Representative Cyrus Habib agrees to #KeepUsMoving. Will you?

This morning, MS Activist Karl Schiller and I met with state Representative Cyrus Habib to ask for his help with our effort to improve transportation for people with MS and other disabilities. Karl, a constituent of Rep. Habib, shared the experiences of many people in the MS community who are not able to drive because of their MS. He attends a weekly swim aerobics class and one of the participants relies on the King County Access shuttle to get to and from class. Sometimes she'll have to wait an hour or more to get picked up from class because their aren't enough shuttles. We hear stories like this all the time.

Rep. Cyrus Habib

Representative Habib fully understands the challenges that someone with a disability faces. When he was 8, he lost his eyesight to cancer. Now, he's a Yale-educated attorney and a member of the state legislature When we asked if he would support this effort, Rep. Habib not only said "yes!" - he encouraged us to go even further and ask for a bigger package. People with MS have so many unmet needs when it comes to transportation, and while Rep. Habib has agreed to help, we need your help as well. 

We've blogged previously about town halls throughout the state where legislators want to hear from you about your transportation needs. However, because of overwhelming demand, the legislature just added three more town halls in Seattle, Bellingham, and the Tri-Cities. See below for the complete list, with the new additions in bold.

• Sept. 17 – Bellevue (Northwest Region) 6-9 p.m.
• Stevenson Elementary School, 14220 NE 8th St., Bellevue, WA 98007
• Sept. 18 – Everett (Northwest Region) 6-9 p.m.
• Snohomish County, Robert Drewel Building, 3000 Rockefeller Ave., 1st floor, Everett, WA 98201
• Sept. 23 – Wenatchee (North Central Region) 6-9 p.m.
• Chelan County PUD Auditorium, 327 N Wenatchee Ave., Wenatchee, WA 98801
• Sept. 24 – Yakima (South Central Region) 6-9 p.m.
• Yakima Area Arboretum, Garden View Rm., 1401 Arboretum Dr., Yakima, WA 98901
• Sept. 26 – Tri-Cities 6-9 p.m.
• Columbia Basin College, Gjerde Center, 2600 N. 20th Ave., Pasco, WA 99301
• Oct. 2 – Spokane (Eastern Region) 6-9 p.m.
• Greater Spokane Inc., 801 W. Riverside, Spokane, WA 99201
• Oct. 7 – Vancouver (Southwest Region) 6-9 p.m.
• Vancouver Community Library, Columbia Room, 901 C St., Vancouver, WA 98660
• Oct. 9 – Tacoma (Olympic Region) 6-9 p.m.
• Evergreen Tacoma Campus, Lyceum Hall, 1210 6th Ave., Tacoma, WA 98405
• Oct. 14 – Seattle 6-9 p.m.
• King County Courthouse, Room 1001, 516 3rd Avenue, 10th Floor , Seattle, WA 98104
• Oct. 15 – Bellingham 6-9 p.m.
• Port of Bellingham Cruise Terminal, 355 Harris Ave., Bellingham, WA 98225

Let us know if you'll be attending any one of these meetings so we can get the most current information to you. Send an email to jim.freeburg@nmss.org or call 206-284-4254, ext 40237.