#KeepUsMoving

This morning, I met with a number of other disability advocates to talk about the need for more accessible transportation. We all agreed that people with disabilities too often can't get to where they need to go, whether it's someone who is blind, deaf, or has mobility challenges.

We agreed to work together to make sure legislators know about these problems, and now we need you - members of the MS community - to rise up and help make sure legislators know about these challenges. Many of you have come to Olympia for our annual lobby day, helping to raise awareness of MS. It's time to ask legislators to do something about it - help meet the transportation challenges of people living with MS!

In an earlier blog post, I told you about a woman with MS who was denied paratransit services in Pierce County because she "wasn't disabled enough." We need to tell her story (and yours) to legislators to make sure they know that we can't cure MS overnight, but we can make it much easier for someone with MS to be active members of our community.

Legislators just announced this morning that they will be holding listening sessions around the state to hear from the public about our transportation issues. Each meeting will begin at 6 p.m. and last until 9 p.m. and feature presentations from regional transportation officials, as well as opportunity for public comment. 

·         Sept. 17 – Bellevue: Stevenson Elementary School, 14220 NE 8th St., Bellevue, WA 9800
·         Sept. 18 – Everett: Snohomish County, Robert Drewel Building, 3000 Rockefeller Ave., 6th floor, Everett, WA 98201
·          Sept. 23 – Wenatchee: Chelan County PUD Auditorium, 327 N Wenatchee Ave, Wenatchee, WA 98801
·         Sept. 24 – Yakima: Yakima Area Arboretum, Garden View Rm., 1401 Arboretum Dr., Yakima, WA 98901
·         Oct. 2 – Spokane: Greater Spokane Inc., 801 W. Riverside, Spokane, WA 99201
·         Oct. 7 – Vancouver: Vancouver Community Library, Columbia Room, 901 C St., Vancouver, WA 98660 
·         Oct. 9 – Tacoma: Evergreen Tacoma Campus, Lyceum Hall, 1210 6th Ave., Tacoma, WA 98405 

If you can go to these meetings to represent the MS community, please let us know. Wear your orange scarf! And let your social network know about it. Use hashtags like #WeMoveMS #KeepUsMoving #MSActivist #Everett (or wherever you live) to find other disability advocates who may also attend these meetings. Stay tuned for more information about this issue and how to use social media to activate the MS community!