CAN meetings are in blue and Issue Area Group meetings are in red. Other community events are not colored.

Category: C.A.N. Events Calendar
Date: Tuesday, April 5, 2011 - All Day

The Texas Senior Advocacy Coalition is organizing a Virtual March on Austin for April 5th. Please join us NOW for the march. Thousands of constituents from across the state are sending the collective message: Don¡¦t Cut Medicaid Funding. Every State House and Senate switchboard will be lit up throughout the day with our message---a powerful reminder of the breadth and depth of opposition to cutting programs that assist our families and loved ones.

The Texas Senior Advocacy Coalition organized Senior Day at the Capitol where 4,000 seniors traveled to Austin to lend their wisdom to legislators.

We need your help NOW to make the Virtual March a reality.

1. Speak Out: Prepare a fax or make a telephone call to your state legislators. You can look them up at http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/

The goal is to tie up the lines of communication and bring attention to the cuts in Medicaid. To spread the calls throughout the day, use the following schedule if you can.

Last names that begin in A - C 8:00 am ¡V 10:00 am

D ¡V K 10:00 am ¡V 12:00 pm

L ¡V N 12:00 pm ¡V 2:00 pm

O ¡V S 2:00 pm ¡V 4:00 pm

T ¡V Z 4:00 pm ¡V 6:00 pm

2. Tell Others: This campaign is based on word of mouth. It is CRUCIAL that you tell others. There will have to be HUGE human outcry to keep Medicaid dollars from being cut.

3. Stay Informed: For more information, contact the Texas Senior Advocacy Coalition at www.txsac.org.

TALKING POINTS FOR YOUR CALLS: (Your own heartfelt words are always best.)

„g On average, there are approximately 90,000 nursing home residents, including 56,700 Medicaid nursing home residents

„g There are over 111,000 people with disabilities and older Texans on a waiting list for community and Medicaid waiver services and supports

„g Nearly one out of every four households is involved in care giving to persons aged 50 and over.

„g Centenarians are the fastest growing segment of the population.

„g Women ages 75 and up are over three times as likely to be living in poverty as men in the same age range.

„g Texas has the second highest poverty rate for older adults (14.4%).

„g About 31% of all noninstitutionalized older persons in 2010 lived alone. They represented 60% of older women and 17% of older men.