Current Issues & Advocacy

As you may know, New Jersey’s state government recently planned to cut $125,000 from the five state-funded Centers for Independent Living (CILs), including DAWN. This cut would have drastically impaired our ability to help people access the services they need to remain independent, to help people advocate for themselves, to provide programs and services for educational and social programs and more.

DAWN and the other New Jersey CILs reached out to members and other supporters of people with disabilities for help. We needed to show the state that CILs make a difference in people’s lives, and that funding cuts would matter to New Jersey citizens. We’d like to take this opportunity to give a big thank you to everyone who participated in these and other ways:

• Signing and circulating petitions.
• Spreading the word and getting others involved.
• Using the “Take Action” tools at gonextstep.org.
• Sending emails, letters, and faxes to state legislators.
• Participating in our call-in day on May 12th.
• Visiting legislators in Trenton.
• Attending the rally in Trenton on May 14th.

Your efforts made a difference! Together, we showed state legislators the importance of this issue. Funding for the five State CILs remains flat for the coming year, but funding is uncertain beyond that. This success would not have been possible without the participation of everyone who took the time to make their voices heard. We need to keep this issue in the forefront in order to not only maintain state resources, but to expand them and build capacity for the CILs.

Want to do more? For more information about online petitions and other advocacy resources, please visit the new “Current Issues and Advocacy” page at dawncil.org. We would also love to hear your ideas for how DAWN can help you get more involved with future efforts like this one. If you have any ideas or would like to be involved in planning or brainstorming advocacy projects for DAWN members, please call our office at (973) 625-1940 or email us at info@dawncil.org.

Thank you!

To download a copy of this letter with more pictures, please click here.

Current Issues

National Health Care Reform
Far too many people with disabilities live without adequate health care or insurance. President Obama has proposed a $634 billion health care reserve fund over the next ten years. This is a positive step in the direction of health care reform.

For more information:
White House blog on disabilities
Next Step action: Pass President Obama's Budget with Investments In Healthcare

Community Supports for People with Developmental Disabilities in NJ
NJ bill S3654 would close five of the state's seven developmental centers, and provide support for independent living in the community. The money saved by closing the centers would go towards providing community supports and living arrangements for those who want to move out of the developmental centers, as well as those on the long waitlists for such services.

For more information:
Text of the bill
Next Step action: Ask your State Senator to Support S3654

Advocacy Resources

Next Step: People Working for Social and Economic Justice is a NJ-based organization that works to end the "social and economic exclusion of people with disabilities." Their "Take Action!" page makes it easy to learn about important issues in the disability community and to contact those in power.

Change.org is a social-networking site designed to give people the tools to take action on important causes. On their Autism Actions page, you can read about current issues related to autism and other disabilities, and sign petitions asking for change.

The national organization TASH: Equity, Opportunity, and Inclusion for People with Disabilities since 1975 also features an Action Alert! page.

Created on 06/04/2009 11:49 AM by nnjdisab
Updated on 08/03/2009 11:08 AM by nnjdisab

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