I desperately dropped to my knees in the silent hallway of the House Office Building in Lansing and told Jennifer to grab me the pen from her purse. There were no tables readily available to write on, so the floor would have to do. I had to jot a quick note to our State Representative Bill Caul.
It probably wasn’t the most official way to communicate with a State Representative, but I wanted him to know that we had stopped in to see him as part of the second annual Older Michiganians Day on June 24. This annual rally on the steps of the State Capitol gave Jennifer, me and hundreds of others the opportunity to meet with our elected officials and advocate on issues and programs that affect older Michigan residents.
You’re right. Jennifer and I are 34 and 36 years old, respectively, and hardly fit the profile of “older” Michiganians. But many of the concerns of this demographic, such as in-home care and respite programs for caregivers, are the realities of daily life for this younger Michiganian couple living with multiple sclerosis. And so this year, much like last year, we went and advocated for older Michiganians by advocating for ourselves when we met with our legislators and their legislative aides.
Our personal primary focus was to advocate for continued and increased funding for the MI Choice Medicaid Waiver Program. It truly is this program that makes our life as a “normal” married couple possible. Through this program Jennifer receives the in-home care she needs to help her with the activities of daily living such as cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping, and (most importantly) safely transferring to go to the bathroom. This, in turn, enables me to continue working at Central Michigan University and know that my wife is receiving the care she needs.
Jennifer always explains to our legislators that she very easily could qualify to live in a nursing home, but this program makes it possible for her to continue living in her own home and contributing to the community. And this program saves the state money: While it costs the state $150 a day for a person to live in a nursing home, it costs only $50 to provide the care that helps a person stay in their own home. In fact, in her 2010 Budget Letter Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm stated, “In the last seven years, we have saved more than $178 million by expanding community-based service options for seniors and the disabled.”
While last year we met face-to-face with Rep. Caul and our State Senator Alan Cropsey, emergency sessions to discuss and debate K-12 funding prevented us from actually meeting with them at this year’s Older Michiganians Day. But we did get to meet at length with Sen. Cropsey’s legislative aide and Jennifer even got to meet Lt. Gov. John Cherry and put in a plug for the MI Choice Medicaid Waiver.
Sen. Caul also has on record a letter from two constituents thanking him for his service and asking him for his help in supporting this important state program.
[…] With this, we’re even more excited about following up with our legislators at Older Michiganians Day in June, the same as we’ve done the past two years! […]