A CALL TO ACTION!

I received this in an email.  I am posting it in its entirety. This is why I have no faith in politicians of any stripe.


An Open Letter from ADAPT to the Disability Community on the 20th Anniversary
of the Signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act

Sisters and Brothers in the Disability Community:

As the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act
draws near, we approach the milestone with mixed emotions. Securing national
civil rights legislation, protecting the rights of people with disabilities,
was truly historic. It is important that we recognize the incredible nature
of this accomplishment and the hard work of those that made this happen, but
20 years after President George H. W. Bush signed this civil rights
legislation into law and as our community is preparing for the celebrations,
we pause in disappointment that the promise of freedom has still not reached
our sisters and brothers in nursing facilities and other institutions.

Our sisters and brothers remain locked away, unseen and unheard. For them,
the act is just words on paper. They are not given the opportunity to
exercise their civil rights under this law because they still do not have the
basic freedoms that other Americans enjoy.

As the Anniversary date draws closer, they may hear about the progress our
community has made over the past 20 years, but knowing that you are protected
against discrimination in employment means nothing when the hub of your life
is a bedroom you share with a stranger. Knowing that buildings and public
accommodations are accessible means nothing when the facility staff won't let
you leave; and even having access to lifts on buses - as dear to our hearts as
that is - means nothing when you cannot afford to go anywhere on the allowance
that is left over after the institution has taken its share of your money.

When we gather together as a community, we must remember that our sisters and
brothers in institutions will not be toasting those that authored or advocated
for the Act. They will not be celebrating independent living, either as a
movement or personal achievement, and they certainly won't share in the power
or pride of the disability community. For them, July 26th will be the same as
every other day in the institution.

Recently, ADAPT has been criticized by some of the provider-based advocates in
our community because we are publicly demanding that Speaker Pelosi sign onto
the Community Choice Act and agree to eliminate the institutional bias once
and for all. They tell us that publicly questioning "our friends" is
inappropriate. We are told we should be grateful for the efforts that have
been made so far, and that we must be patient because change takes time.

We will not apologize for our impatience. We do this because our brothers and
sisters have waited long enough for their freedom. We cannot sit by,
patiently and quietly waiting for our government to give our people the
freedom which should be our birthright.

We had great hopes for President Obama and this Congress. Many of us believed
that his promise for change included the promise of freedom. When President
Obama was taking the oath of office with his hand on Lincoln's bible, it
seemed like fate was telling us that he would free our people. When the
President and Congress took up health care reform, we were sure that they
would finally eliminate the institutional bias, and we hoped that this
historic anniversary in the disability community would be celebrated with
historic change. Unfortunately, the President and Congress did not have the
political will to make this happen. While we recognize that some gains were
made, unlike any other class of Americans, our freedom remains a state
option.

It is, indeed, true that one of the tools we are using to help people leave
institutions and move into the community is the Supreme Court's Olmstead
decision, which is based on the requirements of the ADA, and it is true that
President Obama's administration has demonstrated an unprecedented commitment
to enforcing the Olmstead decision. But such efforts are transitory. We have
seen, during the last 20 years, that new administrations have their own
priorities, and although there may now be a commitment to enforce the Olmstead
decision, the pendulum will ultimately swing back in the other direction. We
also know that the gains we may make in the courts are hard-fought, slow, and
constantly subject to attack. Even right now, as many in the disability
community commemorate the ADA's anniversary, the Attorney General in
Connecticut is coordinating legal efforts by the states to fight against some
of the recent gains we have made in court which will allow more of our people
to live in freedom. Ironically, the deadline for states to join the effort is
just one day after the anniversary, July 27th.

In America, freedom shouldn't ever be optional, but - in fact - for us it is.
While federal Medicaid rules require states to pay for institutional
placement, community-based alternatives are state options and continually
subject to elimination in state budget cuts. It is ironic that as we
celebrate a civil rights victory that is 20 years old, our freedom is becoming
even more precarious and the situation becoming more dire. States, facing
record budget shortfalls, are cutting the services that support community
living options for seniors and persons with disabilities. These budget cuts
force people into unwanted placement, stealing from them much of what is most
precious: their homes, their families and their freedom.

Some people have moved across the country to a different state to get supports
and services to live outside of the institution. There, they have been able
to share in the promise of the ADA, but many people don't know about the
services available in other states or simply might not be able to make the
journey on this modern underground railroad.

But as long as community services are only an option, those who have escaped
to freedom cannot escape the fear. No place is safe because their freedom can
easily disappear at the whim of state policy makers. They will be called upon
to help solve their state's budget crisis by sacrificing their freedom, home
and lives.

We all need to recognize that through personal circumstance or state policy
change any of us can lose our freedom. No one in our community is exempt. No
one is safe. No one in our community can afford to be comfortable, but it is
also our hope that - from this discomfort - the disability community will be
mobilized to take action and, together, we will build on a 20-year legacy to
address this injustice. Our movement isn't about the civil rights for some of
us; it is about the freedom of all of us.

We cannot wait any longer. ADAPT asks you, during this ADA 20th anniversary
celebration, to recommit your energy to ending the institutional bias during
the next Congress. The time is now to end the institutional bias and FREE OUR
PEOPLE!

Sincerely,

The ADAPT Community

NATIONAL ADAPT MAILING LIST - Adapt Community Choice Act List http://www.adapt.org