Talking Disability Advocacy at the Georgia State Capitol
The Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDD) held the 2017 Advocacy Days in February and March this year at the Georgia State Capitol – five different days of advocacy dedicated to issues that are integral to the success of the developmental disability community in the State. While a lot has been achieved, continued efforts help make Georgia a place where everyone, regardless of ability, can live, learn, work, play and worship in the community. No matter how robust the legislative agenda, success cannot be achieved without the voices of people with disabilities, their families and other allies included in the conversation.
The 2017 Advocacy Days offered a slightly different approach from the big event that GCDD hosted previously as Disability Day at the Capitol – a one-day rally featuring speakers and attended by thousands. GCDD wanted to have a bigger impact. Through Advocacy Days, GCDD was able to afford opportunities for participants to speak to their legislators face to face about issues that are important to them. This is the second year that GCDD hosted Advocacy Days.
The days covered many different issues that affect all Georgians with disabilities. DD Waivers Day advocated for more funding toward medical waivers for people with developmental disabilities. It was held on two dates because, particularly in GA, there is a very long waiting list of 8,821 people as of March 31, 2017, according to GCDD. Inclusive Post-Secondary Education (IPSE) Day focused on increased funding for programs for college students with developmental disabilities who would not generally qualify for the general admissions process, and witnessed lots of youth participating that day.
Enable Work and Families Day focused on Family Care Act, PeachWork and Phillip Payne Personal Assistance Program. Home and Community Day (Elder and Disabled Abuse Registry, Offensive Language, Transportation, Residential Housing Study Committee) targeted the Georgia Code to replace the term mental retardation with intellectual disabilities.
A Big Day for Employment
Employment Advocacy Day was a highlight this year as it welcomed Rep. Tony Coelho (D - California) as its keynote speaker at a press conference prior to heading to the Gold Dome. Coelho is the primary sponsor of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and has opened many doors for the disability community, especially in the workforce. Given his lifelong commitment to the developmental disabilities community, he spoke to people with disabilities, family members and people in the community who care about employment.
Coelho addressed media, legislators and attendees about why having a job is important for the disability community. “It is an opportunity to participate in society just like everybody else, an opportunity to fail like everybody else. Georgia is way behind the rest of the states in providing opportunities for employment. It is important to recognize that we, as a community, want this assistance. If you want to see if we can do a job, give us a job,” he shared, while encouraging everyone to get engaged and involved during Advocacy Days and afterwards.
Josh Wells and Kurt Vogel, individuals with developmental disabilities, spoke about their personal experiences and the importance of employment in their lives.
Senator Nan Orrock (D - Atlanta) and Representative Valencia Stovall (D - Forest Park) also spoke to the crowd about advocating for issues that matter for people with disabilities. Stovall, who has a son with an intellectual disability, shared the importance of pushing legislators to understand the need for competitive, meaningful employment.
Employment Advocacy Day had the highest attendance. “Employment resonates with so many people as it is tangible,” says Dawn Alford, GCDD’s public policy director. “Not everyone understands what it means to have a waiver and be on the waiting list, but generally everyone can relate in some way to employment, and that’s one reason it is well attended.” Additionally, Eric Jacobson, executive director of GCDD, also reminded everyone that advocacy is strength in numbers.
“While it’s 20% of the population that has disabilities, when you count everyone who knows someone or cares about someone with a disability, it’s a much bigger group. Think about how powerful we can be,” said Jacobson. He encouraged attendees to share their story with at least five people in their local communities, and have them call legislators to show support for employment.
“The thing about disability is that it doesn’t care what gender, religion, or color you are – it affects everyone,” he added.
Partnering for Advocacy Success
“Some of the issues like waivers, IPSE and employment were like previous years. Those are perennial issues, so we need to continue advocating to make more progress on them. Other issues were partner-led and we worked with other agencies and coalitions to bring advocates to the Capitol and speak on the other issues that we feel strongly impact people with developmental disabilities,” says Hanna Rosenfeld, planning and policy development specialist at GCDD.
These include partnerships with the Georgia Inclusive Postsecondary Education Consortium for IPSE Day; the Statewide Independent Living Council and the Proof to a Preponderance of the Evidence Coalition for Enable Work and Families Day; and The Arc Georgia, the American Wheelchair Society and the Georgia Job/Family Collaborative for Home and Community Day.
The Arc Georgia promotes and protects the human rights of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) and actively supports their full inclusion and participation in the community over the arc of their lifetime. The focus is to develop programs and advocate for public policy giving people with I/DD the opportunity to learn, live and work inclusively in their communities.
GCDD partnered with The Arc Georgia’s Stacy Ramirez, the state director, who has been facilitating the UNLOCK! campaign. The campaign advocates for Georgians with disabilities so they and their families can live full lives and contribute to communities and the economy. UNLOCK! is working to rebalance the state’s system of long-term services and supports so that fewer dollars are spent on institutional care and more dollars are invested into home and community-based services and supports.
Ramirez also assisted with much of the prep-aration involved in hosting Advocacy Days. Additionally, GCDD partnered with self-advocacy group, People First of Georgia, to bring at least 30 of their members from across the State to participate in Advocacy Days. People First not only met these goals but exceeded it, bringing at least 50 members, some repeatedly.
“As these attendees got comfortable with the legislative process, they were able to become team leaders themselves, and this is what we want for our advocates – to learn about the legislative process, realize they have a voice and feel comfortable using it effectively for the issues they care about,” shares Rosenfeld.
Experience of Advocating
Advocacy Days heralded a diverse group of people from different cities, with different disabilities, and even varied experiences of advocacy. Some had been to the Capitol before and for others, it was their first time advocating at this scale.
Each day included a welcome orientation so participants understood the issue for the day, and what they were asking of legislators. This was followed by demonstrations and role-playing, where attendees were divided into teams to practice their legislative visit.
A parent advocate at GCDD and executive board member this year, Christine Clark attended two Advocacy Days, driving in from Woodstock to participate. “It was my first time going down to the Capitol so that was exciting,” she says. “I was able to talk to both my senator and representative. I found the whole day very liberating and fascinating.”
Currently a student of Georgia State University working on a masters in social work, Clark lists legislative change, employment, healthcare and waivers as her interests in disability issues. She plans to participate in Advocacy Days next year, and hopes to attend as many as her schedule will allow.
Chattanooga-based Scott Kramer, program director and founder of GCA Centre for Adult Autism (a program of the Chattanooga Autism Center) is a seasoned advocate who drives two and a half hours each time from Tennessee to Downtown Atlanta to meet with legislators.
“The first time I attended, I had a lot of anxiety about speaking with politicians but now that I have been to the Georgia State Capitol a few times, I don’t have any qualms speaking with senators,” he said.
Kramer also offered experienced advice on meeting with legislators for the first time. “See them as human beings who have emotions too. To understand their constituents, they have to understand what’s going on, and the only way legislators can know what is important is when advocates speak up about issues that directly affect them and their community.”
Along with Clark and Kramer, several other members and supporters of the local disability community attended this year’s Advocacy Days, averaging 90 people for each day. The highest attendance clocked in with 130 advocates!
Alford reflected on 2017 Advocacy Days and said, “We had a great many more self-advocates, which has a lot to do with the People First chapters, and that was a huge positive. We are grateful to all the self-advocates who participated because that is important to us at GCDD, that we not only lift up the voices of family members, but those of self-advocates as well.”
Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities' (GCDD) spring edition of Making a Difference quarterly news magazine covers a review of the 2017 Legislative Session; Talking Disability Advocacy at the Georgia State Capitol during Advocacy Days; the Future of Georgia's Medicaid Program; Georgia Options Leads the Way; tips on advocating for employment and more.
