![]() But with those services now on the cutting block, activists said the situation became “critical.” Not leaving until he promises no cuts to Medicaid #ADAPTandRESIST /ADwlIakJBDĪDAPT had been talking to Gardner for a year and a half about creating a national program to mirror Colorado’s home and community-based services that assist people with bathing, toileting, cooking, cleaning and more. Coloradans with disabilities make up 7 percent of Medicaid participants but 27 percent of the program’s costs, according to the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing.ģ ppl slept in their wheelchairs at office last night. They also said they have taken time to listen to their concerns, including at least 16 meetings or phone calls with ADAPT activists since the start of the year.ĪDAPT joined more than 80 other Colorado disability services in signing a statement urging Gardner to vote no on the health care bill. They said they offered to help the protesters with transportation. Gardner staffers said building management told them Thursday that the other tenants had begun to complain and that the protesters no longer could remain there. ADAPT national organizer Bruce Darling said he is no longer keeping track of how many people have been arrested nationally, saying, “There’s enough that it’s gotten confusing.” The biggest so far has been in Rochester, N.Y., where 25 people were arrested. "Then to die without Medicaid I'd rather go to jail!" /w17rhIdf3Rĭenver’s sit-in was one of similar actions across the nation. She uses a motorized wheelchair and a ventilator. “I’m not resisting, but I’m not cooperating,” Lucas told officers. She was among the final protesters to be arrested, and she continued to live-stream the event even as she was taken away. ![]() “We’re not going to go down without a fight,” said Carrie Ann Lucas, one of 11 protesters inside the office Thursday before the arrests began. About a dozen Denver police officers arrived shortly before 7 p.m. Late Thursday afternoon, a crowd gathered on grass outside the private, downtown office building at 1125 17th St. One of those protesters, Jordan Sibayan, was arrested while trying to go into the garage. Other ADAPT protesters chanted outside the entrance and exit to the garage. The rest of the protesters were held inside the building’s garage and could be heard chanting “Free our people” and “Rather go to jail than die without Medicaid.” The hands and ankles of all of them were zip-tied by police. Protesters Lonnie Smith, Dawn Russell and Kalyn Heffernan, an MC with the rap group Wheelchair Sports Camp, were taken by Denver police to a sheriff’s van with a wheelchair lift. When they declined to leave, the police were forced to remove them due to several factors, including serious concerns for their health and safety.” Earlier this evening, Denver police asked the individuals to leave. “In order to allow this, staff have slept in the office for two nights and assisted and aided these individuals with several matters to ensure they were comfortable and safe. “The top priority throughout this protest has been allowing these individuals to exercise their First Amendment rights in a safe environment,” Casey Contres, a Gardner spokesman, said in a statement after the arrests began. Police responded to a signed complaint from a representative at the senator’s office that people were trespassing, said Denver Police spokesman Sonny Jackson. Two of the 11 - a mother and her 16-year-old daughter - left. ![]() Advocates say those services would be cut in the proposed Senate health care bill, which the group wants Gardner to oppose.īefore the arrests, Gardner’s state director read a statement to the protesters saying building management informed the office that it was in violation of its lease and both staff and the protesters had to leave. Protesters said they want Gardner to commit to protect Medicaid spending, including assisted-living services that help many people with ability issues live independently. McConnell is trying to revise the Senate health-care bill by FridayĮffort to repeal Obamacare tests Colorado’s Cory Gardner Protesters spend night at Cory Gardner’s Denver office to fight health care bill ![]() Dawn Howard joined ADAPT in January and said she had been arrested three times before Thursday. Protesters said they’ve been arrested multiple times doing ADAPT actions. The action was organized by ADAPT, a Colorado-born organization that works nationally to promote disability rights. Nine were intending to spend the night again Thursday. Nine protesters stayed the night Tuesday, turning it into what resembled a dorm room with blankets and food. ![]() Protesters initially took over Gardner’s waiting room Tuesday when the office opened at 9:30 a.m. Digital Replica Edition Home Page Close Menu ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |