By Spencer Williams, Program Manager for Education and Public Awareness

Early Experiences

The call to action happened early in life for Marty Omoto. Marty’s older sister, Alana Omoto, had developmental, psychiatric, and physical disabilities, and the way she was treated by her peers and the school system made a strong impression on him. Upon attending public school with his sister, Marty was shocked by how other students treated Alana – their close-knit family experience sheltered him from such harsh possibilities. Teasing and ridicule by other students were a daily occurrence. The school not only failed to protect Alana and others like her from such emotional abuse, they contributed to the situation by segregating students with disabilities into an “MR [mentally retarded] classroom.” Furthermore, students in the “MR classroom” were required to participate in “vocational training,” which, for Alana, consisted of dragging around a dirty mop, sponges, and a bucket to clean the restrooms in the school.

Marty was, at first, ashamed to be associated with his sister. Marty quickly became an advocate on her behalf, however. He complained to the principal and the teachers about how Alana and others in special education were being treated and, in frustration, began physically lashing out at other students that mistreated her. “No one ever hit me back…. I think they realized even if only temporarily, that they were doing something shameful and wrong.”

From One Voice to Many

Founded by Marty in 2003, CDCAN is a one-person organization dedicated to providing free information on legislative actions that affect people with disabilities. Marty’s almost daily email alerts (see http://www.cdcan.us/) provide up-to-the-minute updates on current legislation and budget-related issues, contact information for politicians, and information on protests held in Sacramento and across California. These email updates address issues related to disability, senior, and civil rights. Marty firmly believes that “we are one community… our advocacy cannot have borders that artificially divide us.” While issues faced by disparate populations may not always share the same interests, Marty hopes that unified advocacy efforts from seniors, people with disabilities, and other civil rights activists can have a greater impact on current legislation.

Unlike many organizers that tend to demonize politicians they disagree with politically, Marty believes that politicians act in the interests of their constituents. If constituents do not exert pressure on politicians, their interests will not be recognized or protected. He holds in high regard the words of Elie Wiesel, who proclaimed that “the opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference.” Marty strongly believes that the indifference of individuals is what allows injustice to occur unchecked. In his view, just as his grandparents and 110,000 other Japanese-Americans were forcibly interred in camps during World War II solely because of their race, the needs and interests of people with disabilities will not be recognized so long as people with disabilities do not stand up for their rights and make their voices heard.

Marty asserts it is integral that advocates follow up in their advocacy after decisions have been made. To hold politicians truly accountable for their actions, we must also follow up and voice our pleasure or disgust once we know how they actually voted. As Marty wrote in response to our questions about self-advocacy, when we are indifferent to how our legislators vote, they use that indifference against us.

Direct Advocacy Can Make a Difference

To demonstrate the effect political pressure via direct advocacy can have on budget and funding decisions, Marty points to the continued funding of In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS). These services, which enable people to live in their own homes and receive direct care from IHSS workers as an alternative to out-of-home care (living in nursing homes, board and care facilities), have continued to receive funding and have even been expanded since 2001, according to Marty, at least in part due to the efforts of activists. Marty also cites the effective defeat of proposed provider cuts to Medi-Cal in 2008[1] as an example of what can be accomplished when we advocate for our rights and challenge the legislative system’s attempts to decrease service capacity for the elderly and people with disabilities. Without continued advocacy, in time, these victories will be lost.

While many of us may feel that our voices will not be heard, that we do not matter, that we cannot have an impact on legislation that affects us, through unified action we can make our voices and needs heard. While this sounds like a simple concept, actually doing so can be much more difficult given the intricacies of the political system.

Given that we know programs and services that affect the quality of life of people with disabilities are being threatened, what is holding us back from standing up for our rights? As Marty mentioned previously, we must overcome our own indifference. We must spur ourselves to action. Challenging and overcoming indifference led Marty Omoto from being a scared elementary school student unable to defend his sister Alana to a tireless advocate on behalf of all people with disabilities, senior citizens and other marginalized populations. We hope his story will inspire you to do the same.

Besides CDCAN, you may contact your local State representative directly by typing in your zip code: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/yourleg.html .

If you would like to share a personal story in our quarterly e-newsletter related to psychiatric and/or developmental disabilities or how you became an advocate, please contact Spencer Williams, Program Manager for Education and Public Awareness.