As a member of the MDA's Legislative Forum planning committee for the past 10 years, I wanted to say this year was the best so far. Special thanks to all the great MDA members, who worked so hard to make this year's forum a big success. Everyone attending had lots of fun while learning more about the needs for people with disabilities on Maui!

How is "affordable" housing defined? Who defines it? Who uses this definition? Does it meet our needs? or How is it working for us? If it isn't working for us, what needs to be done or Who do we need to talk to? What message do we want to send to our legislators? What is our plan of action? How should we hold our elected official's accountable? Just me sorting out my thoughts on paper.

Last forum we discussed improving community awareness through access such as creating a housing bulletin board with rentals available for those with disabilities, education on how to improve bathroom access by highlighting door difficulty and installing a toilet paper holder in public restrooms properly (the hospital was done improperly and cuts the arms of those who use it) and streamlining the housing information available from the Dept of Housing and Human Concerns. It would be great to have a follow up on what has been accomplished with clear markers of legislation that supported these needs or legislation that overlooked these needs.