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By Anita Clavering
American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today (ADAPT) began its twice-annual conference in March with a day of testimony titled Real People, Real Voices, where people with disabilities throughout the nation shared their experiences living in nursing homes, institutions and other facilities and how they were able to transition into the community.
The following day, a three-day ADAPT action began, with chapters across the nation converging in Nashville, Tenn., requesting a meeting with Gov. Philip Bredesen (D-Tenn.) to voice support of its Community Choices Act of 2006.
The testimonies were presented to a panel of leaders from organizations such as the National Council on Independent Living, ADA Watch, the American Association of Persons with Disabilities (AAPD), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Office on Disabilities and the National Council on Disability.
All who testified spoke about how they were treated or mistreated while in nursing homes and other facilities. Participants gave examples of their harrowing experiences, such as nursing home staff leaving them to lie in human waste, over-medication and physical abuse.

Robert Fesel of New Jersey ADAPT said that he was burned with a cigarette, and one of his fingers was dead because his wheelchair repeatedly ran over it, permanently damaging the nerves. Fesel uses a power wheelchair and communicates on an electronic language path finder. “Technology has opened my life,” said Fesel, who transitioned into the community through Project Freedom. “I now live in a condominium by myself with my dog.” The Community Choices Act, proposed by Tennessee ADAPT, bypasses funding dominated by the nursing home industry for long-term care, and instead would allocate them for home and community services.

“The nursing home industry is a big contributor– it is not a question of money,” said Nancy Salandra of Pennsylvania ADAPT.
More than 500 ADAPT activists marched on a cold and rainy afternoon from downtown Nashville to Legislative Plaza in the capital complex. A rally was held on the steps with a backdrop of guitar-shaped signs symbolizing the “music city.”
ADAPT Executive Director Bob Kafka said that Tennessee spends $160 on nursing homes, institutions and other facilities for every one dollar spent on community care. According to ADAPT, Tennessee is one of the 10 worst states for long-term care in facilities, rather than in the community
At the rally, Johnny Crescendo of Pennsylvania ADAPT sang “Tear Down the Walls (of the Nursing Home)” and “Because You Fail, We Go to Jail,” a variation of Johnny Cash’s “I Walk The Line.
When they arrived at Legislative Plaza, the activists demanded to meet with Bredesen. Chants of “I’d Rather Go to Jail than Die in a Nursing Home” and “Up with Attendant Care, Down with Nursing Homes” rang out. Banners were hung on an overpass, stating “Tennessee: Volunteer State or Institution State?”
“It is a sad day that this is happening in Tennessee,” said Sen. Steven Cohen (D-Tenn.), cosponsor of the Community Choice Act. “There’s no question that people want to stay at home and are better served at home.”
As the action continued, activists blocked traffic, as state workers tried to pass through on their way home. Seven activists, including some who got off their wheelchairs, climbed the steps of the capital building and were sent to jail.
That day, more than 60 activists were arrested.
Bredesen refused to meet with ADAPT and issued a letter stating that the action was a “publicity stunt” and a “spectacle.”
“Governor Bredesen should become disabled,” said Roy Carbone, a New Jersey ADAPT activist. “When he calls for a nurse, I hope they’ll never answer the bell. He’ll realize why we protested this way. All we asked is to have a simple meeting, and he [Bredesen] would not accommodate that, so we had to do it the hard way.”
On the final day of the protest, 100 activists rode to the Metro Center and stood outside the offices of TennCare, the state’s Medicaid program. According to ADAPT, cuts by TennCare have forced people with disabilities into facilities. ADAPT members were able to meet with representatives of TennCare to discuss implementing funding for longterm care in community settings.
ADAPT members then stood outside the local office of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), demanding a meeting with Director William Dirl. After an hour, Dirl met with ADAPT and discussed providing more affordable housing and vouchers for people with disabilities transitioning into the community.
ADAPT presented a letter to Dirl for HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson to comply with certain demands, which are to improve timing and coordination of affordable, accessible, integrated housing with the receipt of home and community-based services; facilitate rebalancing of the long-term care system; implement goals of the New Freedom Initiative; and assist states in implementing the Supreme Court’s Olmstead decision.