NATIONAL ADAPT ACTION IN DC A WINNER

National ADAPT members from around the country (including from Austin and El Paso) travelled to DC for a series of actions addressing housing, community attendant services, ending the institutional bias, livable attendant wages, DME – Durable Medical Equipment and more.

Cathy Cranston demonstrating house mask used for the HUD action. Behind her is the iconic HUD building and plaza where DUH City was held in 2004. For more fabulous pictures in a slideshow by Desert ADAPT’s German Guzman and the story of the national action go to the National ADAPT website https://nationaladapt.org/

Access Investigation of Waller Creek and Waterloo Park Mixed Results So Far

Robin maneuvering bumps at ramped entrance to trail

ADAPT Organizer Robin Hoffpauir and Sophia Donnelly maneuver an akward ramp entrance to Waller Creek trail this summer as several of us did an access survey of the area.

The trail along Waller Creek started smooth but soon changed to this bumpy surface that made for a rough and (for those of us with neurogenic pain) painful ride.

Shows Bumpy trail to Waterloo
Two guys in wheelchairs check out access

Bob Kafka and Ron and Cathy Cranston look across the water at a heron on the other bank, just below Waterloo park. There are nice ramps and beautiful natural surroundings in Waterloo Park. They just need to improve the signage so you know where the access is and where it goes.

The Great Blue Heron flew to another perch along the path, The Waterloo Park people are interested in access improvements, especially as the park improvements are extended down the trail in phases all the way to Lady Bird Lake.

Great Blue heron in Waterloo park

ADAPT TURNS 40 THIS FALL. Celebrate with some new disability bling!

ADAPT and related available through Syracuse Cultural Workers. Includes ADAPT 40th Anniversary poster

This year, in celebration of ADAPT’ ‘s 40th Anniversary, Syracuse Cultural Workers created a beautiful poster with images from the years of struggle for disability rights. It is truly a collectors item. Then they agreed to donate to ADAPT for every order using code 2324ADAP They have put together a collection of posters, buttons, stickers, a T-shirt and mug with disability rights related themes so go check it all out, and all the other progressive items they have in their extensive collection. Go to SyracuseCulturalWorkers.com and don’t forget to use code 2324ADAP..

ADAPT Hosts REV UP Event for Disability Voting Rights Week

REV UP members and Austin ADAPT members joined together to celebrate disability voting rights week. Travis County Tax Assessor Collector and head of voter registration for our county was in attendance as well. Those who were voters shared why voting was important to them and up and coming voters registered and shared why they wanted to vote.

Gulf Coast ADAPT’s Lydia Nunez participated in several events around Harris County and registered voters at the Disability Expo in Houston.

REV UP Texas is part of a lawsuit that will go to trial next week challenging some of the disability voter suppression laws passed by the Texas Legislature recently..

Picture of the Austin group holding signs about why they vote, Behind them is a REV UP banner

Austin folks show their signs telling why voting is important to them.

Photo: Cathy Cranston.

VICTORY VICTORY VICTORY

Starbucks learns how to apologize & Starbucks learned how to write a letter

After almost a year, Starbucks finally wrote a letter of apology for kicking our member out of their store for looking like someone else in a wheelchair. The process was excruciatingly slow and wound up involving international legal assistance (I kid you not!) Several half hearted attempts were rejected but finally the coffee giant got off it’s butt and wrote a letter of apology. No one could explain why this was so difficult, why they spent months lying about the reason he was kicked out, but there it is. Let’s hope they can remember this simple lesson next time they discriminate.

Starbucks Saga continues

Starbucks now has engaged an international law firm to communicate about this letter of apology. How hard can it be to write a letter? Only Starbucks knows for sure.

Here is a survey to share your experience with the coffee company. Your response to the survey is much appreciated.
click here for survey

Starbucks in El Paso agrees to demands while in Austin 🙄

Desert ADAPT members in front of El Paso Starbucks

Today ADAPT of Texas and Desert ADAPT protested at Starbucks because of their disabilityDesert ADAPT members in front of El Paso Starbucks discrimination. Amazingly, the regional manager refuses to write a simple letter of apology and send their policy against discrimination based on disability.
In El Paso the local manager was a reasonable human being, and the crack troops of Desert ADAPT fairly quickly negotiated for him write to the Regional Manager Tim Klein asking for the letter. In Austin they continued with their sanctimonious stonewalling. “We already said we were sorry” the district manager Susan snipped, as if after throwing someone out for absolutely no reason we should be grateful for whatever crumbs they deigned to toss in our direction.
Add your message to Klein that just because they are dealing with people with disabilities that does not mean any old B’s will do. After all how damn hard is it write a letter?

Austin ADAPT in front of Starbucks in Austin

contact Tim Klein 904-993-8251 or tklein@starbucks.com. And tell him to stop the discrimination and send the letter.

PACT & ADAPT Rally with domestic workers groups

Domestic workers groups including We Dream in Black, Fe y Justicia, Misma, National Domestic Workers Alliance, AFL-CIO, Restaurant Workers Union, OPEIU, Workers Defense Fund, with the coordination and support of Every Texan, asked PACT and ADAPT to join their rally for better wages and benefits for direct care workers and more. Others spoke movingly about domestic workers, child care and nanny’s, housekeepers and other domestics workers some of whom had been paid as low as $2 per hour. PACT organizer Cathy Cranston showed her beautiful passion as she spoke about our decades long battle to raise Medicaid attendants wages.

the House and Senate have passed their budgets and now are in conference committee to finalize the budget for the state for 2024 through 2025. We are supporting the Senate version because it raises attendant wages over 40%. It’s not $15 per hour but it will still be a huge jump for the millions of attendants in Texas. Call your legislators and tell them this is a critical raise or we won’t have attendants at all in 2 years; after all we a facing a crisis right now!

It is ironic that the same legislators who are crowing about this significant wage hike are the same ones who have kept the wages so depressed for so long. None the less it is important we all let our legislators know we support the Senate version of the budget for our issue. Let them hear from you!

YOU NEED TO CALL AGAIN!!!

picture of a crossword type puzzle. Headline reads Why on earth?! It's a puzzle why they won't rai$e it!

Words on puzzle are To Community Attendants Equal Raise It Independence Be Free Need

Below are ADAPT and PACT logos and the words Raise it to $15. Our lives depend on it. For more info contact Cathy Cranston 512- 650-6543 flacacata@aol.com; Nancy Crowther 512-808-7486 ncrowther21@gmail.com

Good Afternoon ADAPT Members, Disability Rights Advocates, Supporters of Disability Rights and Community Attendant Rights for Wage Justice,

We realize you have called before but we need you to call again.  The Budget Bill has now passed on the Senate side.  Now the bill will go to Conference Committee.

There will be members from the House and Senate on the Conference Committee.  It is so important that we keep the pressure up on the key point legislators.   They will make the decision on what goes forward.

Now is the time to continue pressure on the State Legislative Decision Makers.  We are headed in the right direction with the wage, but we must continue pushing them to a $15/hour base wage.

TAKE ACTION NOW!

Call:

Senate Finance Chairwoman Huffman at: 512-463-0117

Senator Kolkhorst, Article 2, at 512-463-0118

House Appropriations Chairman Bonnen at 512-463-0729

Representative Jacey Jetton, Article 2, at 512-463-0710

House Speaker Phelan, 512-463-1000

Lt. Governor Patrick, 512-463-0001

Call & Ask for their Budget Person & Tell Them to Raise the Base Wage for Community Attendants to $15/HR. Nothing Less Will Do!

If you have any questions, please contact Cathy or Nancy Crowther

Thank you.

Free Our People!

Community Attendants Equal Independence!

Cathy Cranston and Nancy Crowther

ADAPT of Texas/Personal Attendant Coalition of Texas

1100 S. IH 35

Austin, TX 78704

O# 512.442.0252