End Waiting Lists

Today, I have added a link to vote on Change.org's site on the extremely important issue of ending waiting lists for people with developmental disabilities. The link is on the right. Please vote today to help us to get the issue to the top of the health care issues addressed by the Obama team.

Update: I understand some of you are having trouble with the voting widget on the right. So if you want to vote to end the waiting lists, click here:

Vote Now!

Thursday, December 18 update:
I have written to countless people asking them to do more to get more votes to End Waiting Lists. I thought I would share some email text that you can send and ideas on how to help do more:

A mom of an adult with a developmental disability in Colorado has created an idea on Change.org to End Waiting Lists for people with developmental disabilities. We need many votes by December 31 to make it to the next round with the very real possibility of the idea being presented to President-Elect Obama on Innaguration Day. After the first round, there will be another round if we have made it to the top of the list. We have already made it to 9th place as of Thursday, December 18 in the Health category of thousands of other ideas because of the first wave of outreach that has already been done on this issue. The power of the Internet is AMAZING and now I ask you - please- to help.

Vote to Fully Fund the Medicaid Waiver Program to End Waiting Lists

There a several ways to get to the voting page and you can choose whatever works for you.

Go Directly:

http://www.change.org/ideas/view/fully_fund_medicaid_waivers_for_the_developmentally_disabled

From NOWAIT's web site

www.noewait.net

(If you are going to tell friends and family who don't know what waiting lists are, this is a good site to send them to)

Or from Renee's blog http://1specialplace.blogspot.com

Next, I am going to ask every parent who reads this email nationwide to take 15 minutes, 1 hour, 8 hours or whatever time you can spare for this very important effort to do whatever you can on this list of ideas to promote this campaign:

1. Send an email to every listserv you belong to, every friend on your email list, every support group you belong to, your case manager, your teachers, your local Arc, your fellow church-goers, EVERYONE you can think of - urging them to vote and post their comments.

2. Watch the site to see if we make it to the next round and then send another blast to everyone to get them back there.

3. Post a widget (available on the voting page itself) on your blog, Myspace, Facebook page or web site.

4. Spend a few minutes googling to find support groups you don't already know and ask them to do what I am asking you to do.

5. Join a NEW Internet support group and send this message there, too.

6. Join groups like Momslikeme.com and post it there.

Anything else you can think of......

Thanks,
Renee