Developmentally disabled rally for funding, respect (+video)

Hundreds of developmentally disabled people and their supporters came to the Capitol lawn Wednesday to fight for their right to live as ordinary people in a society that doesn’t always accept them that way.

“I’ve been picked on and bullied, and everybody here’s been picked on and bullied,” said Stacy Tucker of Lawrence. “Why do we have to get bullied? Yes, we are different, but we are people. Why do we have to be judged differently? When is it going to stop?”

Tucker, who has learning disabilities, was aching after walking 28 miles from her home to the Capitol to bring that message to lawmakers. It took three days, with her husband, Ken, driving a pace car for safety and taking her home each night to sleep.

Along the way they asked people they met to donate to the Self Advocate Coalition of Kansas, which encourages independence and activism for the developmentally disabled.

The rally at the Statehouse was part of PUSH Day, organized by Interhab, a statewide organization for developmentally disabled people, their caregivers and supporters.

The annual event focused on three primary issues this year:

▪ Slowing efforts by Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration to integrate the “waiver” programs that fund services for the physically disabled, the developmentally disabled and the frail elderly. At present, there are separate programs for each. Developmentally disabled people don’t necessarily oppose combining them into a single program, but they do want government to proceed carefully so they don’t get hurt by the transition, said Tim Wood, recently hired to become the next executive director of Interhab.

▪ Funding to reduce and eventually eliminate the waiting list for home- and community-based disability services. Wood said about 3,500 people are on the list, which translates to about an eight-year wait to obtain services.

▪ Better rates for direct-care staff workers. Wood said the rates the state pays workers haven’t gone up in almost a decade, making it increasingly difficult for care providers to recruit and retain staff to take care of people.

“You can be one of two things,” said Tom Laing, who is retiring as Interhab’s director. “You can be active, or you can be inactive.”

After the speeches, Laing opened the microphone to attendees to say whatever they wanted.

Jeneva Maier of Great Bend took that opportunity to give shout-outs to her boyfriend and her favorite football team, the Denver Broncos. She works in a job collecting, sorting and bailing cardboard for recycling.

Maier gets her disability services through Sunflower Diversified Services, a nonprofit organization that serves five Kansas counties, and she praised the care by workers who help her function at daily living tasks.

“They help filling my meds up,” she said. “And they make sure I get up on time.”

Not far away, a contingent from Flinthills Services in El Dorado lined up to be photographed on the Capitol steps.

“We need money for services for living and help getting jobs, stuff like that,” said Nate Riehn, a member of the group.

“They help me out a lot,” added Regina Wisely, who works cleaning bathrooms and kitchens.

After the rally and a box lunch, most of the participants went inside the Capitol to visit as many legislators as they could to advocate for their positions.

This story was originally published March 23, 2016 at 2:41 PM with the headline "Developmentally disabled rally for funding, respect (+video)."