[Headline] A CRY FOR CARE

[3 Images]
[Image caption for all 3 images] ABOVE Michigan State Police troopers drag Philadelphia resident Eileen "Spitfire" Sable away from the Capitol. CENTER: Topeka, Kan., resident Pepper Daniel leads a group of protesters as a young girt walks by. TOP: Jell McAlvey, a legislative liaison to Gov. John Engler, meets with three ADAPT protesters. Photos by: State News/MATT CONAHAN

[Subheading] ADAPT blockades Capitol; group demands to see Engler
By LEE JERNSTADT
STATE NEWS STAFF WRITER

LANSING--About 300 people with disabilities stormed the Capitol on Wednesday, where they attempted to prevent people from entering or leaving the building so state officials could feel what it's like to be "trapped."

During the demonstration, which was organized by the group American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today, hundreds of wheelchair users and other ADAPT members banded together to block every Capitol entrance.

They chanted, waved signs and pre-vented many Capitol workers from entering.

This is the group's fourth Lansing-area protest this week where ADAPT members decried the practice of putting people with disabilities into nursing
homes instead of providing them with in-home care. They said laws trap people in nursing homes and do not give them any choice in their medical care.

The protesters said they would not leave until Gov. John Engler met with them and listened to their concerns.

"Putting people in nursing homes is a capital offense, so we're going to turn this Capitol into a nursing home," shouted Bob Liston, ADAPT Michigan organizer, as he lined up protesters in front of the Capitol steps.

But Engler spokesman John Truscott said Engler will not meet with ADAPT members.

"We will not meet with groups that resort to illegal tactics," Truscott said. ADAPT members broke through gates and approached the governor's mansion in Lansing on Tuesday during a protest.

Throughout the more than four-hour demonstration, police arrested five people for trespassing and disorderly conduct because they were blocking doors, said Gary Post, an inspector in the executive division of the state police. All had disabilities. No injuries or damages were reported.

As protesters chanted and tried to pull people away from doors, dismayed Capitol workers returning from lunch wandered from entrance to entrance, searching for a way in. Curious onlookers inside the building peeked out of windows to see what was going on.

Many workers had to be escorted by police to get past the protesters and enter the building.

"I think it's nuts," said East Lans-ing resident Chad Linzey, who works in the House Clerk's office in the Capitol. "I just want to go in and do my job."

The demonstration ended peace-fully when state police Lt. Tom Ambs negotiated an agreement with protesters, Post said. The crowd dispersed after several ADAPT members entered and delivered a letter to
Engler's office stating their demands.

Jerry Lawler executive director of the Capitol Committee, which oversees the Capitol grounds -- said the protesters only were able to completely close off the building for about 30 minutes. Police were able to clear at least one door the rest of the time.

"It's just an inconvenience," Lawler said. "Nothing's been stopped."

Both the state House and Senate held session as scheduled Wednesday.

Lawler said two groups of school children who were at the Capitol for field trips entered the building during the protest, and many were in tears after being rushed through the group of protesters.

The rally began with speakers before the crowd moved to the doors.

Charlie Buck, an ADAPT member from Nashville, Tenn., who attended the protest, said his group has asked
U.S. Rep. Newt Gingrich, R-Georgia, and other ranking Republicans, to change laws that require states to provide nursing home care with Medicaid dollars, but not at-home care.

"We're all about community, and if they're in support of families and communities, why can't they set aside 25 percent of (Medicaid) mon-ey so those people who choose to live at home, can," he said.

Engler supports ADAPT's cause but not their methods, Truscott said.

"Michigan is one of the most progressive states in the country," he said.

But Liston said Engler has consistently ignored his group's concerns.

Created on

Dé Máirt 16 Iúil 2013

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Dé Luan 23 Meán Fómhair 2019

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2013:07:16 14:39:20

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