1) What’s Happening in the Nation’s Capital?
ADAPT Overwhelms Pelosi during Speech
2) National News
National Housing Trust Fund Stalled in Senate: Calls Still Needed!
White House Launches Celebration of 20th Anniversary of the ADA
3) State News
Minnesota Apologizes to People with Mental Illness
DOJ Signs Agreements with Lancaster County, PA and Smyth County, VA to Ensure Civic Access
Chicago ADAPT Youth Summit Activists Block Dan Ryan On-Ramp: Curb Cut Is Dangerous, Activists Say
4) Announcements and Additional Resources
ADA 20th Anniversary Event Calendar and Resource Page
Listen to Kelly Buckland on the Joyce Bender Show June 22!
ADAPT Overwhelms Pelosi during Speech
Source: McKnight’s Long-Term Care News
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi faced harsh criticism from disability rights activists during a speech to a group of progressives. Her address on policy and healthcare reforms was met with constant chants and protests on Tuesday, according to news reports. The protesters were from a group that previously has demonstrated boldly at nursing home provider association meetings.
Members of the progressive disability rights organization ADAPT heckled Pelosi, chanting “our homes, not nursing homes” during the Democratic leader's address to the American Future Now conference. Pelosi, only briefly daunted by the persistence of the crowd, carried on, at times shouting her 28-minute speech into the microphone.
Members of ADAPT were voicing their extreme disappointment over the lack of movement on the Community Choice Act, which has been stalled in both chambers of Congress. Introduced in 2009, the bill would shift some healthcare funding away from nursing homes into home- and community-based services. See also: Senator Behind Independent Living Bill Defends Pelosi.
National Housing Trust Fund Stalled in Senate: Calls Still Needed!
Source: National Low Income Housing Coalition
Take Action!
While legislation that would fund the National Housing Trust Fund was delayed in the Senate this week as Senate leaders worked to find agreement on some aspects of the bill, reports indicate that the housing provisions of the bill currently remain in place. Advocates should continue to call their Senators in support of the National Housing Trust Fund and other housing provisions to ensure they remain in the bill.
Senate leaders are working to find enough votes for H.R. 4213, the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act of 2010, the 'extender bill.' The version of this bill still under consideration includes initial funding for the National Housing Trust Fund, as well as important provisions regarding the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program and Gulf Coast recovery.
However, some Senators object to the overall cost of the bill, so it remains crucial that Senators hear that the housing provisions remain in any final bill. The Senate could take up the bill again beginning on Tuesday, June 15.
Please call the Congressional switchboard toll-free at 877-210-5351 and ask for each of your Senators' offices in turn. Relay to each office the importance of funding the National Housing Trust, extending the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) exchange program, and extending the placed-in-service date of LIHTCs for the Gulf Coast in H.R. 4213.
Please call even if you have already called. You can also remind your Senators of the large number of organizations from each state that have signed the NHTF letter of support. Other materials that may be helpful, including the ad that appeared in the Roll Call newspaper and an estimate of how much NHTF funding each state will receive, are posted at www.nhtf.org under the heading "Materials for NHTF Visits and Calls."
White House Launches Celebration of 20th Anniversary of the ADA
Source: Kareem Dale, whitehouse.gov
Sunday night, Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to President Obama, kicked off the President’s and White House’s celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act while delivering remarks to over 2,000 people from around the World at the VSA International Festival at the Kennedy Center. Valerie’s remarks noted the significance of this historic landmark civil rights legislation, highlighted some of the President’s initiatives thus far related to people with disabilities and previewed that senior administration officials will be commemorating this historic anniversary in the weeks to come with new policies and events. So, stay tuned for more announcements and information in the upcoming weeks. Read Jarrett’s remarks.
Minnesota Apologizes to People with Mental Illness
Source: Minnesota Post, by Doug Grow
In a little-noticed action, the state Legislature passed a resolution in the waning days of the session, apologizing to thousands of Minnesotans with various mental and developmental disabilities for the treatment they received at the hands of the state dating to 1866.
"This is something that may not seem important to most,'' said Rick Cardenas, who for 13 years diligently has pushed for the apology on behalf of voiceless people. "But it is very important to the people receiving the apology.''
Cardenas is co-director of Advocating for Change Together, an organization that pushes for civil rights for people with disabilities. ACT — and Cardenas — also has been at the forefront of Remembering With Dignity, a movement best known for putting names on the graves of the thousands of previously unknown Minnesotans who died in state hospitals. Read More and watch a video of Minnesota Senator John Marty explaining the move (uncaptioned).
DOJ Signs Agreements with Lancaster County, PA and Smyth County, VA to Ensure Civic Access
Source: DOJ
The Justice Department today announced an agreement with Smyth County, Va., to improve access to all aspects of civic life for persons with disabilities. The agreement was reached under Project Civic Access (PCA), the department’s wide-ranging initiative to ensure that cities, towns and counties throughout the country comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
PCA was initiated to ensure that persons with disabilities have an equal opportunity to participate in civic life, a fundamental part of American society. As part of the PCA initiative, Justice Department investigators, attorneys and architects survey state and local government facilities, services and programs in communities across the country to identify the modifications needed for compliance with ADA requirements. The agreements are tailored to address the steps each community must take to improve access. This agreement is the 179th under the PCA initiative. Read More.
Chicago ADAPT Youth Summit Activists Block Dan Ryan On-Ramp: Curb Cut Is Dangerous, Activists Say
Source: Chicago CBS 2
Activists from the group ADAPT are blocking the Roosevelt Road on-ramp to the northbound Dan Ryan. They say the curb cut on each corner of the ramp is "inaccessible and dangerous" for people with disabilities.
In the past month, a young man in a power wheelchair almost fell out of his chair as he tried to cross the Dan Ryan Expressway on-ramp on the sidewalk. The incline is too steep and does not meet the Americans with Disabilities Act guidelines for curb cut slopes, ADAPT said.
"I was utterly terrified and thought I might tip over due to the very steep incline," the man, Josue Rodriguez, said in a news release. The demonstrators planned to chant, hold signs, and perform skits showing the danger of the curb cuts.
ADA 20th Anniversary Event Calendar and Resource Page
The Justice for All Action Network (JFAAN) Organizing Workgroup (at jfaan@aapd.com) is collecting ADA 20th Anniversary Event information and materials.
A coalition led by 13 national organizations run by people with disabilities, JFAAN was created around shared values of self-determination, participation, choice, involvement, consumer control, personhood and voice. As a part of the Justice for All Action Network, the Organizing Workgroup was created to facilitate collaboration as we work on local, state, regional and national levels to shape policies, politics, media and culture. Recognizing the 20th Anniversary of the ADA as a historic opportunity to come together and rededicate ourselves to our common endeavor, the JFAAN Organizing Workgroup is currently creating an ADA 20th anniversary website with events and resources to make it easier for disability organizers to communicate around, collaborate on and publicize these ADA Anniversary events.
To contribute information regarding upcoming ADA anniversary events send the below information (Event Title, organizer, time, date, location, cost, and point of contact) to JFAAN@aapd.com . If you have any materials that would benefit others who are celebrating the ADA this summer, please share them with us. We’re looking for event fliers, ADA History Handouts, button logos, etc.
Please include the following information: Event Title,
Organizer,
Time,
Date,
Location (Address, City, State, Zip), Cost (if any—if none let us know it’s free),
Point of Contact (Name, email and / or phone #).
Listen to Kelly Buckland on the Joyce Bender Show June 22!
NCIL Executive Director Kelly Buckland will appear on the Joyce Bender internet radio program next Tuesday, June 22nd. Kelly will be discussing the upcoming ADA 20th Anniversary Celebration happening this July and issues of interest to the disability and independent living communities.
Connect to the broadcast at: www.voice.voiceamerica.com and follow the procedure to listen to the show. The program is captioned and will be archived at www.benderconsult.com within a few days of the broadcast.
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June 14, 2010