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Heim / Albúm / Columbus Ohio, fall 1999 29
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10B DAYTON DAILY NEWS OPINION Dayton Daily News The First Cox Newspaper BRAD TILLSON PUBLISHER JEFF BRUCE EDITOR STEVE SIDLO MANAGING EDITOR HAP CAWOOD EDITOR OF THE EDITORIAL PAGES DOUG FRANKLIN EXEC. VICE PRESIDENT, GENERAL MANAGER JAMES M. COX, PUBLISHER 1898-1957 JAMES M. COX JR., PUBLISHER 1957-1974 EDITORIALS [Headline] Long term care options worth effort HANDCUFFING THEMSELVES TO doors and blocking entrances to state buildings, a group of disabled demonstrators spent most of last week in Columbus fighting for a supportable goal: giving 'disabled people the opportunity to choose long-term, at-home care over nursing-home care. Ohio and most other states are biased toward financial help for nursing homes. The group, called ADAPT (American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today), wants Ohio to jr pass House Bill 215, which was introduced in March to an unenthusiastic committee. The bill is patterned after national legislation that would set up a voucher-like plan for the disabled who qualify for state assistance. Medicaid or other funds would follow the recipients to the homes of their choosing. Sounds fair enough. But federal and state governments cite lack of funds as the reason they are reluctant to change the system. True, the tactics of the protesters in Columbus, some from Ohio, may have done more harm than good. Still, the disabled have a right to protest and a duty to be responsible for $8,200 worth of property damage they caused. In ADAPT's case, the state is considering billing the Denver-based group for damages. [Headline] ViewPoints But ADAPT raises points that Ohio's governor, legislators and policy-makers must consider: Ohio ranks 45th in the nation in the percent-age of funds spent for long-term care in homes or a community-based facilities. It ranks 47th in progress toward a system that supports home- and community-based services. The state is surpassed only by five states in the total number of people in nursing homes. Ohio spends 98 percent of its Medicaid long-; term-care dollars on institutional programs and only 7 percent on community services. Gov. Bob Taft and others say Ohio is working to increase community-based services But the governor is also frustrated that ADAPT chose confrontation over his attempts to talk with the group. From the group's perspective, though, maybe its national plan of demonstrating in state capitals is the result of frustration as well. Leaders in state and federal governments have long agreed with supporting at-home and community-based care, but rhetoric has not led to significant changes in policies. A few demonstrated last week, but the policies favoring nursing homes affects far more disabled Ohioans and their families At the least, the House can take HB 215 off the shelf and schedule hearings.
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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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On the merits -- Don't let extremists color bill for disabled Ohio's Greatest Home Newspaper The Columbus Dispatch Page 1 of 2 • Search dispatch.com • Back to the home page • How to send letters to the editor • Dick Wright's latest cartoon [Headline] On the merits -- Don't let extremists color bill for disabled Sunday, November 14, 1999 The monetary cost of the damages caused by activists who stormed state office buildings this month is being tallied. So far, the bill is upward of $60,000, much of it for State Highway Patrol overtime to maintain security. Locks and other items damaged when demonstrators blocked access to elevators and other public areas in the Riffe Center must be replaced. This group should reimburse the taxpayers of Ohio for such costs and apologize for disrupting state workers and impeding their safety. But far more troubling, and not just in financial terms, would be for a largely out-of- state group's misguided and potentially dangerous actions to harm the chances of thorough debate and analysis of the legislation it supports. State lawmakers have a duty to consider the needs of their constituents: the people of Ohio. Many of the protesters in town last week came from other states as part of a national disability-rights group known for its obstructive, in-your-face tactics. The demonstrators, members of American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today, did no favor for those in Ohio's disabled community who have worked hard to create this legislation by legitimate and civil means Like extremists in any movement, from abortion-clinic bombers to Black Panthers, ADAPT does more harm than good for its cause. The measure at hand, House Bill 215, sponsored by Rep. George E. Terwilleger, R- Maineville, should be considered on its merits. Subject to approval of a federal waiver, the bill would create a program using Medicaid funds to provide many disabled people with personal assistants, thereby increasing their alternatives to living in nursing homes. It would redirect Medicaid dollars into home- and community-based services and away from institutions. The Dispatch is not ready to endorse such legislation but does believe the measure deserves to be thoroughly examined. Among other provisions, the bill would give people who are disabled more say in planning their care. It largely minors proposed federal legislation that would require states to expand community-based options and give people with disabilities choice in where and when they receive services. Similar legislation has received bipartisan congressional support. Independent living may not be the best choice for every individual. But for many, it is. In such cases, this measure has the potential to save taxpayers' money while improving the quality of life for people who are disabled. Former state Rep. Joan W. Lawrence, director of the Ohio Department of Aging, wrote much of Terwilleger's bill while she served in the House; when she changed positions, she asked Terwilleger to carry the measure. "It's not the kind of bill that would go flying through the legislature, because it's hard to grasp the details," she said. "But I think its time has come. It's sweeping the nation, this self-directed care." Lawmakers would be unfair to the many people who have worked hard and long on measures intended to help the disabled if they allowed a group of outsiders to sabotage these efforts. HOME I SPONSORED EVENTS I CLASSIFIEDS I ONLINE YELLOW PAGES I SUBSCRIBE I CONTACT US Copyright C 1999, The Columbus Dispatch httn-//www.disnatch.cominan/editori als/ed2s14edw.html 11/15/99
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Dayton Daily News Wednesday November 3, 1999 State office tower protesters arrested [image] [image caption] Ohio State Patrol officers remove a man from his wheelchair after protesters blocking the entrance to the Rhodes Tower in Columbus refused to leave when ordered. About 100 members of the Denver-based American Disabled for Attendant Services Programs Today tried to enter the building across from the Statehouse. Story, 1B
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Local Dayton Daily News Coming Sunday Don't miss our Winter Weather Survival. Guide it Sunday's paper. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 1999 [Headline] Disabled protest again, 97 arrested [Subheading] Group wants state to shift Medicaid money to home-based care instead of nursing homes BY MIKE WAGNER AND MICHAEL C. BENDER Columbus Bureau COLUMBUS A wrestling match between disabled activists-and Ohio Highway Patrol officers erupted Tuesday over control of a second state office tower. The altercation ended with the arrest of 97 demonstrators. The protesters, including' several from the Dayton area, want Gov. Bob Taft and other Ohio law-makers to change the Medicaid health insurance program so more disabled people can receive long-term care at home, rather than in nursing homes. Protests in Columbus began Monday when more than 206 members of Denver-based American Disabled for Attendant Programs seized control of the Vern Riffe. Center for Government and Arts. By 1 a.m. Tuesday, more than 100 were issued citations for criminal trespassing. As promised, protesters returned. Tuesday. They started about 1 p.m. in a driving rain by parading through a busy downtown street. The group, then tried to enter, Rhodes State Office Tower across from the Statehouse. But unlike Monday, highway patrol officers and other state security personnel were waiting. "Free our people now" and "People are dying! Shame on you!" the protesters shouted. They jammed themselves in front of the building and tried to nudge open the doors that were being blocked by the officers. For about 10 minutes, the officers restrained several demonstrators who were wrestling to hold their positions by the entrance. "We will keep pushing them all day. This is a humanity issue that the governor and other so-called leaders need to. do something about," said Nancy Selandra, 44, a protester from Philadelphia. A restraining order issued late Monday in Franklin County Common Pleas Court bars the activists from entering any state building, patrol Sgt. Gary Lewis said. ADAPT organizers said they went to the Rhodes Tower hoping to arrange a meeting with Jacque: line Romer-Serisky, director of the state Health and Human Services Department Please see ADAPT/4B
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Dayton Daily News THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 1999 LOCAL THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 1999 [Headline] Officials meet with advocates for disabled [Subheading] Activists want more Medicaid money used for home care BY MICHAEL C. BENDER Columbus Bureau COLUMBUS And on the third day of the struggle between state officials, Ohio Highway Patrol officers and disabled activists, there was a meeting. On Wednesday, five representatives from Denver-based ADAPT —American American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today — got the meeting with state officials that they've been seeking all week. The breakthrough followed two days of protests during which nearly 200 advocates for the dis-abled, many of them in wheel-chairs, were charged with trespassing and disorderly conduct. The activists, including Tracy Mankins of Riverside, pressed officials from the state Human Services department to support legislation to allow more Medicaid money to be' used for home care for the disabled rather than for nursing homes. Barbara Edwards, director of Medicaid in the department, was the top state official at the meeting. "I told (Edwards) I wanted to give my friends in nursing homes a little holiday gift to tell them that Ohio is doing something to get them out of nursing homes," Mankins said. "She didn't have a response to that." Jon Allen, department spokes-man, said, "We are analyzing the bill and its financial impact now. We will have more to say about it later this month." The legislation is sponsored by state. Rep. George Terwilleger, R-Maineville. Scott Milburn, spokesman for Gov. Bob Taft, said "we don't have a position on it." The ADAPT demonstrators, who are scheduled to leave Columbus today, wanted to meet with Taft, but the governor was in northeast Ohio on Wednesday. The ADAPT representatives also sought a meeting with department director Jacqueline Romer-Sensky before Thanksgiving. Mankins said that Edwards promised to talk with Romer-Sensky. While Mankins and the: others met with Edwards in the 'Rhodes State Office Tower, other. ADAPT , protesters were about a block, away outside at the Riffe Center for Government and the Arts holding a mock funeral for disabled people who have died in nursing homes. They also signed "indictments" against Taft, accusing him of "incarcerating over 100,000 people with disabilities in nursing homes and other institutions without real choice." The mock service was calm, compared with Tuesday when more than 200 protesters tried to enter the Rhodes tower to demand a meeting with Romer-Sensky. "Jackie accepted the offer," Alla said, "but police vans were already in route and it became a law enforcement issue." State troopers arrested more the 90 protesters and took them to the state fairgrounds where most were cited for disorderly conduct. On was cited for damaging property. On Monday, more than 100 protesters were cited for criminal trespassing after a daylong occupation of three floors at the Riffe Center. > Contact Michael Bender at (614) 224-1608 or e-mail him at miktbender@coxohio.com
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Dayton Daily News [some illegible text near the Daily News title] [weather forecast] CLOUDY, WINDY & RAINY High 48. Low 35. FORECAST, 6B NOVEMBER 2, 1999 [Headline] Protesters shut down office tower [Subheading] Six citations for trespassing issued By MIKE WAGNER, MICHAEL C. BENDER AND WILLIAM HERSHEY Dayton Daily News COLUMBUS --More than 200 protesters, most in wheelchairs, virtually shut down a state office tower Monday that includes offices for Gov. Bob Taft and House Speaker Jo Ann Davidson by handcuffing themselves to doors, seizing control of elevators. At 11 p.m., 15 uniformed Ohio State Patrol officers wearing goggles and gloves. began removing protesters from the building lobby. At least six of the protesters received citations for criminal trespassing. About 30 minutes before protesters had been given an opportunity to leave peacefully. By 11:30 p.m., other protesters began leaving the building. Some of them were given citations for criminal trespassing. "It's wrapping up," said Scott Milburn, Taft's press secretary. Just after 6 p.m. Monday, the state won a temporary restraining order from Franklin County Common Pleas Court that bars protesters froth restricting access to the tower and other buildings housing state offices. [image] [image caption] JACK KUSTROW/ASSOCIATED PRESS. ALFREDO JUAREZ, of El Paso, Texas, joins in a protest of the disabled at the Rife Center in Columbus Monday. [text resumes] Most, if not all, of the protesters are members of ADAPT--Americans Disabled for Attendant Programs Today. More than 500 ADAPT members are in Columbus for meetings this week. Even with the Court order, which expires Nov. 15, State officials would try to allow protesters limited access to the building, Milburn said. More than 100 protesters remained inside the building, even after the court order was issued. The protesters, including several. from the Dayton area, want Taft and other Ohio lawmakers to help them change the Medicaid health insurance program so more disabled people can receive long-term care at home, rather than in nursing homes. The demonstration started about 10 a.m. in and around the Rife Center for Government and the Arts, across from the Statehouse. Protest-en seized control of the main lobby, and lobbies on Taft's 30th-floor office and Davidson's 14th-floor office. Protesters cut access to the floors by wedging their wheelchairs. between the elevator doors and handcuffing people to the lobby doors. The protesters, which included people from Ohio and nine other: states, plan to remain in Columbus through Wednesday and promise similar demonstrations at other buildings. "Free our brothers, free our sisters, free our people," ADAPT members chanted. "We'd rather go to jail than the in a nursing home." Protesters wanted to meet with Taft and Davidson, R-Reyrioldsburg, but both were traveling in Ohio campaigning. They also wanted Davidson to schedule hearings on legislation that would allow Medicaid money for home care rather than requiring the disabled to live in nursing homes. "We want the system changed," said Theresa Muse of Dayton, 30, who has cerebral palsy. "Anyone could get injured at any time and become disabled. I didn't come over here from Dayton to get thrown in jail, but if that's what it takes to keep people out of nursing homes, then I'll go." State Rep..George Terwilleger, R- Maineville, sponsor of the legislation the. protesters want . enacted, said he had no warning about the demonstration. "I don't need some outside radicals coming into our state, slowing down the process and causing this kind of chaos," the Warren County lawmaker said. 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. Terwilleger, who introduced the bill March 2, said that enacting the legislation would mean $1 million or $2 million more in state spending. He strongly supports the concept. It improves the quality of life for those who can stay at home, he said. Attempts to set up a meeting between protesters and Davidson failed when aides to the speaker refused to agree to a demand that she schedule a hearing on Terwilleger's legislation. [Second article begins] Protester says he lost ability to walk while in nursing home By T.C. BROWN Plain dealer bureau Columbus--Protester John Gladstone, ball cap pulled tight over his head, sat hunched in his wheelchair against the cold last Wednesday outside state offices, describing 14 awful years he spent in a Philadelphia nursing home. "It's like being in a cattle house. You are held as a prisoner, and people are being abused," Gladstone said. "Every person with a disability should be given a choice." Gladstone, who was born with cerebral palsy, said he could walk when he was admitted to the nursing home at age 31 in 1971. But, he said, the staff forced him to sit in a wheelchair and he lost the use of his legs. Gladstone was released from the home, and with the help of a seven-day-a-week attendant, has lived in the Philadelphia community for 14 years. I'm able to live a free and happy and full life now." Gladstone said. He and others bitter about what they perceive as state officials' bias toward housing the disabled in institutions have drawn to ADAPT, American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today. The national group has staged protests throughout the country to press for more funding for community care. ADAPT's standard chants, if not guiding themes, are: "Our homes; not nursing homes," and "I'd rather go to jail than to die in a nursing home. Members of the group hold bake sales and other fundraisers to pay their expenses. Gladstone said he had arrested; in Orlando, Fla., Atlanta, Washington, D.C., and elsewhere. I believe in this issue. I've seen too many friends die," Gladstone said. "I want people who live in nursing homes to have free choice, as I do. We are going to get that." [illegible email and phone number]
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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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Wednesday, November 3, 1999 ■ The Columbus Dispatch /METRO [Headline] Protest at state buildings might go on, group says By Connie A. Higgins Dispatch Staff Reporter A national disability-rights group might. continue protesting at government office buildings Downtown this week after a second day of arrests for trespassing. Yesterday, State Highway Patrol troopers arrested 97 members of American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today at Rhodes Tower, 30 E. Broad St., and charged them with criminal trespassing, a fourth-degree misdemeanor. On Monday, 118 members of the group were charged with trespassing when they occupied two floors and the lobby of the Riffe Center, 77 S. High St. Following the Riffe Center arrests, the state obtained a restraining order limiting the group's access to state buildings. The activist group, with chapters in 39 states, has been in Columbus this week to support House Bill 215, legislation that would give people with disabilities more independent-living options. Troopers said yesterday that they warned the protesters, many of whom were using wheelchairs, to disperse when they became rowdy by knocking on windows and blocking access to state employees. When five group members entered the building, troopers began making arrests. They carried protesters away in wheelchairs and onto handicap-accessible vans. "We want to continue to send a message that we're running this in a very peaceful and safe manner," patrol Sgt. Gary Lewis said. He said the protesters were transported to the state fairgrounds, where they were processed and given a court date before being taken back to their Downtown hotel. [pulled quote] "We want to continue to send a message that we're running this in a very peaceful and safe manner." SGT. GARY LEWIS State Highway Patrol Mike Auberger, a co-founder of ADAPT, said members had gone to the Rhodes Tower to meet with Jacqui Romer-Sensky, director of the Ohio Department of Human Services. The meeting never took place. Auberger said his group will continue to pro-test until they leave the city on Thursday. "We may do the same thing tomorrow," he said yesterday. We have yet to determine \Pt hat location." ADAPT members have said their attempts to meet with Gov. Bob Taft and other state representatives fizzled. They complained that Ohio is among states forcing people with disabilities to live in nursing homes and institutions instead of supporting community-based services. State officials have said Ohio has increased its support for community-based services, and a Taft spokesman has said the governor was trying to arrange his schedule to meet with the group State Highway Patrol troopers carry Frank Lozano of El Paso, Texas, away from Rhodes Tower as Lozano's assistance dog, Neto, follows him to police vans. Lozano and other protesters were charged yesterday with criminal trespassing. [image] [image caption] Neal C. Lauron /Dispatch
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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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Drawing of office plants with a sign that reads: The Taft room (restroom) Free our bladders