Friday, July 16, 2010;
Bruce-
In May 2010, from the 21st to the 25th, the Arnieville IHSS encampment appeared
to protest Governor Schwarzenegger’s proposed budget cuts to In-Home Supportive
Services (IHSS) and other programs. June 22nd, 2010, the anniversary of the 1999 U.S.
Supreme Court’s “Olmstead Decision”, ruling that “the unnecessary segregation of
individuals with disabilities in institutions constitutes discrimination based on disability”,
brought Arnieville back to life. The participants in the encampment intend to keep it
going “until a just and fair budget is signed”.
I arrived early, June 22nd, 2010, to scout out the area, at Adeline and Russell Streets,
one block from the Ashby BART station in Berkeley, and walked right by the location
of the “Arnieville” encampment. A man in a wheelchair, Dan McMillan (co-founder of
Disabled People Outside), appeared to help a port-a-potty truck driver, and me, figure
out where to find it. Arnieville was started because of California Governor Arnold
Schwarzenegger’s actions, taking $75 out of monthly SSI checks, removing foot care,
chiropractors and acupuncture from the list of allowable health care—among other
We started talking. We discovered we have many things in common, like getting our SSI
faster than usual. Dan was denied SSI for 10 years, being told his amputated leg would
re-grow in a year. He slept on the streets until someone told him to sleep in front of the
Social Security office and apply again—he got the first ticket the next day. Rinse and
repeat 12 times until the director of that S.S. office told him he’d get his case expedited to
get him out of their hair.
At Noon, other campers arrived. I helped put up three tents, despite the written
instructions. We broke for lunch, and began to get to know each other. We were an
eclectic bunch of people: the KPFA radio station “Pushing Limits” disability program
host; an anarchist named “Fireball Dragonspit”; and an 80-year-old deaf activist named
Bob (a member of ADAPT: Americans Disabled for Accessible Public Transit). Three
people in wheelchairs from the neighborhood rolled in to give support.
At 2 p.m. we had a staff meeting to talk about the next day’s activities, who would do
what (washing dishes, greeting the public, etc). We also wrote a letter to the rest of the
people living in the neighborhood, explaining Arnieville and that we didn’t want to cause
them any problems.
At 6 p.m. we had a vegan soup dinner enjoyed by around 20 people. This elderscholar
reporter isn’t a vegan skolah, but the soup hit the spot. We had a mic-less poetry reading
and went to bed.
Day two, in the morning, an unfriendly passing driver (the day before the score was 100
friendly toots on car horns) told us “Communists” to get outta Dodge. We (including
new friends who showed up to serve breakfast) laughed. Strangers walking by during the
day were shocked by our information about the threat to eliminate In Home Supportive
Services altogether, and other nastiness.
Thornton-
Tuesday, July 13th, 2010, before going to the poormagazine office, I heard on the radio
(National Public Radio) that a class-action lawsuit brought against Skilled Healthcare
Group, Inc (SHG), which runs many eldercare facilities in California, was not only won
by the plaintiffs, but a massive penalty, $600 million, was levied against the corporation
for failing to have enough staff to give even barely adequate care of elders. The case was
brought because SHG didn’t meet state standards for staffing levels in such institutional
housing.
Of course, SHG is “vigorously” defending itself against having to pay that much money,
$500 per affected elder per day they had to suffer choosing either to sit in their own pee,
or get staff to help them and then sit alone where they got the “help”, for hours--or other
outrageous indignities.
The “Governator” can’t, or won’t figure out how to do this stuff either. The corporate
folks don’t care, why should he?
Bruce-
Later on the encampment population shot up to 30-ish. We were visited by a wheelchair
and ventilator-equipped Disabled Studies Professor from Stanford University, and we
all talked about the press conference planned for the next day. Disability activist Jean
Stewart, author of the novel THE BODY’S MEMORY, read from the “Swimming in the
ocean” chapter (and discovered new fans of her writing) during the poetry part of Night
Day Two’s dinner had a choice between carnivorous and vegan diets via a professional
caterer. This elderscholar won’t complain (much) as long as the food tastes good!
The press conference happened at Noon on Day Three, drawing a 100-person crowd.
Channels 2, 5 and 14 interviewed Arnieville participants (and put the encampment
on their 6 p.m. newscasts), Channel 7’s crew was there until a murder in Vallejo sent
them racing for a more “interesting” “if it bleeds, it leads” story. Night Three we saw
THE PEOPLE SPEAK, a documentary based on historian Howard Zinn’s celebrated
alternative history book A PEOPLE’S HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES.
Day Four I left (concrete and 60-year-old bones don't get along for very long...), returning July 4th weekend (Saturday) after getting info for a future story.
All the usual suspects were there, plus some new friends, including a college student
who nicknamed me “the Noam Chomsky of In Home Support Services”, which had to be
explained to me. I found out later it was a compliment.
Arnieville continues. Anyone who wants to be part of the encampment, help
out with food, etc, has several ways to contact the camp. The email address is
It can also be reached at the CUIDO (COMMUNITIES UNITED in DEFENSE OF
OLMSTEAD) website at
www.cuido-arnieville.blogspot.com
or at
510-684-5866