Make your voice heard
Posted October 21, 2010 by Mandy Smith in Advocacy
The election is less than 2 weeks away and we are in danger of losing what we worked so hard to get in the last legislative session. As November 2nd gets closer it becomes more apparent that our next governor will be Senator Brownback. For the disability community this is a very scary prospect. He has already stated there would be across the board cuts and freezes on spending from the state general fund. We know that in the past he has not supported the disability community including voting against the FMAP extension this year. However; there are checks and balances in our state government; if we are able to hold on to the coalition of moderate Republicans and Democrats that was formed in the last session, the disability community stands a much better chance of making it through the next.
This PDF contains the names of all the House members who voted for/against last year’s budget and the sales tax increase, both of these things made certain that we retained CIL funding and that the HCBS PD and DD waivers received additional money to help with the waiting lists. Please make note of the legislators that are running in your areas that supported these things and ask them what you can do to help. Volunteer your time to make phone calls, pass out fliers, or help with other needed activities.
Another way that you can make your voice heard for the disability community is by writing a Letter to the Editor of your local paper. Make sure that your communities know how cuts in services impact your lives, explain what issues are important to you for our elected officials to support, and share your personal stories if you are able. The Statewide Independent Living Council of Kansas (SILCK) has put together some sample Letters to the Editor that you can use to model your own letter after. They are available here.
This election will be the beginning to the next HUGE fight for the disability community in Kansas. We need all of us working together to ensure that necessary services are not cut, discrimination is not allowed, and the disability community is not disenfranchised any further by our state legislature. Please make contact today with your local campaigns and newspapers. We must use our collective voice to make things happen.
