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This past Saturday, Congressman Jamaal Bowman and NY State Assemblymember MaryJane Shimsky stopped by YAI's Tarrytown Day Habilation program to be interviewed for a documentary by filmmaker Josh Adler.
Adler has been working with staff and people YAI supports at Tarryyown to film a zombie movie, which he is including in a larger documentary about the making of the zombie movie. The film also touches on how society listens (or doesn't listen) to the voices of people with disabilities.
Both the Congressman and Assemblymember sat down to talk about the government and intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD)—what gets funded and why, how certain issues and people are prioritized, who has power in Albany and DC, what needs to change for our staff and the people we support to get the wages and supports they deserve, and what they are doing about it.
Assemblymember Shimsky also highlighted the impressive presence the I/DD field has in Albany. The more politicians know about our field, the more likely they are to act to support it.
"We are very lucky to have champions in office like Bowman and Shimsky, who understand the importance of fighting for more money for our services," said Scott Karolidis, YAI's Director of Government Relations. "They understand we need taxes to fund our work, and healthcare and housing policies to support our staff. They know assisting people with disabilities and the people who support them does not end at a COLA [cost of living adjustment]."