On Monday, we had to be downstairs at 6:30 am. I was so tired that I was still half asleep when I got dressed and ate oatmeal. We got downstairs and saw our friends from the yellow group.
We rolled out towards the Capitol. We saw a lot of police in the area. I thought we were going to the Capitol building. I felt really excited. I didn’t know where I was going but I felt like it was going to be a good place. We stopped at Health and Human Services. I was on the corner with Gabbi and Toni and I gave away leaflets about stopping the shock of people in institutions. It was fun but not everyone wanted a leaflet. I pretended to high five them but then I gave them the leaflet. And I ran into this very confused couple. They were like, What is this? I didn’t like it when people didn’t really care. They would care if they had a disability. Some people listened to me and they learned about stopping the shock. I hate that shocking.
We ate lunch at a park near the Capitol. I wrestled with Charlie Miller and threw water all over him. We ate hamburgers and fries but I wanted chicken nuggets.
I saw Bruce, Anita and Josue strategizing. I saw Bruce Darling talking to a policeman who was waving his hands and shaking his head. Mike Oxford was talking to a policeman also and smiling and laughing. He told the policeman with a mustache “Your logic is impeccable.” Maybe he guessed we were heading somewhere.
We went into the Senate Building and went to Senator Murray’s office. About 50 ADAPT activists occupied the office and demanded that she cosponsor the Disability Integration Act. Charlie told me to stay with him in the back and he would protect me. They were about thirty police standing and waiting. Some had plastic handcuffs in the belts. Bruce was furious with Patty Murray. It got very noisy with chanting and I felt overwhelmed. I backed off a little bit. I live-streamed about DIA and accidentally started to say a bad word. Charlie told me we don’t say that in ADAPT but I heard Bruce say it!
We started chanting and cheering and clapping when we found out she would cosponsor DIA. No one got arrested because we got what we asked for. I felt great about that.
We got outside and the rain was pouring down. I couldn’t even see. We put on raincoats and ponchos which helped in no way. All parts of me got wet even my butt. We went super fast and I was on Level 5 on my wheelchair. We were chanting and laughing, How do you spell power? A-D-A-P-T!!! It was fun and exciting.
When we got back to the hotel, Dad was there with towels and food. We got out of our wet clothes and into pajamas. I felt cozy and safe. We ate dinner in our room with Kelly Lynn Sellars and Charlie. It was a really exciting day, thanks to the rainstorm and our win at the Senate.
ADAPT members arrived in Washington DC and all gathered at the Capitol Hill location of the Holiday Inn. After unpacking and reminiscing, we quickly started gathering our gear.
Our spring National Action has begun. Taking place during Mother’s Day weekend, our busy week will be dedicated to honoring the women who made our community strong. Along with that, we will be advocating for the Disability Integration Act, and fighting against the passage of the dangerous American Health Care Act.
As our brothers and sisters got settled in, the wheels of justice were already in motion. This will be an interesting week.
By Zack Sadeq North Carolina
Zack Sadeq
‘ADAPT and Resist!’ is the shout which resounded unceasingly last Saturday in America’s capital. ADAPTers are used to going against the grain, and have become pretty darn good at it. This week they intend to show the world their skills as they gather for the National Convention and week of action in Washington, DC.
The ADAPT crew are some of the most open, accepting and loving people on the planet; folksy and forthcoming; gracious and gregarious – and ADAPTers let the Chocolate City know as they started to arrive at the Holiday Inn Capitol on Saturday, May 13th. There is no collection of people that illustrate more accurately what it truly means to be a human being.
Charlie Miller, a recent graduate from Kennesaw State University, traveled 17 hours in total– ;“Because Mark wanted to take the long way…” – to reach the convention in DC.
Mr. Miller told the ADAPT media group his biggest thing about ADAPT was “getting to see everyone.” He continued, “because people with disabilities, we don’t get this type of community [at home].”
The simple presence of ADAPT – advocates, power-chairs and powerful human interactions – has already been disruptive enough to ‘business as usual’ in the Capital. And the ADAPTers are just getting started.
By Heath Montgomery Montana ADAPT
Heath Montgomery
Part 1: So, we were leaving on the plane; and remember we woke up like super early, I think I woke up at like 4:40am like way earlier than usual. So, anyway, it’s 6:35 and all of the sudden, I hear bubbles popping in my ears like click, clack, click, clack and I was like uhhhhhh, because, you know, it hurt. So, finally, we get to the first airport, but we’re only in Minneapolis, MN; we have like 1,000 more miles to go, so we’re in Minnesota so there are plenty of Vikings fans, and I knew that, so we’re walking down onto the plane, and I looked over to my right and there was a sign that said “DELTA” which was the name of our airline and there was a Viking picture on the wall. I got really excited because I am a fan of Minnesota too.
Part 2: Now we’re in Washington DC, so I’m driving my powerchair through the airport; as usual, and out of nowhere, it totally glitches. It won’t drive and there’s a flashing power chair and back wheel on my joystick. I think it’s because it had significant brain damage on the plane trip! My mom had to push it like 105 yards. Anyway, when we finally got to our hotel we called the mechanic immediately. I mean, that was really scary. That had never happened before. And we didn’t know what to do. Thank God that mechanic came.
I was excited today to be headed to Washington for the National ADAPT action. Jordan Sibayan, Jackie Mitchell, Shark Barros and I flew in together from Denver. Shark took a Lyft to the hotel while the rest of us in our wheelchairs took the Metro Commuter Train. Soon after we rolled into the hotel and started to mingle with our fellow ADAPTers, I was put to work selling T-shirts. It was a good way to welcome my brothers and sisters. The rest of the week will be more exciting.
Today ADAPT lined up at 9am. I ate a quick breakfast and went to the Walgreens down the street for some snacks, because I knew it was going to be a long day.
We first walked over to the regional Housing and Urban Development office, where several of our members went to meet with some officials and most of us waited outside. We chanted loudly about the lack of accessible, affordable, integrated housing and demanded an increase in HUD funding. Without accessible housing, it is impossible to transition out of a nursing home into the community-many of our people are unable to leave because of this lack of housing on the outside. We also chartered an airplane to fly around government offices with a huge banner demanding support for our causes.
Next we went over to the Medicaid office in the state department building to discuss Money Follows the Person. Many people in our community believe this legislation this legislation does not prioritize consumer choice. We quickly snuck into the building and flooded the elevators and hallways. We could all feel the power of ADAPT.
After a successful meeting we went to the office of senator Cory Gardener. It was getting cold and late, but our energy was still high. We chanted outside of his building to demand that he sign on to the Disability Integration Act, which would make it easier for people with disabilities to live in the community. We projected our demands onto the building across the street to be sure everyone in his office could see.
We returned to the hotel at 7pm, after a very successful day.
The first day of the Fall national action was a great reminder of the multi-level Power structures we have to confront to protect our rights. We started off our day by visiting the regional office of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). HHS has the power to addresses many of our concerns on the national level. For example, HHS could finalize the regulations to put an end to electric shock torture in the U.S., including at the Judge Rotenberg Center in Massachusetts. After HHS, we visited a State-level institution – the Colorado Division of Housing (DOH). We addressed DOH because it has the power to change the way the transition housing program is implemented across Colorado. In some cases, the State can implement better programs than the fede3ral government. In this case, DOH could go beyond the federal “floor” and devote more funding to transition housing services to get our people out of nursing homes. Finally, we ended our day at the Regional Transportation District (RTD) office. RTD manages the public transportation for the Denver. Like so many other municipalities, Denver needs to improve access to on-demand transportation like ridesharing and taxis. In one day, ADAPT confronted Power at the federal, State, and local levels to force change to ensure our people have access to community living.
My name is Mayra Puma. I’m from Ecuador, born and rise in Chicago. My parents are from Ecuador, I have been to Ecuador a lot of times. Ecuador isn’t accessible at all. Two years ago I joined Chicago adapt and went to my first national action in Boston after that action. I went back to Ecuador and tried to talk with the centers for people with disabilities but they closed the doors on us, I came back home I thought of counting going to national actions but money was tight and my parents wasn’t supporting me on rising money. So I wasn’t sure about going on this action so I made a gofunme page to rise money and it worked I made it to my second national action in Denver Colorado. I traveled with my new Grace and my personal assistant.
On Sunday morning at 8 in the morning I went to airport with my parents they dropped me off. Our flight was at 11:55 in the morning Chicago time to go Denver. We checked in and went to our airline, we landed in Denver at at 1:30 in the afternoon, looked for taxi. We had to take two taxis at the airport to get to the hotel because we couldn’t go together in one taxi they were little, only space for one power wheelchair so we had to paid $70.00 for each. We got to the hotel and got settled in our rooms.
On Monday was a late start we got up at 8, we had breakfast and went to the meeting. After the meeting we went to department of human services than we went to a rally saying up with attend care down with nurses homes that last it 4 hours I camp back to the hotel because I was freezing my feet . When everyone returned to the hotel there was a meeting to talk about what happened and that it was dinner time and bedtime.
On Tuesday we Colorado housing division housing to ask them for accessible affordable housing people with disabilities. We:were yelling accessible affordable integration housingwe met with the director of housing asking them to give us more state state funding to help get people with disabilities out of nursing homes.
On Wednesday, we went to Colorado do public aid. We blocked the entrance to the office to HUD and the state of Colorado.
On Thursday with a easy day we were waiting to talk to congress women to ask for affordable healthcare for people with disabilities so we could have affordable health care for all. After the action we back to hotel got really for party.
When I heard that we having a wedding I got really excited about attending the wedding got dressed up for the wedding. At the wedding we danced, talked with hang out, some people were drinking wine having a good time. I danced a few songs with friends a few songs I danced alone. Having the opportunity to go to national actions makes grow to be good color leader. I’m walking my way to be a color leader then a day leader . Becoming a leader will be big accomplishment for my parents family and for the disability community. Fighting for our rights and getting what we need to get people out of introductions and nursing homes.
I thought Denver was more accessible than Boston when it to food. There are many veracity of kids of food to eat, I attended meetings at the end of the day. I love experiencing new things in life. Going to actions opens doors in my life. There was a day where I was driving with my eyes closed. My personal assistant had to let me use her phone to hear music so I won’t go to sleep while driving my wheelchair that helped me to stay up while driving my chair.
I met my fellow adapters at 7am this morning, our final morning for direct action. Once again we marched through rush-hour DC, this time to the home of DHHS Secretary Tom Price. We totally blocked off his street and shouted loudly together: “WE CALLED YOU ONCE, WE CALLED YOU TWICE, ADAPT WANTS TO MEET WITH PRICE.” We were outside his house for over an hour, shaming him for his overall neglect of ensuring human rights to the disability community. We then went to a nearby park and had breakfast and met with our color leaders. Blue split into three smaller groups—Adapt was having a Hill Day.
On Hill Day, groups go to a Capitol Hill office building and personally talk to congresspeople and their staff about our current legislative priorities, in this case the Disability Integration Act. My group spoke to a bunch of representative staff, including my own Pennsylvania congressman, Representative Brady. We spoke about the DIA as a civil rights bill, telling staff that it would not only save money, but restore freedom to those confined to nursing homes.
Our last stop was paying the citation we got when we were arrested. We all lined up and were taken by the police into the station one by one, where we paid our fines and they took our fingerprints. After paying for my citation, I rode my powerchair through the nation’s capital back to the hotel solo, for the first time in five days. I felt the familiar social pressure of being the only one with a disability in a world built for able-bodied people. Being surrounded by Adapt and its members for a few days gave me a needed vacation from that feeling. That bond–joining into collective strength of Adapt–is exhilarating and empowering. I made a lot of connections and felt like I made a difference in gathering support for the DIA and promoting public healthcare for all.
I joined my fellow ADAPT activists on the US Capitol lawn. I’d seen the Twitter posts of new ADAPT friends in Senate offices, calling them out on Graham-Cassidy and trying to slash Medicaid. I knew it had already been an eventful morning. We were asked to line up, single file, then moved our way into the street. We walked/rolled in front of the Supreme Court. All the while we chanted “No Cuts to Medicaid, Save Our Liberty”, and “Free Our Parents, Free Our Siblings, Free Our People Now!” It was easy to chant loud and proud, even in the heat and the blazing sun. We were passing by the court that had ruled on the Olmstead decision, which should have led to community integration for all disabled Americans. Tourists and immigrant rights activists took our flyers that explained who we were. Many clapped and cheered, thanking us for all we were doing. We turned onto Independence, then down the steep hill. At the bottom of the hill we turned and filed quickly into the courtyard of the U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) building. I heard shouts – “Orange and blue get to the doors!” We crowded in as close as we could get – trying to get in, but blocked by police. I didn’t realize at the time that we had split up and were covering all three sets of doors.
A press release was passed around. We were there because HHS is the agency most directly responsible for ensuring disabled Americans receive the supports and services they need – like personal care attendants – in the most integrated setting. Instead of following the intent of the ADA and the Olmstead decision, HHS has been failing the disability community: allowing states to skirt their obligations through waivers; not enforcing requirements for states to develop Olmstead plans; and allowing continued shock treatment and torture of our siblings in institutions (among other things).
We stayed at the doors of the HHS building for hours, taking turns leading chants. An Under Secretary came down and spoke to ADAPT members at one of the other doors. I couldn’t hear what he was saying, but I could hear the chants in response to what I assumed were not-promising remarks. When asked if he could arrange a call with the Secretary he said he didn’t know his cell phone number, and that he could pass messages along. That wasn’t enough for us. We began looking up, and calling, every number we could find for HHS on the internet, right from the front doors – and we emailed the scheduling office. We said ‘The Secretary needs to meet with ADAPT NOW!’
Anita led us in a beautiful rendition of “We who believe in freedom will not rest.” After a while those of us that couldn’t be arrested that day moved back. The mood became more serious. We chanted “Cut the Crap, Meet with ADAPT”; “Our Homes, Not Nursing Homes”; and, “I’d rather go to jail than die in a nursing home!” That chant hits closer to home for some reason – maybe because I know that if my circumstances had been different, I could have wound up living in an institution. And I know so many people that have. The people who were risking arrest took turns leading that chant, filling in what is inaccessible to many in nursing homes – “I’d rather have love, than die in a nursing home! I’d rather have freedom; I’d rather have choices; I’d rather have a lover; I’d rather be in the community …” I was filled with anger and sadness, tears started to stream down my face. I felt a little self-conscious, but then looked over and realized the person next to me was crying, too. That’s why we were there. When the police came over to arrest the orange and blue, we cheered, made heart signs and clapped. …You probably know by now that the police decided not to arrest anyone – there were too many of us.
At the debrief meeting that night we heard stories from people who had made it into the hearing room on Monday, and from everyone who’d paid visits to Senator’s offices earlier that day. The week had been a success so far – we’d killed the bill – and I was grateful and proud to have been involved. But there is still work to be done. We were reminded that there was a time when the ADA was just a dream and we thought it would never get passed. Now, we need to keep our focus on the Disability Integration Act, to ensure living in the community is considered a civil right. I know ADAPT won’t give up until it is passed and all our people are free.
By Liam Dougherty Philadelphia ADAPT
Adapt lined up at 8am this morning. Each person got three water bottles and we hit the busy streets of rush hour in Washington DC. We marched to the senate offices once again, this time splitting into groups based on our color, and heading to several congressional offices.
The blue team went to Senator Cassidy’s office, one of the crafters of the new terrible healthcare bill. Once we were in there, we started yelling and chanting, and all telling our own individual stories about how the future of Medicaid will affect us personally, at the same time! It was very frustrating to Cassidy’s staff, who pretended to go about their business with scowls on their faces during the chaos. Later we found out that each color group hit their own key figures, almost at the same time. It is amazing how well this action is thought through and planned.
We next all came back together and went to a rally hosted by Senator Casey and featuring Senators Cory Booker, Chuck Schumer, and many others. We then took a break to eat McDonald’s hamburgers (I’m told these are called “Adapt steaks” because they are purchased at Adapt actions a lot). Then we went to the Department of Health and Human Services, where we got through the door but police stopped us from going further in. We chanted loudly outside their building, till we eventually got enough warnings from the police that they arrested us. But when we left the door to be processed they dropped the charges–they didn’t want to arrest us!
So we went back to the closed doors and taped our posters to their windows. Adapters then went to all the doors and driveways preventing anyone to come in or out of the building. Adapt leadership asked if I wanted to be arrested, and I “was a yes.” After I was sitting in the driveway for awhile, I started to doubt myself–would it be worse for me if I was arrested twice in two days? What might it affect on my record? Looking back on it now feels embarrassing, because right after that I thought about it more and realized how childish I was being. Not only would it have been fine for me, in terms of getting arrested, but I also realized how simple and selfish my worry was. Our cause–of restoring freedom, dignity, and meaning to millions of lives–is so much more important than any tiny sacrifice I could make. And our society totally disregards me and many of my people in countless ways, and it is completely justified to fight for basic civil rights. That was my biggest lesson for this trip: to not care about the rules of an evil and unfeeling government, and trust in Adapt. This fight is about life or death for millions, including myself. I must put all of myself on the line.
In the early evening we left to go back to the hotel, and we had a big meeting where we talked through all of the incredible things Adapt had done today and yesterday, and we saw the impact of those actions: the horrible Graham-Cassidy healthcare bill was not going to be put up for vote–it was finally dead.
Carol, ADAPT member from DC at Dirksen Senate Office building
My alarm went off at 3 am Monday morning, but my eyes popped open five minutes before. I was still tired, but also filled with a sense of urgency. I needed to get up and be ready to join the line outside of the hotel at 4:30 am. We had been told by organizers – they would not wait if we were late. The lobby was already full of my fellow ADAPTers when I arrived. People were chatting, eating bananas and drinking water. We all knew it would be a long day. My bag was full of PB & J sandwiches, apples and a plastic sign that read ‘Stop Trying to Kill Us!’ with a picture of a stop sign.
We began lining up. I didn’t know where we were headed, but I was excited and ready. I’m a walkie/limpy (depending on the time of day). A few of us walkies were asked if we could assist, and push a fellow ADAPTer in their manual chair. We took turns along the way because supporting each other is how we roll.
It was still dark as we marched and rolled towards the Dirksen Senate Office Building. Some had flashlights to help lead us, and people pointed out cracks and holes in the pavement to avoid. When we arrived we split up into groups so we were waiting at the different entrances. It wasn’t 6 am yet, and they wouldn’t be letting us in until 7:30. We watched the sun rise, and Congressional staffers and other activists began to arrive.
As 7:30 approached, we got ready. We would need to make it through security before we could head up to the hearing room. We rushed to get onto the elevator and when the door opened, my small group was greeted by a grinning Senator Wyden from Oregon. He had a bagel in his hand and was so happy to see us. We thanked the Senator and he was quick to say, “No, THANK YOU! For being here, and for all you are doing.” We were in a hurry to join the line, but he wanted a picture. I took the photo. The Senator said “I’m going to call this my ‘Running with the Right Team’ photo.”
We took our spots and settled in for the wait – 6 hours to go. My feet and leg were already beginning to ache – sometimes I’d sit on the ground, but inevitably a Capitol Police officer would come up and tell us that sitting down in the hallway was a form of protest. It seemed silly, because that’s why we were there – to protest the Graham-Cassidy bill. When I needed a break, I’d ask a friend to save my spot and take a walk to the front or the end of the line. I said hi to old friends, and met and talked to new ADAPT friends from other parts of the country.
I took photos and tweeted so that people would know what I was seeing and feeling. Even though I was smiling in the photos, and grateful to be meeting so many new friends – I wish it was under different circumstances. The Graham-Cassidy bill, like all the other repeal and replace bills, would limit my access to doctors, and likely have dire consequences down the line. The Graham-Cassidy bill would also make drastic cuts to Medicaid. People I know would have their access to supports and services they need to stay alive – personal attended services, home health services, even transportation – all cut. I’m filled with dread and anger whenever I think about it.
As the time of the hearing approached, word spread quickly that people were being let in. There was no way I was getting in, but my heart was with those who could. I heard that Congressional staff were bringing in more chairs to the hearing room, which would limit the number of wheelchair users who could attend. This was blatant discrimination against those who were most immediately affected by the bill. We began to chant ‘No Cuts to Medicaid, Save Our Liberty!’ We were there for what felt like hours, but I know it was less – Cough drops were handed out as our throats grew tired. Some of us were cuffed, all of us were led down by police, chanting as we moved passed the hearing – hoping to be loud enough to be heard. Outside, we waited for hours to be processed, then waited on the other side of the police line for the rest of our friends, cheering whenever someone was released, eating pizza and reflecting on the day. At around 8 we began the march back. It was dark again, but this time we would be marching down hill, reflecting on the day, and energized (if not physically, then mentally) for the next day’s actions.
By Cal Montgomery Chicago ADAPT
Cal Montgomery
This morning we lined up outside the hotel at 4:30. By 5 we were ready to head over to the Senate, collecting a significant number of police escorts along the way, and then we lined up early at an entrance so we could get in as soon as the doors opened. Breakfast was from McDonald’s: I got hash browns and a muffin with jelly.
When the doors opened we went through security, then up to the second floor to get in lime for the Finance Committee hearing. And there we waited alongside many other people. The police lined up against the wall in pairs and waited with us. Around two the line moved a little as the people up front got into the hearing room, and we pulled into tighter formation, and the chanting started.
“No cuts to Medicaid! Save our liberty!”
Other groups tried other chants but we stuck to ours. A police officer came to one of the other members and explained that we could avoid arrest. I turned off my wheelchair. I never heard the warnings that we were going to get arrested if we didn’t leave, but it wouldn’t have made a difference anyway. Awhile later a color leader came down the line and told me we had all been arrested. She outlined my options: I could turn on my chair and leave under my own power, or show the Capitol Police how to operate it, and get a citation, or I could refuse to cooperate, be charged with resisting arrest, and be transported for booking.
I do not speak and do not always understand what I hear. Once the police had figured out how to communicate with me, they asked me the same question. I told them I was neither resisting nor fighting back but could not in conscience cooperate. After some debate as to what I might possibly mean by that as I sat quietly, they decided I was resisting arrest, tried to figure out how to operate my wheelchair, somehow missing the bit labeled “ON,” then disengaged my brakes and pushed me out of the building.
On the sidewalk they confiscated some of my belongings, including my communication device, but not all of them. A cop saw me rocking a bit and decided I looked distressed and began to rub my back — which, given my disability, distressed me. I asked for my communication device back but they said I couldn’t have electronics … as I sat in a powerchair with a tablet on my footplate.
Another activist explained my access needs, but the cop just could not allow me near electronics. When the accessible van came we had some problems with loading. They forgot to engage the brake before raising the lift and I got run into a pole a couple of times, but no harm done. I sat there with two activists from NYC and one from Denver, talking. I did get my communication device back in the van and kept it until the end of the day. At “the garage” (which is a garage used for processing arrestees) we were processed very slowly so we hung around talking. I was on the last bus in and the only one for my arresting officer, so I was one of the last processed.
I identified myself as nonspeaking and explained how to communicate. My interviewing officer switched from complete sentences to questions like “Is … this” — pointing to a name on a form — “… friend?” I asked her to use complete sentences as it is easier to understand. She apologized — and continued to speak like that.
Out right at midnight.
By Liam Dougherty Philadelphia ADAPT
Liam Dougherty
We lined up at 4:30am this morning, when DC was still dark. We were all exhausted but determined. We marched in line for almost an hour through the dark. My friend Larry was marching behind me and is low-vision. He held onto my power chair to guide him while we were walking because there was very little sunlight.
We then arrived at a senate office building before it opened, and we waited in front to be first in line and entered at 7am. We went up to where the senate Finance Committee was meeting to discuss the financing of the Graham-Cassidy healthcare bill. The line to get into the meeting was very long as many different organizations from around the country lined up to be there in person. Adapt waited in line for 7 hours–giving interviews, talking to each other, and posting to social media.
Eventually we started yelling as loud as we could, “NO CUTS TO MEDICAID, SAVE OUR LIBERTY,” joining the chanting of other groups from around the building. We chanted for hours and more and more cops showed up, while employees were evacuated from the building. Eventually they announced that they would arrest us if we kept going. And we did.
We gave in peacefully and went outside to be processed–some Adapters were taken to jail in a van with a lift. But we were given our citations right outside. After a pizza dinner we lined up and went home, and waited in the hotel lobby to cheer when those who were arrested returned. It was a full day.
