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Outside the Alaska State Capitol on Wednesday, nearly 150 people from around the state demanded improved services for disabled Alaskans.
Many were part of the Key Coalition, a nonprofit advocacy organization in Alaska that supports people with disabilities.
Key Coalition Director Michele Girault said they advocate for the community as a whole since anyone can develop a disability at any point in their life.
“It’s not just today, it’s tomorrow,” Girault said. “So let’s prepare and have services and accessibility for everyone, whenever the need occurs rather than having to wait for a service.”
This year’s priorities include improving the state’s Infant Learning Program, which supports infants with disabilities and developmental delays. Girault said Alaska is one of the only states in the country where the eligibility threshold for services is a 50% developmental delay.
“We want to reduce that to 25% to support more children, and in the end, it saves more money because if you intervene early, then those kids don’t need special education,” she said.
Nikki Bass co-owns TIDES, a Juneau-based agency that provides care to people with disabilities. She said the coalition is also working to improve wages for care providers.
“Everyone in their lifetime is going to need caregiving at some point and we have a whole network of strong, passionate care providers, so we’re here to support them as well and ask for a living wage and to continue supporting Medicaid,” she said.
Kim Champney, one of the rally speakers, is executive director of the Alaska Association on Developmental Disabilities. She said legislators want to hear from more than just service providers.
“It’s really the voices of people, the family members of the people that rely on the services with us in partnership,” she said. “We work together and share our story, and that’s how we build the system that we need in the future.
Advocates spent the afternoon after the rally meeting with legislators and sharing their experiences.
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