ADAPT action — Day 4
Day 4 was the day for scouring the Hill. We broke up into small groups and visited all 535 members of the House and Senate to give out information about the Community Choice Act. This included a DVD of the testimonials in Nashville, TN, by ADAPT members who had been in nursing homes and other institutions.
I found myself leading a group of five folks — two fellow Nation of Rochester folks, and three ADAPTers from Kansas. None of the group wanted to be the one to approach anyone, so I was the one on front street. We visited over twenty congressfolk, including my representative, Louise Slaughter, and John Shimkus, one of the ones who introduced the Community Choice Act. When we finished, those of us from Rochester got together to visit our congressfolks. I’ll let Chris and Arlene tell that story…
Wednesday May 2, 2007- Day Five
The Rochester ADAPT crew headed out on Wednesday, with advocates from other chapters, for legislative visits on Capitol Hill. We distributed information on the Community Choice Act, and a DVD of the 2006 hearings held by ADAPT in Nashville . Altogether, ADAPT visited the offices of all 535 members of Congress and the Senate! And then we were done…or were we?
Q: What do you do in Washington , D.C. with a free afternoon?
A: Advocate!!
The Rochester found each other and pushed on, to meet with our local Congressional representatives: Louise Slaughter, James Walsh, Tom Reynolds and Randy Kuhl. Of these Representatives, Slaughter, Walsh and Kuhl were all previously cosponsors of MiCASSA and they have all been contacted already to ask them to become cosponsors of the Community Choice Act. We figured that a personal visit from 40+ constituents might drive the massage home – this is important to us!
There were no conference rooms big enough to hold us all, so we met in the hallways outside the office. First we met with Representative Reynolds’s Senior Legislative Aide. Then we moved our entire group down ONE ELEVATOR, down a STEEP ramp, and up another elevator bank to line up outside Representative Walsh’s office. After that harrowing experience, we brought the Congressional staff to us!
We met with representatives from Walsh, Slaughter and Kuhl. Our members, including Pam Stover, Gene Spinning, and Christie Wilson, shared their powerful stories of being in forced into nursing homes and the need for more community based services – the need for the Community Choice Act!
Just as we began to meet with Congresswoman Slaughter’s staff, Congressman Walsh came out to personally speak with our group. After a brief conversation, he agreed to become a cosponsor of the Community Choice Act!!
While the staff from Representatives Slaughter, Reynolds and Kuhl were also receptive, we will be following up to ensure their support. We are optimistic about their support.
We ended with a Rochester meeting at the entrance to the Rayburn building– the very spot where we started this journey on Monday and Rochester ADAPTers had been arrested! (The Nation of Rochester likes symbolism!)
We had to let them know, one last time:
How do you spell power? A - D - A - P - T