Zach is Moving in!
There is a lot of excitement buzzing around Ananda as Zach’s move in date gets closer. Paint is on the walls, curtains are ordered, and flower pots are ready to be planted! Emily planted a special sunflower to welcome Zach to his home at Ananda! Zach’s official move in date is Friday, August 21. We will be having a blessing/celebration for him at Community Night on Wednesday, August 26 from 5:00 – 7:00 pm.
Letter From the Department of Justice
I recently spent some good time reading through the letter that the Department of Justice put out in June concerning support for people with intellectual disabilities and/or mental illness. In this letter the DOJ seems to be making the argument that the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act, and the court’s decision in Olmstead vs LC do not require states to provide support to people in the most integrated setting possible. Because of this argument, the DOJ is saying that it would be unconstitutional for Congress to make integrated service settings a requirement.
This is a significant abbreviation of the 36-page letter provided by the DOJ. And though it is true that there isn’t a legal requirement to provide Home and Community Based services, the generally accepted position on the Olmstead decision is that integrated services should be provided whenever possible. Some important notes form The ARC:
- Olmstead is still Supreme Court precedent
- The ADA and Section 504 are still law
- The integration mandate still exists in federal regulations
- People’s rights have not disappeared
- The federal government is taking steps to pull back from enforcing key protections for community living
- People with disabilities and advocates must stay alert, organized, and ready to push back
If you want to read The ARC’s full fact sheet, you can find it here: https://thearc.org/blog/doj-opinion-on-olmstead-threatens-the-right-of-people-with-disabilities-to-live-in-the-community/
My final note on this letter is that integrated services are still a significantly non-partisan topic and there is a high likelihood that Republicans and Democrats will work together to do what they can to assure integrated support continues to grow throughout the US. There are some efforts being made by The ARC and various advocacy coalitions in DC to spread the word of this letter and encourage steps to be taken in Congress to ensure that nothing threatens the continued expectations for Home and Community Based Services. This is a great time to reach out to your representatives to make sure they know what is happening and to share your stories about the impact that Home and Community Based Services have had on you and/or your loved ones.
Visit from Representative Strickland’s Office
This week, we had the privilege of welcoming Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland and her team to L’Arche. When her office reached out in June, I was confident that Kendyl’s presence and storytelling in Washington DC made a big impact. It’s encouraging to see our efforts and investment in outreach to our representatives bear some fruit! Of course Kendyl was ready to go, greeting Congresswoman Strickland and members of her team, and touring them around L’Arche. We talked about the programming and community gatherings we hope to build at the Welcome Center, the Department of Justice letter, and dynamics of getting wheelchairs through Medicaid. The Congresswoman was already familiar with L’Arche and happy to learn more about the services we are offer and continue to build. She reassured us that Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) are bipartisan and was willing to hear my encouragement to create some legislation that alleviates some of the vulnerabilities currently present in HCBS. Finally, she agreed that getting a personalized wheelchair should be “as easy as taking a prescription to the pharmacy to get filled.”
We didn’t expect the earth to move with this visit and it didn’t. But it continued our goal of being known by our legislators and creating supportive relationships. I also want to give a special kudos to Kendyl’s work in this area and the impact her presence has had. She is honest in her stories and excited to share her pride in her home and L’Arche. She is also unabashed in naming what isn’t working. So we end the day with great encouragement.
