Success in Olympia: State Action Day Recap

Another successful State Action Day has come and gone, and what a day it was! MS Activists came from all corners of the state -- as far as Spokane, Granite Falls, and Vancouver -- to be a part of the event. 

Here’s a recap of what MS Activists were up to on January 27, 2015: 

• More than 40 MS activists came together in Olympia to show their support for people living with MS and conducted over 75 in-person visits with lawmakers
• At home, activists spread the word via social media and sent more than 80 messages to their legislators 

Together, we successfully raised awareness and made a powerful ask for increased funding for special needs transportation -- services that help people with disabilities get where they need to go. Access to transportation is a major issue for people living with MS. Mobility impairments and fatigue are some of the most common symptoms of MS, and as the disease progresses, many individuals are no longer able to drive.

People with MS and other mobility challenges need and deserve the opportunity to access jobs, shopping, church, and community activities, so they can live as full a life as possible. Washington’s lawmakers have the ability to improve the lives of people with MS by increasing funds for special needs transportation. 

Rep. Linda Kochmar (left) with MS Activist Cermit Rickey (center).

The special needs transportation fund breaks down barriers to transportation for people who are unable to drive because of a disability or age. It funds projects that help local communities offer efficient, coordinated transportation services, such as paratransit or non-profit transportation programs. While paratransit programs are required under federal law, local transit agencies often have a difficult time funding them. 

We can do better—and that’s where we need your help! MS activists are working together to ensure that our state provides adequate funding for accessible transportation. We asked lawmakers to support an additional $160 million in special needs transportation funding in the next transportation package. This ask resonated with many legislators who continue to express their support for this request.

Commissioner Mike Kreidler speaks to the group.

Finally, we were honored to host special guests Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler and Senator Joe Fain. Commissioner Kreidler spoke to the group about critical insurance issues affecting the MS community, including increasing transparency in prescription drug formularies and improving provider networks. Senator Fain energized the room with his overview of key transportation issues and the value of constituent voices in moving issues forward.

Thank you to all of our activists for raising awareness and speaking up on behalf of the MS community. If you weren't able to attend, you can still make a difference! Email your legislators today and ask them to fund accessible transportation. 

Questions? Want to get involved? Let us know.

Join MS Activists in Olympia next week!

State Action Day is just around the corner. This annual event brings together MS Activists from all over Washington to raise awareness of issues affecting the MS community among our state legislators. If you are new to advocacy, but still want to attend -- don't worry! We will provide ample information before and during the event to get you up to speed. 

Our elected officials want to hear what matters to their constituents. Together, we will bring them the stories of people living with MS and we help change laws. Still not convinced? Here's some of the reasons you should attend State Action Day:

1. To build a relationship with your legislator. If you already have one, consider it a visit to a friend. Your legislator represents YOU and wants to hear about issues relevant to your life.
2. To stand in solidarity as an MS community, to speak out on behalf of all the 12,000 people living with MS and the 72,000 people in our state affected by MS 
3. To make a statement. As our state legislators make decisions, we want them to keep the needs of people of MS in mind. We will help them understand what issues matter to our community. 
4. To make a difference. Together, four years ago, we passed a law that allows more MS specialists to practice in our state. Three years ago, we stopped people with MS from losing their health care. Two years ago, we made sure everyone with MS has access to affordable and comprehensive health care. Last year and this year, we are continuing our work to support accessible transportation options to help people with MS get where they need to go. Help us make change.
5. To build awareness. Our presence at the Capitol (in our orange scarves) brings attention to our cause! It also educates you on current issues that you can share with others who care about the MS community.

I hope you can join me and other MS activists in Olympia on Tuesday, January 27th to share important issues affecting the MS community with our legislators. 

Registration is still open! 
Sign up at www.nationalmssociety.org/WAactionday 
or by calling 1-800-344-4867, option 1.

#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!

How we help people with MS get to where they need to go

In 2011, the Society asked people with MS: what do you need that you aren't getting right now? When we asked these questions, we searched high and low, near and far to make sure we heard from all sorts of people with MS: young and old, city and country, progressive and relapsing-remitting. The answers, while not particularly surprising, gave us a really good idea of what we should be working on as an organization. 

One of the biggest needs we heard about: accessible transportation. Since then, we've worked especially hard to find suitable transportation for people to and from work, medical appointments, and special family events like graduations in far away places. It's not like we weren't doing this before - we've always done this sort of work, but we realized we needed to be doing more to help people right at the moment they needed help. We couldn't just provide information and expect that people could navigate their way through every resource in their communities. For someone with cognitive or mobility challenges, you could imagine that sometimes they just need a hand. Add in a wheelchair or scooter, a flight or a train ride, and it's just not easy. 

It's definitely hard to help people with their transportation needs. Imagine an individual who was told she was not disabled enough to get paratransit services from her local bus service. We can go to bat for her, making sure her application is filled out, the doctor knows exactly what to say, and the bus service gives her a fair shake, but sometimes, that's just not enough. What if you don't live near a bus line? What if your buses don't run after 6pm and you don't get off work until 7pm? What if you don't have sidewalks in your neighborhood? (Anyone with MS every tripped on a bad sidewalk???) 

In short, there are a lot of unmet needs for better accessible transportation in our communities. Whether its accessible buses, good sidewalks, or even accessible taxis, we need to do better. 

So it was exciting to meet with state Senator Christine Rolfes this morning to talk to her about the need for more transportation choices for people living with MS and other disabilities. Bill Luria, MS Activist, invited myself and two of his neighbors, Mike Lisagor and Jani Pauli, to talk with Senator Rolfes about this unmet need. Senator Rolfes agreed that we need to be doing more, and gave us some great ideas about how we can talk with other legislators to make sure they understand the needs of people with MS. 

As you might imagine, it's not just people with MS who benefit from accessible sidewalks, buses, and neighborhoods. Seniors and people with many other disabilities have these same needs as well. We will be working with them to build a coalition of advocates for accessible communities. 

Can you help us with this effort? Can you meet with your legislators and let them know that people with MS need accessible communities? If so, let me know - it's time for ACTION!

#WeMoveMS