The Access Press Candidate Survey
Peter
Idusogie
(No party affiliation)
As a candidate for the United States Senate, it gives me great pleasure
in being given the opportunity to address the concerns of your Access
Press readers. Many of my reasons for running for this office are
because of my concerns of your welfare, which closely parallel the
concerns of the vast majority of Americans today.
As a first generation
American, I deeply appreciate all the help this country has given
me to achieve my dreams—dreams which
we now find becoming increasingly unattainable to many because of
recent decisions in Washington D.C. I, Peter Idusogie, want Americans
and residents of this country to continue to receive the help that
they need because we as a country have always had a social contract
with our own citizens as well as our immigrant population. Unfortunately,
we bear witness these days to a government who but for a few righteous
men and women in the corridors of power in Washington have chosen
in some cases to balance our budget on the backs of those who can
barely afford to stay above the water.
The reduction in services
for the disabled also makes it exceedingly difficult for family
caregivers to keep a job because of the time involved in assisting
their disabled family members. If family members cannot provide
the time to help, the service organizations increasingly rely on
volunteers who already give much of their time. Subsequently, service
organizations by receiving fewer government funds and grants must
then use valuable help and time in just raising the money needed
to continue operating. My view is that it is the government’s
responsibility to see that all its citizens are given equal opportunity
to live a life that is fair and just. I believe we can start by working
to implement the following initiatives that will go a long way to
provide a better living environment for people with disabilities
in America.
First, we must have a uniform code of ethics and standards at the
federal level that should guide all our interactions with people
with special needs. This will ensure that all states, regardless
of whether you live in Minnesota or Mississippi, will all abide by
the same set of standards and expected conduct by staff taking care
of people with disabilities. In a nutshell, we will avoid budget
shortfalls in the state from cutting corners and benefits that are
extended to Americans with disabilities. We know that not all states
and local governments are created equal.
We must make it easier
for personal care assistant programs to recruit caregivers, train
them, and provide a wage commensurate with the quality work they
provide. Essential support services must be readily accessible
and delivered competently. We must ensure that Americans with disabilities
enjoy the same freedom that others enjoy and they are given the
same opportunities to plan their own lives rather than participate
in a cookie-cutter program. We must also ensure that the people
supporting people with disabilities are adequately trained or certified
before hiring them into the noble service of assisting people with
special needs. Society can empower individuals experiencing effects
of aging and/or disability by ensuring that essential support systems
demonstrate some of the following criteria. Esteem: obtaining respect
of and recognition from others (e.g. attention, social status,
reputation and self (e.g. self-respect, self-esteem and achievement)).
Other things are providing essential support—resources and
personnel–both informally and informall–that will assist
an individual to live in an environment rich in community association
and the acceptance of a valued role in a person’s community
through competitive employment, organizational affiliations, spiritual
development and general caring for others.
We must continue to relocate
individuals from nursing homes and group homes to more community-integrated
environments, whenever appropriate. We must expand and maintain accessible,
affordable, and timely metropolitan and rural transportation options.
We should not let our country shrink from its duties to help those
in need, especially at the time when we will be seeing more and more
people with disabilities because the baby boomers will be reaching
an age where more and more Americans will need help because of disabilities
from advancing age. Also we must never abandon those who are serving
our country in the military. We do not yet know the human toll that
will be paid, but we do know that there are already thousands of
veterans who are facing a lifetime of disabilities and illness. If
they are fighting for liberty and justice, they must never be forgotten.
I will see to it that they receive what we owe them.
It is for this reason
that I am running outside all the political parties—completely
independent for U.S. Senate. I could have assumed party affiliations,
but I find neither of the major parties adequately addressing the
issues of the disabled. I will be a voice for you in Washington
D.C. and here at home who will challenge the status quo without
wavering to the pressures of conforming to the whims of a party
and becoming an ineffectual voice. I, Peter Idusogie, look forward
to serving you in the United States Senate from the state I have
grown to love, Minnesota.
May God bless you and, yes!,
may God bless America.
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