Advocates Rally in Richmond

The bitter cold could not deter the hundreds of individuals with developmental disabilities, their families and their supporters as they gathered at the bell tower outside the Virginia Statehouse on January 17. They were there to bring their concerns to Virginia lawmakers as the General Assembly meets in session.

Click here to view the photo album from the event.

Donning orange scarves and gathered behind a banner stating “End the Wait for a Life Like Yours”, advocates from all over the Commonwealth of Virginia, including many from the Northern Virginia area, addressed specific concerns to a receptive audience that included state lawmakers and the governor himself.

Governor Glenn Youngkin (wearing an orange tie in solidarity with the crowd) spoke about his proposed budget, which includes $300 million to provide services to individuals on the critical Medicaid Priority One waiting list.

“The number one concern I’ve heard over and over from parents is, ‘What’s going to happen to my child when I’m not there?’” Youngkin said. “We want to do what we can so you don’t have that worry and that anxiety.

“Let’s be sure there are opportunities to work. That there is housing, so people can live their independent lives.”

More than 17,500 individuals in Virginia currently receive support through the DD waiver program. Ending the waiting list for the roughly 3,400 with the most immediate needs is central to Governor Youngkin’s proposed expansion of behavioral health reform, an initiative he launched last year.

Advocates will return to Richmond on February 6 to take their concerns directly to lawmakers.