Turning the Ship of State

LISTEN 28 min

Policy vs Protest. Insiders vs Outsiders.
(R to L) Sunaura Taylor, Jessica Lehman, Marianna Ruybalid surrounded by police. Photo by Jameson Ligni

We look at this centuries-old debate as it plays out for people with disabilities in California's budget debate.

The Supreme Court’s Olmstead decision ruled that people with disabilities have a right to remain in their communities, even if they need government services to do it. But, how can people with disabilities manifest the promise of Olmstead while slogging through the stagnant politics of Sacramento?



Guests:
Mary Lou Breslin, long time disability activist, senior policy analyst & co-founder of the Disability Education and Defense Fund (DREDF).

Mary Lou Breslin as a young activist

Bancroft Library Photo

Sunaura Taylor, one of 23 arrested for blocking a street in front of the state capital two weeks ago. Sunaura is a member of Communities United in Defense of Olmstead (CUIDO), the group who organized the Arnieville protest.

Adrienne Lauby and Eddie Ytuarte host.

The ArnieVille Sleep Out

An open-air open-ended protest has begun in Berkeley in an effort to stop the juggernaut of draconian cuts to California’s In Home Supportive Services (IHSS) and Medi-Cal programs. The IHSS program is a model program that pays caregivers to help elderly and disabled persons in their homes rather than subsidizing expensive nursing home care.

On the traffic island on Adeline Street at Russell St. Berkeley

JOIN: FaceBook for Arnold's Orphans

KPFA News Story Start at 4:59

We're Here, We're Proud, Together and Loud

photo by Joy Taylor

More than 200 people with disabilities and their friends demanded to speak directly with Governor Schwarzenegger, Tuesday, July 7.

They blocked the front of his Sacramento office for more than six hours. Twelve protesters refused to leave the building at the end of the day. Each was arrested, cited and released.

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I depend on my Aids.

(Unidentified protester)

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The protesters were there to support In Home Support Services, full funding of Medi-Cal, and other state programs which enables people with disabilities to survive and thrive. They demanded that the Governor sign a budget with increased tax revenue.

"We are calling for a budget solution that is based upon shared responsibility and shared sacrifice -- not a solution that falls squarely upon on the shoulders of children, people with disabilities, elders, the chronically ill, the unemployed and the impoverished," they said in a written statement.

People's Day of Reckoning

Photo by Riya Bhattacharjee of The Berkeley Daily Planet

Lost Services
become Lost Lives
The California Budget
is Killing Me!!


Tuesday,
June 23, 2009
11:00am - 3:00pm
San Francisco
City Hall to
the Governor's Office
455 Golden Gate Ave

California's safety net is rendered and torn -
we must fight to restore
benefits lost and fight to keep what remains.

As we celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Olmstead supreme court
decision - that community living is a civil right guaranteed under the Americans
with Disabilities Act - we must not lose the supports and services that
make community living possible.

Our Homes - Our Dignity - Our Civil Rights

Sacramento must stop the shell game - where California's vast resources
are segregated into "protected" pockets - and only the general fund is
subject to the vagaries of the economy and the budget process.