ADAPT of Connecticut:
A Hammer for Justice
The sledge hammer came smashing down on the concrete curb in front of Hartford's Union Place train station. The group gathered there had a single purpose: if public authorities would not provide easy access to the sidewalk for people in wheelchairs, they would make their own. So the wiry, middle-aged man continued to raise the hammer until the curb was demolished. Union Place would be accessible, one way or another.
The action was one of the first organized more than a decade ago by ADAPT of Connecticut. The group is part of a national direct action organization that “ fights for people with disabilities so we can live in the community with real supports instead of being locked away in nursing homes and other institutions,” according to ADAPT of Connecticut's leader Claude Holcomb.
Locally, the organization has engaged in many direct actions. They once occupied the Hartford office of Health and Human Services, leaving only when a message with their demands was faxed to HHS Secretary Donna Shalalla in Washington. Another time, members of the local group chained themselves to the wheels of Greyhound buses to protest that company's policy refusing to transport wheelchairs with motors. Almost a dozen men and women-- mostly in wheelchairs-- were arrested. They refused to accept bail and were eventually released without charge because the court had no way to provide proper facilities for them.
Last spring, the national ADAPT occupied Senate and House leadership offices in Washington DC. Noting that its members were targets of Medicaid cuts, organizers said they were tired of being pitted against Katrina survivors for dwindling federal resources. This past March, ADAPT was in Tennessee, staging a week's worth of rallies and sit-ins until the state's head of housing met with the group. ADAPT was acting on behalf of more than 6700 Tennesseans who are trapped in nursing homes instead of living independent lives. All through the week, the organization pointed out the parallels between their actions and the famous 1960s sit-ins to desegregate Nashville lunch counters.
Today, Claude Holcomb and the rest of ADAPT of Connecticut are working on a federal bill known as MiCASSA, the Medicaid Community Attendant Services and Supports Act. Every state that receives Medicaid must provide nursing home services, but providing community based services is optional. Only one-quarter of federal dollars currently go to people with disabilities so they can stay in their own homes.
MiCASSA establishes a national program of community-based attendant services and supports for people with disabilities, regardless of age or disability. This bill would allow the dollars to follow the person, and allow eligible individuals, or their representatives, to choose where they would receive services and supports.
Under MiCASSA, the two million Americans who are entitled to nursing home or other institutional services would have the choice where and how their services are provided. Senators Dodd and Lieberman, along with Congressman John Larson have all been co-sponsors of the bill.
ADAPT of Connecticut is always looking for new members, along with financial support and technical expertise. Right now the group hopes to go on line and establish a website. If you have the time, the skill, or the money, contact ADAPT of Connecticut at adaptofct2@juno.com
