Kick-off NDEAM and support our organization this October by participating in

Tierra’s Virtual Walk n’ Roll 

Walk, Run, or Roll at your own pace 

October 1st – 15th 

Donate, Start a Team, or Fundraise on your own! Complete a 5K (3.1 miles/7,000 steps) or 10K (6.2 miles/13,000 steps) or your own personal challenge at your convenience any time, anywhere between October 1st through October 15th. 

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER!

PRIZES

All registrants receive a long sleeve 

“Walk n’ Roll” t-shirt.

Prizes for fundraisers include clear stadium  bags, portable chargers, bluetooth speakers,  and beach towels.

Highest fundraiser wins 4 loge seats and parking to a 2026 Dodger Season Home Game!

Register, share with your friends, raise funds, awareness, and HAVE FUN! 

For questions or details, contact Jessica Asciolla at jasciolla@tierradelsol.org or (818) 723-2282 

The post Tierra’s 2nd Annual Virtual Walk n’ Roll  appeared first on Tierra del Sol.

“When 43% of Californians benefit from a program funded by Medicaid, these services support every part of our state,” said Julie Gaona, Chair of the California State Council on Developmental Disabilities. “We want to be sure people with disabilities and aging adults in California can live, work, play, and contribute to their community.”

The federal budget proposals currently under consideration threaten deep and irreversible harm to the people we serve. These proposals include:

• Over $700 billion in cuts to Medicaid, the foundation of community-based supports for individuals with disabilities and complex behavioral health needs;

• Nearly $300 billion in reductions to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), putting direct support professionals and the people they support at risk of food insecurity; and

• Proposed reductions to the Administration for Community Living (ACL), including efforts to eliminate or significantly reduce funding for State Councils on Developmental Disabilities (DD Councils) and other vital programs.

The impact of these cuts would be devastating and widespread:

• People with intellectual/developmental disabilities and co-occurring mental health needs would lose access to critical, individualized supports – including housing, employment services, therapy, case management, and crisis intervention.

• Medicaid-funded behavioral health and home and community-based services (HCBS) would be slashed, leading to increased institutionalization and preventable crises.

• DD Councils, which play a central role in research, policy innovation, advocacy, and systems change, would face defunding or elimination – at a time when inclusive and evidence-based practices are more essential than ever.

• The workforce crisis on disability and mental health services would intensify, with job losses, unsustainable workloads, and diminished service quality.

• Families and unpaid caregivers would be forced to carry impossible burdens, with little to no support from public systems.

This is not just a policy debate – it is a moral reckoning.

Medicaid is not a luxury. SNAP is not an option. ACL programs are not expendable. These are the mechanisms by which we affirm the dignity, rights, and humanity of people with disabilities. To weaken or eliminate them is to regress—to erase decades of advocacy, legal progress, and hard-won equity.

We call on the U.S. Senate to:

• Reject cuts to Medicaid, SNAP, and the Administration for Community Living.
• Protect the funding and integrity of State Councils on Developmental Disabilities and related programs.
• Preserve the right of all people with disabilities to live in their communities with autonomy, support, and dignity.

To every member of Congress: this is your opportunity to stand on the side of justice. 

TAKE ACTION!

Call Your U.S. Senators 

Tell them you oppose the proposed cuts to Medicaid, SNAP, and ACL programs. Demand they protect funding that supports people with disabilities and their access to inclusive, community-based services.

Call the Capitol Switchboard: 1-202-224-3121

Write to Your Local Media 

Submit a letter to the editor of your local newspaper or contact a local journalist. Share how these cuts will harm your community, your work, or your loved ones.

Educate Others 

Talk with colleagues, family members, and self-advocates. Host a discussion or webinar. Use your platform to amplify the message.

Share on Social Media

Use your voice online to raise awareness.

Tag your representatives. Use hashtags like:

#SaveMedicaid

#DontTouchMedicaid

#HandsOffMedicaid

#SaveMediCal

#DisabilityRights

#IAmTierra

Together, we must raise our voices louder than the proposals that threaten to silence us.

Remember, we are not Fraud, Waste, or Abuse. We are people, and we matter.

The post Medicaid Updates & Action Steps appeared first on Tierra del Sol.

The post URGENT ACTION ALERT: STOP MEDICAID CUTS NOW! appeared first on Tierra del Sol.

How to Participate

You can use SEIU’s customizable digital tools to craft your message and spread the word about the Call-In Day.

On Tuesday, March 11 use SEIU’s “Hands Off Medicaid Hotline” call-in number: (866) 426-2631 (available in English and Spanish).

You will be given a brief message you can relay to your Congress-person, then you will be prompted to enter your postal code to be transferred directly to your Representative’s office.

The post Medicaid Saves Lives Call-In Day appeared first on Tierra del Sol.

This is critical if we want wages for our valued Direct Support Professionals (DSP) and other staff wages to match the inflation rate. Without this clause, we can go years without seeing any increases, which is tantamount to a rate cut because we lose ground every year. We have full support from our California legislators, but it’s now up to Governor Newsom to sign this bill into law.

LET YOUR VOICES BE HEARD!

Send this letter and/or see the sample email message below:

Email To: Angela.Pontes@Gov.CA.gov

Sample Subject Line:

Requesting Signature on AB 2423 – Developmental Services Rates (Mathis)

Sample Email Message:

Dear Ms. Pontes:

Attached is my message in support of AB 2423. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions about this bill or the impact it would have in my community.

Best wishes,
[NAME] [TITLE] [ORGANIZATION]

Let’s make some noise and let our voices be heard!

The post 🚨Take Action NOW! Tell California Governor Newsom to Support AB 2423 appeared first on Tierra del Sol.

Dear Governor Newsom,

In solidarity with more than 430,000 Californians with developmental disabilities, we are advocating for the entire disability stakeholder community. We are self-advocates, parents and family members, service provider organizations and the direct support professional workforce, educators, employers, medical professionals, and the regional center service system all united as one to ask for your support.

For decades, disability services have been chronically underfunded. In 2019, a rate study commissioned by the State Legislature identified an ANNUAL gap of $1.8 Billion. With that information, the state established a path designed to honor the promise of the Lanterman Act, prioritizing the needs of our community with steps toward funding vital services and supports. Though this plan, the state of California promised to close the original funding gap with a final increase of $1 billion on July 1, 2024.

The proposal to delay that investment will have a devastating impact on the lives of Californians with disabilities, their families and the direct support workforce. As one of the largest delays or cuts in the proposed state budget, it sends a message that Californians with disabilities are not a priority to the state.

This disastrous proposal would only worsen the challenges the disability service system faces by weakening the already fragile direct support workforce shortage, reducing access to reliable services and decreasing opportunities for Californians with disabilities to live thier best life.

Californians with disabilities are relying on the state to keep its promise. This funding is critical to address the workforce crisis, improve access to services and supports and ensure that Californians with disabilities can THRIVE, not just survive. We need this funding on July 1, 2024 – it cannot wait any longer!

Californians with intellectual and developmental disabilities deserve to be on a path to thrive, and pursue lives of impact, inclusion, dignity, and happiness.

Sincerely,

Californians who care, and the following organizations:

#KeepThePromise #TheFurtureIncludesUs #DisabilityRights #InclusionForAll #CABudget #IDDPathtoThrive

The post Open Letter to Governor Newsom from the Developmental Disabilities Community Re: Values & Priorities in State Spending appeared first on Tierra del Sol.

In fact, it is one of the LARGEST proposed delays or cuts in the Governor’s 2024-25 state budget. This is unacceptable and will be tragic to safety net services! This setback sends a message that the promise of the Lanterman Act – made to 458,000 Californians with disabilities and their families – is not a priority to the state.

Your heroic advocacy efforts in 2022 resulted in overwhelming bi-partisan support from our Senators and Assemblymembers to ensure services through regional centers are more adequately funded by July 1, 2024. Now, the Governor wants to delay that funding!

Keeping the promised funding implemented THIS YEAR would:

1. Address an acute workforce crisis by offering competitive wages to attract and retain direct support professionals who deliver vital, hands-on services and support to people with disabilities;
2. Improve access to housing, transportation, individualized programs, and desperately needed respite services for parents, families, and most importantly, the people benefitting from support.

Once again, we need ALL OF YOU – individuals with developmental disabilities, their families, support staff, service providers, regional centers and advocates – to TAKE ACTION!

Individuals with developmental disabilities and their families are receiving only a fraction of their authorized services or going without services altogether due to critical staffing shortages. Waitlists for housing and other programs continue to grow.

Join the disability community in urging the Legislature to reject the Governor’s proposal delaying $1 billion for the disability community, and make the investment on July 1, 2024, AS PROMISED. It can’t wait!

Let’s ensure the 458,000 Californians and their families are protected and not living in a state of crisis.

Together, we can put people with disabilities on a path to thrive THIS YEAR! Californians with disabilities and the professionals who serve them deserve a chance to live full and equitable lives. Taking this action NOW can ensure access to the quality services that individuals with disabilities and their families rely on and deserve.

California must commit to these investments THIS YEAR to address the workforce crisis and ensure that Californians with disabilities can THRIVE and not just survive.

CLICK HERE AND TAKE ACTION NOW! 

#IDDPathToThrive

The post Take Action! Urge Legislators to Reject Delay of $1 Billion to Disability Services appeared first on Tierra del Sol.