Legislative forum on disability issues: Sept. 27 Legislative Forum on Disability Issues: Sept. 27

The Arc of the New River Valley and Virginia TASH are sponsoring a policy forum focused on issues of concern to people with disabilities, their families, service providers and advocates. This forum will be a listening opportunity for our policy-makers to hear your stories, your positions and your concerns.

Current members of the House of Delegates Joseph Yost and Nick Rush, along with the challengers for their seats, Chris Hurst and Flo Ketner, have agreed to participate in this event.

The forum will take place Wednesday, Sept. 27, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Montgomery County Government Center, located at 755 Roanoke St. in Christiansburg. Doors open at 6 p.m.

Why attend?

Federal Medicaid money for people with disabilities is in danger of being drastically reduced. A reduction would result in loss of health care and community-based supports for people with disabilities unless individual states can make up the difference.The great majority of students with more significant disabilities are in segregated classrooms and segregated public and private schools. Our General Assembly members need to know the often devastating effects of being excluded.Adults with significant disabilities who live in the community depend on reliable, well-trained support providers. Pay rates for direct service providers is woefully inadequate, resulting in high turnover and an inadequate supply of providers.People with disabilities want real jobs in the community. There are many barriers to finding and keeping those jobs, including inadequate transportation, job coaching and employer recruitment.

We hope you will plan to come to the forum even if you do not wish to comment. It is important that we fill the room so that our lawmakers see that a large number of their constituents care deeply about these issues and are depending on them to take action on behalf of people with disabilities.

For those unable to make it, the event will be live streamed at www.facebook.com/arcnrv/.

For more information, contact Arc of the NRV President Chris Cadwallader at 239-4911.

- Submitted by Bayley Alphin

Submitted by Bayley Alphin