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.
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.
The 2017 Fall DC action coincides at another momentous time.
Republicans in Congress introduced yet another attempt to strip away the services that keep millions of disabled Americans alive and in the community. This “new” bill referred to as the Graham-Cassidy amendment (H.R. 1628) and is really more of the same bad policy which Americans have already rejected. This bill sunsets funding for Community First Choice and it block grants Medicaid funding which means that over time, States will be forced to cut back on the “optional” services that secure disabled people’s lives and liberty in the community.
Once community-based services are cut, Americans with disabilities will be forced into institutions that are even worse than those of today because after community based services are cut, there will also be funding cuts for institutions, making them even more crowded and more dangerous. Republicans in Congress are trying to squeeze the Disability Community until we bleed, and to trade away our lives and our liberty in return for tax cuts for a few wealthy people.
Once again ADAPT will be at the forefront of the fight against this injustice. 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.
Over the years, since its inception as a grassroots disability rights organization fighting for equal access to transportation, ADAPT has improved the quality of lives for millions of Americans with disabilities.
ADAPT played key role in many legislative bills such as the Money Follows The Person, American with Disabilities Act, etc.
Many of these positive changes are under threat. With the proposed cuts to Medicaid to the tune of $880 billion, services which enable people with disabilities to live in the community will be cut forcing them to live in nursing homes.
ADAPT activists from all over the nation 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.
Another sunny day in the heart of our nation’s capital. ADAPT members filled the conference room as we held a quick meeting outlining what had happened in the last few days and to share stories. As I sipped my coffee I eagerly awaited two things: the day ahead and the caffeine to set in.
Our mission that day was fairly straight forward. We were to split into small groups and visit members of congress from all fifty states to promote co-sponsoring of the Disability Integration Act. The bill, presented as Senate Bill 910 and House of Rep Bill 2472, had been in the senate for a month and had just been introduced in the house on May 16th (the day prior).
I was in a group of seven; I came up with the creative nick name of “Blue Seven” since we were all from the Blue Team. We had about eleven reps to visit in the Rayburn building up the street from our hotel off of Independence Avenue.
The groups left one by one and met up outside the Rayburn. There was a small court yard with shade trees. We were not allowed to crowd around the entrance so we figured a way to get chairs and scooters up into the grassy area in the court yard. One by one we entered the court yard and sat, awaiting our lunch.
Lunch was a bit late, but with ADAPT one key rule to remember is to “Hurry up and Wait”. Wait we did. Our food arrived, but the time waiting was spent prepping, doing homework, and getting to know the people in our group. We ate in the shade and after we had our fill, “Blue Seven” headed inside, as did the rest of our ADAPTERS.
Passed security the hallways were buzzing with activists and activities. The visits became a blur to me, but a few key things stood out. We had Johnathan from Rochester and Dr. Reagan from Long Island doing a majority of the speaking for us. One of the reps we visited, Norton from the District of Columbia, had signed on to co-sponsor DIA just two hours before hand. My group taught me a lot about how to speak with the staffers and other members of congress.
After “Blue Seven” finished for the day, we split off in smaller groups to go back to the hotel. The group I was going back with ended up getting back late and I came back in the middle of nightly meeting. Everyone was commenting about what types of responses they got from their officials. I spoke about Congresswoman Norton’s co-sponsoring.
We all gave our last thoughts and reflected on the whole week. The White House, FDA, Capital Hill, and Fun Run made for a very full week. At the end of the meeting we learned the dates of the next action. Taking place in mid September, we will again be returning to Washington DC. We cheered with excitement.
After the meeting we held a wrap up party in the only way ADAPT can. We had snacks, watched an awesome slideshow put together by the media team, and said our goodbyes. Everyone was slated to leave the next day. It was a bittersweet feeling, saying goodbye. But it is not goodbye, it’s a “see you next time”.
Being color leader has drastically changed my outlook on ADAPT and leadership. I saw just how pre-planned everything was and how much attention and care it takes to make sure everyone gets to and from our destination and that their concerns are addressed. I would love to take this role again.
With the excitement of yesterday’s actions still in the air, ADAPT was pleasantly surprised to hear and see the updates from Ivanka Trump’s house visit. As we lined up outside, we did not know what was in store. All I was told during our morning meeting was the term “long day” being thrown around.
We lined in our color groups outside, after we got a chance to hunker in for the long trip with caffeine, water, and food. The days kept getting hotter and this was no exception.
ADAPT marched through DC into the outlying area of Chinatown. Like a finely tuned watch we coordinated with each other to get all of our members downstairs to the Metro Train platform. Our destination? Silver Springs, Maryland. The nerve center of the Food and Drug Administration.
On the train I had time to reflect, this action was to be a follow up to last year’s protest of the Judge Rotenberg Center. This horrible facility, which is located in Canton, Massachusetts, is a torture center dressed up as a rehabilitation school for children and adults with developmental disabilities. The pain “students” endure come from electronic devices strapped on their legs and stomach which administer shocks more intense than that of a police taser.
After arriving in Silver Springs in what seemed like an hour long’s ride, ADAPT grouped up on the street below the train station. Taking the opportunity to use restrooms before our vans came for us. We left in groups of five to twelve, one van after another, until we got closer to the FDA. We ate our food in a suburban area of Silver Springs. Causing some controversy with the local police department in the process.
I don’t see what the problem was, we would have shared. We also greeted the neighbors who were getting home.
After we finished, we coordinated ourselves to make a strait shot line down to the FDA building. The police had expected us (since, well, we were already in the neighborhood) and tapped off access to the parking lot and complex, causing our battle line to take place in the entry and exit ways.
We read off a statement on how horrible the JRC’s methods are and urged the FDA, having drafted a rule outright banning the practice of using electric aversions, to finalize the ruling. We lined up at the police tape, chanted and urged preventive’s from the facility to meet with us and discuss. They sent out Public Relations.
You know what’s bad PR? Not passing a ruling and dragging your feet while our brothers and sisters are getting tortured on the daily in that rotten place. We must have demonstrated for an hour or more, and we used our energy of frustration, anger, and disgust to the fullest as we urged them to “Stop the Torture!”
The officer’s started to warn us over their public address system (although they had some issues with their equipment). We were given our one (and only) warning to vacate. We responded by cheering and continuing to chant loudly with passion. Eighty four of us were processed one by one. The one’s who took the ticket celebrated by taking pictures. Music filled the air as the sun set.
The vans came back for us, as we made our way back to the Metro Station to head back to Chinatown. We spent some time outside of the Silver Springs station as we ate dinner from the local McDonalds. As the dusk turned to night, ADAPT boarded the train back to DC and headed back to the hotel. The train coming back seemed shorter than the train coming. Couldn’t tell if it was because of the lack of daylight or the influx of drowsiness.
Police lights flashed intense as we rolled from Chinatown’s metro station back to the Holiday Inn. A few of us suffered effects from it, but were helped by other members. That’s the great thing about ADAPT, we have each other’s backs and we will not leave anyone behind who is in need of help.
There was no meeting that night. Most of us returning to the hotel headed straight to our rooms. We had another day of action to think about. True it would be less cumbersome, it would be no less impactful.
