Spring 2003 Newsletter
Advocates in Action
The Virginia independent living movement has 20 Community Action Specialists (CAS) throughout the Commonwealth who serve as advocates for people with disabilities. They are based in each of 16 Centers for Independent Living (CIL). The project is headed by Advocacy Director Fritz Knapp, who is supervised by Central Virginia Independent Living Center Executive Director Sandra Wagener. Mr. Knapp, on a recent conference call with CAS staff, called this assemblage of advocacy talent "The Dream Team" because of their skill at advocating for systems change both locally and at the state level.
In the fall of 2001, the sixteen met as a group for the first time at the inaugural CAS Training Workshop. At that time, they identified three core issues that face all people with disabilities: transportation, Medicaid reform, and housing. They then broke into three work groups to study these issues on a statewide basis. The transportation group is chaired by Donald Fennell, the housing group is chaired by Janet Bixby and the Medicaid group is led by Kelly Maxwell. The CAS consider themselves to be fortunate to have such strong leadership, as well as others who can fill in when the leaders are away. An example of this is Bill Duncan covering duties for Kelly Maxwell, while she is on maternity leave.
Advocacy, as the group has learned takes many forms. Our CAS members have each found a niche, a particular issue that effects people with disabilities in their respective locales. For Eddie Jones at the Clinch CIL, Medicaid transportation is the issue he gives highest priority to, while for Doris Ray of Arlington the top issue is Medicaid waivers. Both are part of statewide committees, and both add a distinct and important disability perspective to these groups. "Their credibility is such that when they speak, people listen," according to Knapp.
While these and other individual advocates are immensely effective in giving voices for all people with disabilities, the entire group realized recently that the whole CAS network is greater than the sum of its parts. This past January, for example, they joined ranks at the General Assembly to speak with legislators about the pressing needs of people with disabilities. At least half of the group had never spoken to a legislator before, and some had never been to the General Assembly. What they discovered surprised them.
After a three-hour training workshop the night before, with expert advice from Chris Spanos, a legislative specialist, and a forum of experienced veterans (Janet Bixby, Kelly Maxwell, and Bill Duncan), the group was prepared to deliver their message directly to legislators. For some, a feeling of nervous anticipation was an understatement. Others had a more stoic and resolved demeanor. Together though, the advocacy veterans' confidence rubbed-off on the first-timers and all came away with the sense that the mission had been a success.
How did the group measure success? There were both quantitative and qualitative indicators--how many total legislators we met face-to-face, as well as the effectiveness of the interactions. The CAS met with close to 75% of the entire legislature, with some of our CAS staff meeting four legislators in a brief two to three hour period, for which Ray Justus, Jason Harvey, and Eddie Jones were awarded the "Rock Around the Clock" prize. In the latter category, the comments ranged from, "I couldn't believe how receptive he/she was to my systems change message," to "My legislator gave me 25-30 minutes to speak, rather than the 10 minutes I was expecting...and I was prepared to leave after 10." On both scores, the day proved a valuable lesson in what a few voices in harmony can do to make a lasting impression on an audience of decision-making politicians
The CAS General Assembly "blitz" wasn't all work. To the right you will see pictured from left to right CAS staff Jason Harvey, Ray Justus, Gayl Brunk, Marilyn McBurnie and Jerry Craft in front of the Governor's Mansion after they had toured the State House. Neither the Governor nor the First Lady was at home at the time, but their frisky dog "Buster" gave a warm welcome.
