ArnieVille

the California budget cuts to disability
programs in every way we could think of.
Along the way, we achieved the
distinction of Longest Running Disability Protest

in US History.
And still nothing’s changed in Sacramento. The governor and

legislators talk about t
he budget, while In-Home Supportive Services,

Medi-Cal
Adult Day Health Care,
mental health rehabilitation, and other vital

programs
serving seniors, people with
disabilities, and poor people await their

fate on the
cutting room table. So, we've
decided to change tactics...

________________________________________

A TENT CITY PROTEST

We Demand an End to the fear and harassment of people with disabilities,

seniors, caregivers and allies. Beginning June 22, 2010 and continuing on the

median strip of Adeline Street at Russell Street in Berkeley, California.

An open-air, open-ended protest of the California Governor’s proposed state

budget with its juggernaut of draconian cuts to California’s In-Home Supportive

Services (IHSS), Medi-Cal, and other critical supports for California's most

vulnerable people.

ArnieVille is organized by

CUIDO ~ Communities United in Defense of Olmstead

Eleven years ago the Supreme Court ruled that the unnecessary segregation of

individuals with disabilities in institutions constitutes discrimination based on

disability (Olmstead v. L.C.). California’s programs supporting elderly and

disabled persons including those with mental and intellectual disabilities, are

models for the entire country. But these programs, including Medi-Cal, are

being dismantled before our horrified eyes.

Consider California's IHSS program. This exceptional program pays caregivers

to help elderly and disabled persons in their homes rather than subsidizing

nursing home care, which is five times more expensive. Governor Arnold

Schwarzenegger has proposed cutting IHSS funding by up to 40%. Currently,

490,000 disabled and elderly people receive IHSS services; if these cuts are

approved, tens of thousands of us will end up in nursing homes, emergency

rooms, homeless, or dead.

~~~~

Read Jean Stewart's statement at the ArnieVille press conference on June 24,

2010. Click on Press Statement

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