the anti-war protests. Wade came to Colorado in the 1970s and began to work with persons with disabilities in nursing homes. Soon he and a few disabled persons formed the Atlantis community. They quickly understood that it was not enough to just free persons from institutions, they had to be able to get out there in the community if they were to really be free. So they started taking on other issues. One of the first was accessible public transportation. ADAPT originally formed around the struggle to put lifts on buses. ADAPT stood for "Action To Develop Accessible Public Transit," but now we have dropped the acronym. We are not issue specific. We believe that society must adapt. DL: What is the thinking behind ADAPT's philosophy of organization and leadership? MA: We thought a lot about these issues when we were getting started. We took note of the way in which the Civil Rights Movement had depended on a charismatic leader to hold it together, and then after the death of Dr. King, it had fragmented. We wanted to avoid some of those pitfalls. We wanted to build our organization around the people, not the leadership. ADAPT is not incorporated. We have no budget, nor paid staff. We have no board of directors. We fund our activities through small fundraising activities and contributions, usually in kind from groups sympathetic to our cause. ADAPT has chapters in 44 cities. Each chapter selects representatives who participate in planning meetings and conference calls to set ADAPT policies and actions. Our philosophy of leadership is very important to us. We believe that a leader must lead by example. I must be willing to get arrested if I expect others to take that risk. People with disabilities do not have a strong sense of power. They can be intimidated. A leader must show others how to remain strong in stressful situations, but the leader must not think that he or she is different from others. In society's eyes, no matter your titles or accomplishments, you are still "just a disabled person." A leader must not forget that. You must maintain a strong identity with the person with whom you act. We do not have high-flown titles and positions because we know that our strength is in our unity. We have over 4,000 members. We can bring several hundred persons to an action. For special events we can assemble as many as 1,500 persons. Our strength is in our self-discipline, our unity of purpose, and our numbers. DL: ADAPT has great unity with hardly any organizational structure. How do you maintain such a high level of solidarity? MA: Everyone is respected. If someone speaks slowly or is difficult to understand, we are patient until we do understand. We avoid faction by minimizing leadership roles. We have one priority at a time, so we are not fragmented. Our actions give us focus and a common sense of purpose. We are building a common culture and a common political perspective. We really do care about one another. We load up vans and drive across the country to take part in an action. People are crowded in like sardines. We can't afford for anyone to fly, but in these trips, we get to know one another. We talk about what the action is really all about, and we build our commitment to one another. DL: What do you feel have been ADAPT's major accomplishments and what is your current agenda? MA: As I have said, we began with public transportation. We fought that battle city by city, but in the end, the passage of the ADA insures that in time all public transportation will be accessible. We were frustrated that in many locations we could not buy a hamburger at McDonald's so we negotiated a settlement with them. They agreed to include persons with disabilities in their advertising. The McDonald's corporation also agreed to develop an employment program. They have worked with their franchise owners to create accessible locations, but I am not entirely satisfied with the way that has worked out. After our victory in the public transit area, we moved to attacking the need for high quality community based services. ADAPT is working at the state level, but our top priority is the passage of federal legislation that will create the framework for a national commitment to community based services for all who desire them. Our legislation, "Mis Casas, will create the guarantees that we need. We want to emphasize the home-based location of the services. Late last year, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the Olmstead case. As everyone knows, Olmstead involved two developmentally disabled women who sued the state of Georgia because they wanted to be served in a community setting. ADAPT was deeply involved with the Olmstead case. The Supreme Court decision is a very important victory for ADAPT arid for the disability community. Olmstead has affirmed the right of persons with disabilities to live independently. "Mis Casas" can provide the resources that will make our rights become realities. When we win the battle for attendant services, we will move on to another issue. Perhaps it will be workshops and employment. DL: You have accomplished a great deal in your life. What kind of legacy would you like to leave? MA: I am still too young to think about leaving a legacy. But maybe I would hope for something like this. My wife and I have a 26- year-old daughter and we are working on adopting a 5-year-old. I want to be a good husband and parent. That is an important legacy. I am a co-founder of ADAPT. I am sure that is the most important thing I have done in my public life. If I can be a part of creating and developing an organization through which persons with disabilities can gain power and freedom, I will feel my life has been worthwhile. DL: In addition to your work with ADAPT you are the co-director of Atlantis. How does your work with ADAPT fit in with your work with Atlantis? MA: I think of them as two sides of one coin. ADAPT is the soul of Atlantis. Through ADAPT, Atlantis remembers what it is. Atlantis is a service provider. We have approximately 70 employees. Our budget last year was three million dollars. We provided over 40,000 attendant visits. We operate an equipment repair program, assist persons to work with government programs, and we do advocacy. We have helped persons with disabilities to secure over 80 million dollars in home financing so persons with disabilities can own their own homes. But in all this activity, it is our involvement with ADAPT that keeps us focused. We must remain humble and dedicated. We must not forget that life is about empowerment for everyone, not glory for a few. DL: What are the most important needs for persons with disabilities? MA: First we must continue to work to empower ourselves both individually and collectively. Second, we need to secure those services that will allow us to live independently, where and as we choose. Finally, we must continue to build a disability community that is nurturing and affirmative, patient and caring, and culturally rich. We must have the power, the resources, and the cultural strength that it takes to build lives of pride, dignity and freedom. 15