Nashville, TN: Forty five people, including at least five Tennesseans, were arrested in a stepped up day of action at the ADAPT National Days of Action in Nashville, TN. The activists, mostly in wheelchairs, were demanding a meeting with Governor Phil Bredesen to discuss the Community Choices Act, which would give Tennesseans the option to leave nursing homes and receive home health care instead. An estimated 6700 Tennesseans currently live in nursing homes against their will and are not allowed to get care in their own homes. The Governor of Tennessee, Phil Bredesen, has refused to meet with the protesters and calls their protest a "spectacle." The protesters, who were arrested for blockading traffic on Charlotte Avenue, were booked at the South Precinct and released. Among the Tennesseans arrested were Don DuVall, Randy Alexander, Matt Leber, Karl Meyer and Pam Beziat. The disability rights activists say they plan to return to the streets again tomorrow.

In a heated meeting on the street between State Senator Diane Black, representative of District 18, Robertson and Sumner Counties, and ADAPT organizers, Randy Alexander and Bob Kafka, ADAPT organizers said that people are dying in nursing homes, "Let me tell you something, let me tell you something, Senator, thousands of Tennesseans have been waiting for years for change, and if some people are inconvenienced for one afternoon, then that is just what happens. Do you hear what I am saying now? You don't want to hear about the urine and the feces and the abuse . .. Listen Senator . . .a few people are being inconvenienced while other people are lying in their feces and urine and they are dying in nursing homes. I understand this was an inconvenience but there are 6700 people who stayed in nursing homes last night who didn't want to be there. People are lying in their shit and piss. So tell people to call the Governor and have him meet with us and we wouldn't have been here hours ago. All they have to do, all we want is a meeting with the Governor and we aren't getting any support."

In response, Senator Black said that the protesters weren't helping their cause, "This is not helping because we are working on a bill that would allow this and people have families to take care of at home and children to take care of including disabled children and this is not helping, we are losing support for this bill because of these actions. I am just asking them to please not block the entrance. There are people all over this building who have medical issues, maybe not as evident as these people in wheelchairs, but they have issues and they need to take care of them and blocking them into a building is not helping. They are frustrated and the workers are frustrated and I understand because when you have children and you can't get them out of the day care center then that is a real concern. We have people with elderly parents that they are taking care of."

Randy Alexander, 37, of Memphis said that if the legislators had voted on this and taken care of it, "then we wouldn't be here. . . For some reason the legislators didn't support that idea. There are Tennesseans here. Our legislators didn't support us. If they did they would have called up the Governor and said, get down here and take care of this. The concern for me is 6700 people stuck in nursing homes that want to get out. Bredesen could get that done today. He could take care of this right now and get that process started. His inaction is an immoral act because he is not willing to change the policy. I am not a professional protester, I am not being paid to be here. All these people that are here are here because they want to be here because their brothers and sisters are stuck in nursing homes. Tennessee keeps people in nursing homes. We don't need sympathy and pity. If the people want us off the streets, then tell them to call the Governor and tell him to meet with us and we will get off the streets. This is a government of the people and we have issues with it then we have a right to assemble and demand redress."

ADAPT organizer Bob Kafka explained why they had come to Tennessee during a press conference before the arrests, "So why are we in Tennessee, why have people traveled here, had garage sales, to sleep four to five in a room to come here to Nashville, Tennessee. The first thing is the people in nursing homes and institutions in Tennessee will get out to live a free and independent life. Governor Bredesen sits on the Health and Human Services Committee of the National Governor's Association, so not only does he control the lives of Tennesseans in nursing homes, but his position in the National Governor's Association affects the lives of all people with disabilities and all older people. That is one reason why we are here. The other reason is that there is a real crisis in this country because of medicaid cuts and this state has been cutting people off of their programs. People have been leaving Tennessee for over ten years to be able to receive home and community based services."

Kafka said there are people, "who are living in Colorado and Arkansas and other states who used to call themselves Tennesseans and they left because of the policies of the State of Tennessee, and Governor Bredesen has the power and authority to pass the Community Choices Act of 2006. If money is being spent on you today in an institution it could be used in the community. A person could live at home, they could get a job, they could live a free and independent life. We are here. People are making a big deal about the inconvenience for some of the Tennessee State employees. Our lives have been inconvenienced. People who live in nursing homes have been inconvenienced for thirty years. There are 6700 people in Tennessee nursing homes who wanted to move out who cannot. The State of Tennessee is already spending money on those people. All they have to do is move the money and Governor Bredesen has the power to make that happen. He is hiding in his office sending out press releases that we are only a publicity stunt. If he would come and meet with some of us he would realize that this is no publicity stunt, this is really a life and death issue for people with disabilities so that is why we are here."

Alexander listed the demands of ADAPT, "We still have our list of demands. ADAPT is here to protest the immoral state and federal policies that have warehoused thousands of people in nursing homes and other institutions. Here in Tennessee thousands of people have been left languishing in nursing homes without attendant services. Governor Bredesen has the authority and is the position to implement changes for Tennessee. What we want is support of the passage, funding and implementation of the Community Choices Act of 2006. We want him to reverse all cuts which have resulted in disabled and older Tennesseans being removed from their homes and moved into nursing homes against their will. Governor Bredesen write Senator Frist and the Tennessee Delegation to tell them that Tennessee supports the Mi Casa Federal Legislation and ask them to support Mi Casa and hold hearings on the bill now".

After the press conference, about forty five disability rights protesters attempted to go to the Governor's Office but were blockaded by State Troopers. The troopers presented them with a response from the Governor, which organizer Randy Alexander, rejected, saying it was full of lies, "He says he has long supported home and community based services but Tennessee spends almost no money on that. They haven't changed the policies. He can have a meeting with us to change the policies."

Alexander said the Governor needed to listen to them, "He can meet with us, real people, not the so called professionals so they can make their money. I have talked to other care provider agencies. He needs to listen to real people. He can solve this with a meeting. I know this is a press release. It is not near good enough. It says that he has always supported long term home care in the community and if that was so then why is there a six million dollar nursing home budget and only a one million dollar home and community services budget. He is not changing the policies that makes the funding usable. It is a bunch of lies that he is using to try to get rid of us. We are staying here and we want a meeting. He has to stop listening to the professional agencies and the nursing home agencies and he needs to listen to the real stories and let's start working for real people."

After waiting in the cold in front of the State Trooper barricade for an hour and a half the protesters went back to 6th and Charlotte in front of legislative Plaza and blockaded rush hour traffic. The protesters were arrested by metro police, put into disability vans in handcuffs, and taken to the South Station Precinct where they were booked, charged and released. They were told that their charges would be dismissed if they agreed not to illegally protest again in Davidson County. ADAPT organizers say they plan to return to the streets again tomorrow morning.

For more information please call 615-321-9066