Blog

By Jordan Sibayan
Atlantis ADAPT

All Are One…
That was the theme for our day.

In the grand scheme of the world, every aspect of our lives are intertwined…where we are from…our personal histories… the color of our skin…the language we speak…our disabilities. They intertwine in our interactions with others…locally..nationally…and globally. We must all remember this.

FEMA got a visit to ensure that we hold them accountable for displaced disabled Americans impacted by natural disasters. The latest devastating storms that have ravished the southern states have impacted and destroyed the homes and lives of countless families. In the mist a better effort is needed to ensure access and transport to shelters…access to Attendant care…and an adequate rehabilitation program emphasized in ensuring the continued integrated independent living after the storm passes.

Home is where a lot of things start. We hope that our home is our own salvation…our paradise…ours to design and dream. Many cannot find their own paradises since there is still a serious lack of housing that is accessible…affordable…and safe. Housing in real communities not tied to services or programs. At our stop at HUD we talked about the struggle to find housing that meets our housing platform requirements.

We took our March to the Navy Memorial…our veterans and decorated heroes that serve our country. They deserve to live in the land they fought to defend…in their own homes and communities. Some come back though and end up institutionalized because of disabilities they gained in combat. They deserve a life better than that. We were reminded that Disability Rights are Veterans Rights. I think often of my brother Justin…cousin Gavin and his wife Stephanie. They all served and I am so proud of their service. My cousin was injured in a roadside IED…and ended up diagnosed with a TBI as well as injuries to his legs. He plays soccer for the Special Olympics. He fought for his family to live in freedom…and so we give back as a group including many disabled vets. Recognizing their struggle and how it is connected..and one of many aspects of life.

As we continued we ended up at the sacred grounds…of which many DC belongs to lands that was taken and stolen from the indigenous peoples that lived before. We made our way to the National African American Museum of History and Culture. It was there we heard the names of many of our ADAPT members and allies whom we have lost along our long journey. They fought to have rights not only as disabled Americans…and as African Americans and people of color in America. We honor the sacrifice and the good work of our ancestors on the land and the memory of powerful people in our movement who have contributed to the movement and betterment of our country.

We found ourselves on the move again. Arriving at the DC office of the US Customs and Border Protection. They have been a part of horrible acts at the border to separate immigrants from their families. We heard stories of those seeking a better life in our countries…life sustaining and saving services…as well as fleeing countries that may not have access to home and community based services…either due to laws…lack of human rights or disability rights…or any number of reasons. Regardless…no one should be caged like an animal and no one should be locked up because their disabilities are too hard to handle. That is not how we should be treating any human being. This happens in our country at institutions. It is a human rights issue and the practice against disabled citizens of the world should be denounced.

We finally went to the house of the head of the administration. The White House. The Trump Administration has been known to make decisions that would impact many people and many aspects of our lives… including people with disabilities in America and across the globe. We called upon them to do better…do no harm…ensure our right to independence…community…and freedom. For us…all of us.

American has been looked on as a beacon to the world…the world is looking to us. Because all are one.

By Heath Montgomery
Montana ADAPT

Today we got up at 7 in the morning and headed to USCIS. We went there to advocate for the disabled immigrants who are coming to America for health care and a better life. We demanded that they be let in and given a chance for a new life and not put in cages, especially children. We chanted “No cages, no walls, free our people now!!” The energy was pretty high and I enjoyed listening to Tony Brooks talking about how he started a new life when he came here from Ghana. I got a little hot here and there but it was mainly OK. After that, we marched to Senator Mitch McConnell’s office and we demanded that he cosponsor DIA and make Money Follows the Person permanent. My mom and I stayed away with the other folks who didn’t want to get arrested and then we waited for the people who got arrested outside. Danielle got arrested for the first time. We headed back home around 8 pm and we got back to the hotel at 9 pm. I had fun joking around with Sophie Poost and talking smack talk. I ate McDonald’s Chicken Nuggets even though technically I’m a vegetarian. I guess I broke the rules this week! I ate in the lobby with my buddies. Tomorrow, we don’t know where we will go but it will be an adventure to be discovered. Free Our People!

By Jordan Sibayan
Atlantis ADAPT

ADAPTs demonstration at the USCIS building to denounce the harmful public charge rule was very moving. Denying access, refuge, and entrance to our country to anyone seeking opportunities and a better life is wrong, and to expand upon it to discriminate against people with disabilities is deplorable.

Being from Colorado, I have lived my life surrounded by conversations both social and political on immigration. I went to a school in which all announcements and materials were equally shared and distributed in English as well as Spanish. That is just how it was.

The idea of immigrants and their children and families being locked in cages for the crime of seeking a better life in our country makes as much sense as being locked in institutions for the crime of being disabled.

No more Cages…no more Walls. We must tear down the walls of oppression by denouncing the practice of incarceration of migrants at the boarder and the treatment they get and the public charge rule that specifically calls out disabled migrants and refugees and asylum seekers.

People with Disabilities in those detention centers…often separated from their families and care givers…are in extreme danger of further risks to their health and quality of life. Further…those who go through the traumatic experience of gaining citizenship may develop disabilities and worse more severe conditions.

This Public Charge rule also endangers those who already are here receiving life sustaining and saving medical treatment and attendent services. They are in danger of being sent back to their country of origin or to somewhere else entirely. This puts them in danger of further injury and death.

We urge the administration to say NO to this rule. Do the right thing and stop endangering our people…the world’s people. What happens to them can happen to us. Our lives are linked…our experience all…and all are one.

By Liam Dougherty
Philadelphia ADAPT

I got up this morning at 7am and after going to McDonald’s we all lined up and marched for the first time in this action. We went to the immigration and naturalization services building which was about an hour march away. We did some theater and chanting there outside the building and made our demands to them about the accommodations and discrimination of immigrants with disabilities.
Then we went over to the Senate office building, up to Mitch McConnell’s office. We wanted him to hear our demands around accessible housing, nursing home transition, and community integration. Around 30 of us were arrested in his office room and processed in the building.

Forty years ago in Denver, a movement began when 19 disabled activists rolled into traffic, stopped a bus to demand accessible public transportation, and gave the world its first look at the power that would be known as ADAPT. Forty years later with chapters across the country, ADAPT is credited with the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), saving Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act, and numerous other victories. November 2018, 11-15, ADAPT members from across the nation will be in be in Denver for a week to both celebrate the accomplishments of the past forty years and to rally to push forward on the work that is yet to be done.

ADAPT’s history, the issues we are fighting for, and our activities can be found at www.adapt.org, the National ADAPT Facebook, and on Twitter under the hashtag #ADAPTandRESIST.

Action Reports

Narratives from the action through the eyes of various ADAPT activists.

• By Mayra Puma
• By Kathryn (Katy) Carroll
• By Liam Dougherty

Media

• Google Photos from the action
• Jordan & Jackie

The 2018 Spring ADAPT DC action, once again, starts with a tribute to our mothers on Mother’s Day May 13th and continues till May 16th.

Attacks on the life and liberty of people with disabilities continue each and every day in various forms such as proposed cuts to Medicaid, bill to gut ADA (H.R. 620), use of torture devices to control behavior, etc.

ADAPT has been fighting these injustices and will continue to do so.

ADAPT will fight to ensure that no Disabled American is denied their Constitutional right to Life and Liberty.

ADAPT activists from all over the nation have traveled to DC to protest against these changes. Join ADAPT and #ADAPTandRESIST!

Return to this page to see the latest photos from the action and read the daily ADAPT Action Reports.

Action Reports

Narratives from the action through the eyes of various ADAPT activists.

• Saturday May 12, 2018
• Sunday May 13, 2018
• Monday May 14, 2018

Media

• News Coverage
• Google Photos Album from the action
• Facebook Moments from the action

The abuse of people with disabilities at the Judge Rotenberg Center in Canton, MA, drastically accelerated in 1990, when its infamous founder, Matthew Israel, devised a money-making patent that would apply painful shocks to residents at any time of the day – while they ate, when they showered, even while they slept – via a remotely activated device worn 24 hours a day. Israel promoted this abuse as behavior modification mostly on autistic people, and JRC soon became the only institution in the country to utilize aversive shocks despite overwhelming evidence debunking its effectiveness. Since then, JRC has been paid millions in taxpayer money to effectively traumatize unwilling residents. New York City alone throws $30 million annually towards JRC’s way to warehouse more than 120 of its residents. You may ask: “If this treatment is really torture, why is JRC still in business?” One answer may be that JRC pays thousands to lobby lawmakers and government administrators to turn a blind eye. In 2010, JRC paid Rudy Giuliani’s law firm $100,000 for his influence peddling. You may say: “Well, maybe this is the only answer for self-injurious behavior.” The answer is no! It has been shown that abusive treatment, just like the torture of enemy combatants (which is, unlike the torture of people with disabilities, illegal), is less effective than other approaches. In short, there is no excuse for supporting JRC’s program of torture.

• SEE: JRC’s device being used as intended.

By Heath Montgomery
Montana ADAPT

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.

By Jordan Sibayan
Denver ADAPT

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

‘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

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.

By Ed Sandoval
Atlantis ADAPT (Colorado)

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.

• Think Progress – https://thinkprogress.org/adapt-activism-disability-integration-act-42de6c0c1cc9/

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• Rewire News – https://rewire.news/article/2018/05/18/disability-activists-fight-right-live-communities/

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• Now This – https://www.facebook.com/NowThisPolitics/videos/2056886104342869/

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• DC Media Group – http://www.dcmediagroup.us/2018/05/15/adapt-holds-annual-fun-run-disability-rights-independent-living/

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• NOS Magazine – http://nosmag.org/aarp-calls-the-cops-on-disabled-protesters-adapt/