05/13/18 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – ACTION HAPPENING NOW
For More Information:
Marilee Adamski-Smith: (715) 204-4152
Priya Penner: (585) 944-3086
Anita Cameron: (720) 413-9064
Dawn Russell: (303) 884-1471
WHO: National ADAPT
WHAT: National ADAPT Celebrates Women and Mothers
WHERE: Upper D Park – Area 14 – “C” St. SW and South Capitol St.
WHEN: Sunday, May 13, 2018
ADAPT National Spring Action Begins a Fight for Life and Liberty With a Fun Run and a Mother’s Day Event
ADAPT kicks off its National Spring Action today with a Fun Run and by taking time to acknowledge our Mothers and the other important women in our lives. ADAPTers from across the country have brought pictures of these women to celebrate them. These women, many of them with disabilities themselves; were founding members of ADAPT chapters, gave us life, raised us to be the activists we are, supported disabled family members, or are currently raising the next generation. We want to publicly thank our ADAPT Mothers – past and present – for their contributions to our lives and our movement!
“ADAPT was built on the shoulders of so many amazing, strong, powerful woman, like Barb Toomer and Babs Johnson. Activists who taught us to demand the lives others take for granted. We hold our fun run today to keep the organization they worked so hard for going. ADAPT will keep fighting for the lives and liberty of disabled Americans and we honor them through our Actions.” said Latoya Chivon an ADAPT organizer, and a Mother from Pennsylvania.
On this important day, we also want to acknowledge that the community integration of people with disabilities and attendant services are not just disability rights issues, they are women’s issues. It is generally not recognized that:
- Over 68% of the 1.4 million people in nursing homes in the US are women.
- Nationally 65% of people receiving services and supports are women.
- Over 89% of paid workers in nursing homes and community based services are women, with most Medicaid-funded workers earning at least $2 less per hour than fast food or gas station workers.
- Nationally over 60% of the 40 million unpaid family caregivers are women, and over 40 million households, one in five, provide unpaid attendant services for friends or family.
Today, even if a woman is not in a nursing facility, being paid to provide long term services and supports, or providing unpaid support, she understands that she will – one day – be one of these women.
On this Mother’s Day, the ADAPT Community affirms that every American is guaranteed liberty under the Constitution and that we demand the government to change federal policy so that no Mother should fear that she or her children will be denied their freedom and liberty for being disabled. Our commitment to freedom cannot be a collection of empty slogans it must be a commitment to ensuring disabled Americans are able to live in the community.
At the same time, ADAPT calls on the entire disability community to acknowledge the importance of women in our lives and our movement. We also call on policy makers to end the policies that force our mothers, grandmothers, aunts and sisters into unwanted and unwarranted institutionalization. On this Mother’s Day, these women deserve more than a card and flowers; they deserve to know that their freedom and liberty is secure.
ADAPT’s history, the issues we are fighting for and our activities can be followed on our web site at www.adapt.org, our ADAPT Facebook page and on Twitter – look for #ADAPTandRESIST.