August 1, 2008
Believe, hope, imagine, inspire
Welcome back to our Cafe!
Café on the Road -down the 95 corridor:
It was a warm Monday morning when the co-executive directors drove out to Aviation Drive in Manassas to meet with Senator Chuck Colgan. It was exciting to drive up to the series of Quonset hut looking buildings and see planes of all sizes parked on large parking lots behind chain link fences. The best part was looking up and seeing "Colgan Airlines". Once inside, Jill was particularly impressed by Senator Colgan's "corner office" decorated with pictures and awards of all kinds. Senator Colgan was a wonderful host, making sure each of us was comfortable before we started the meeting-
Jill and myself were joined by Jamie Trosclair, The Arc of VA , Karen Smith The Arc of Prince William and Heidi Lawyer, The Virginia Board for People with disabilities to talk about how to build and maintain a Virginia that supports "A life like yours" for all people.
Note:" Sentor Colgan and his aide Peggy have always been great supporters of people with disabilities, starting with his days as an elected official at the local level"-Karen Smith, Exec.Director The Arc of Prince William. "Senator Colgan was our Senate Patron on the Northern Virginia Differential, which passed two years ago" reported Jill Egle' and Jamie Trosclair. We were excited to have a chance to talk with him, share our vision and get some advice on how best to proceed as we worked to build "One voice, One message and One Virginia!"-Heidi Lawyer and Nancy Mercer
After Jill read the Credo for Virginia, created by Self Advocates from across Virginia we discussed the importance of moving away from institutionalized thinking-and developing policies and funding streams that really we build communities that support all people. The following were some of the ideas that were shared:
Use capital dollars to build homes in the community-- single family, apartments, and duplexes versus large institutions.
Support The Arc's "A Life Like Yours Act", legislation that would work to end waiting lists for MR/DD waivers in six years.
Fund community supports for those folks "not eligible" for waivers!!!!!
Of course, Ensure that the words Mental Retardation are changed to Intellectual Disabilities in the state code--
We were all energized when we left the senator's office- and we were happy to have given mArching orders for next steps from Senator Colgan.
I have a Life:
We learned that Senator Colgan sold his airline businesses twice over his lifetime. The first time he sold his business it was not too long before and his family decided that they had "flying in their blood" and in 1988 they started up their second company. Colgan airlines flew for IBM, and ran planes up and down the east coast-staff and family loved the "activity" the business generated. A year ago, they sold their second business-so Colgan Airlines is quite again, the signs are coming down, and the staff in the front office relish in telling stories about "the good ol' days."
Does he dream? He sure does:
Jill and I took away that it is no surprise "Senator Colgan reaches for the highest goals - he has flying in his blood!"
Advocacy Tip: Make sure you talk to the key people on key committees. Find constituents in their jurisdiction(s) to deliver the message.
On July 30, 2008 Lynn and Lydia Ruiz, Catherine Montgomery and her friend Shereen, Nancy and Patrick joined the Virginia Personal Care Association in Senator Dick Saslaw's office on Cherokee Lane! The meeting was at 9:00 am but thanks to great organizing by Melissa Pinnick and David Broeder of VAPCA over 20 folks were at the building between 8:00-8:30 am. Once again Senator Saslaw and Janet Muldoon his aide were great hosts, making sure they created a meeting space that was accessible and flexible enough to support anyone who wanted to attend the meeting!
Personal Care Attendents are the individuals who work side by side individuals with disabilities in community and institutional settings. These people provide 24/7 care every day of the week, on holidays and regardless of the weather. The Arc of Northern Virginia believes that these women and men serve as the bridges, voices, legs and arms of our community-they are ACCESS for thousands of people who would otherwise be homebound, institutionalized, ignored and/or neglected.
The meeting was organized around the following agenda:
Introductions
Share Personal Stories
The Ask
Assign Legislative mentors from the group to work with the Senator from now through the session.
I have a Life:
Senator Saslaw has been a long time business man in Northern Virginia! He used to own eight gas stations and has sold all but the one in Westfield area. Senator Saslaw knows his legislative district from one end to the other, after rattling off his zip codes to the group he was able to identify his constituents' area quickly when they simply provided a road name.
I have a dream:
Senator Saslaw would like to see Virginia move from its rural and agrarian way of doing business to a more urban way of doing business. Virginia is one of the wealthiest states in the country and one of the lowest taxed. Taxes pay for core community services-we can do better-we must do better!
Advocacy Tips:
Start educating in September, build a statewide effort and set up personal meetings to share your stories. "One thing all legislators can do is count!" With that being said, he asked how many folks were registered to vote-and then encouraged everyone to "get registered and VOTE!"
