While the larger action was going on, two teams went to distribute flyers to the Assembly and the Senate so we could make them aware of our strong opposition to these cuts.

I was on the team that went to the Assembly. On our brightly colored flyers was written “Don’t Target Us” and “Don’t Target Independent Living and Home Care”. As Assembly members and visitors were approaching the room we had many of our people handing off the flyers.

In some cases, we heard more excuses than you would from a person going to jail as to why they wouldn’t take one. On the other hand, we had lots of compliments. Many Assembly members and visitors were saying, “Fight for what you believe in,” “Love the signs and flyers,” and the best one was “Give me some extra and I will pass them out inside.”

After a few minutes of being in front of the room, we were told we could not hand out the flyers but had to do it down the stairs. Well, that was cool with us because we could see every person who was walking up.

As I was leaving to join the large group in the War Room, the ladies from the Bronx Independent Living Center were being interviewed by the media. That’s two for one, legislators and the press, and that means our message got out to the public.

So even a small team can make a big contribution to the success of an action!!