The second “People Can’t Wait” rally took place Wednesday in the Wisconsin Capitol rotunda, with nearly 3,000 people with disabilities, their family members, service providers and advocates turning out for this year’s event.
Speakers argued that although Wisconsin is facing a budget deficit, there are still available funds in the service system to support people in the community if those funds are balanced properly.
The Survival Coalition of Wisconsin Disability Organizations, a group of 36 advocates from state disability organizations that is endorsed by over 100 state, regional and local disability groups, organized the rally.
Paul Trimmer, a 43-year-old from Eau Claire with disabilities to both his brain and spine resulting from a being by a drunk driver, spoke passionately about the programs that provide him and others with disabilities the help they need in succeeding in today’s society.
“We have no fair access to the assistance we need for normal jobs,” Trimmer said. “If the government cuts our funding, we can’t be a part of the normal society or pay our taxes to help the economy. But we’re still expected to be part of the workplace.”
These types of programs include C.O.P., the Community Options Program that helps people stay in their communities with healthcare assistance and C.I.P., the Community Integration Program that helps integrate people with disabilities into new communities. Right now, waitlists for these programs are long, but Dan Leistikow, press secretary for Gov. Jim Doyle, said part of the governor’s Long-Term Care Reform Plan includes eliminating these waitlists.
Other programs already seeing cuts are such services as making available vans with wheelchair lifts to those needing them; the weekly Monday through Friday schedule has been cut in half, and the vans no longer run Saturday nights or Sundays.
In Chippewa Falls, an assisted-living facility is in the process of being closed, leaving residents without transportation or housing. Chances are slim of moving these residents into another facility because of the lack of space and also the struggle for funds to pay the salaries of employees working at these facilities, protesters argued.
Mike Noah, a 29-year-old man from Fairchild, was born with learning disabilities. A certified truck driver, Noah volunteers as a storm watcher for Jackson County and also at a Steam Engine Club in Eau Claire. He aspires to be a railroad engineer, although he argues that it’s “already hard to find job coaching and fair job placement.”
“Greyhound hires ‘normal’ people over those with disabilities. I am a licensed truck driver, but my disability raises too many red flags for me to be hired. They need to be reprimanded,” Noah said.
Leistikow said Gov. Doyle’s plans have some promising indications and believes the governor has done everything he can to protect medical funding, senior citizen care and the Badger Care program that helps the elderly and low-income families. California, Massachusetts and Michigan are among states cutting Medicare to tens of thousands of users.
But Leistikow said Doyle’s budget prevents Wisconsin from cutting Medicare.
Noah, Trimmer and other ralliers said Wednesday’s rallies accomplished their main goals by raising awareness about their needs and letting their voices be heard. However, with no response from legislators, only the new budget plans will show if their efforts were strong enough to prevent budget cuts.
