The last place I expected to find myself last month was a convent. Of course, I know they exist, but I can't remember ever having occasion to visit one. I was a candy-striper in a Catholic hospital once, but I don't think that counts. The Mercy Center, a convent in Burlingame, was the site for the Midwest Academy Community Organizing Training in May. The Midwest Academy trains activists in a variety of fields to organize for social and economic justice. They teach that organizers must win real improvements in people's lives by altering the relations of power. This is not a boring training session where you have to constantly fight the urge to check your Blackberry. It's boot camp for social change. For online information about the Midwest Academy, visit www.midwestacademy.com. I can't think of any group that needs to embrace Midwest Academy methods more than the disability community. We need real improvements in our lives and we need them now. Take, for example, the governor's May revision of his state budget proposal. He has proposed cutting the funding for the In-Home Supportive Services Program by 50 percent. More than 400,000 Californians rely on the In-Home Support Services (IHSS) program to live independently in the community. IHSS workers come to the homes of seniors and people with disabilities to provide support in tasks ranging from meal preparation to personal care. The governor plans to convene a group of stakeholders to recommend ways to cut the program and implement the cuts by July 1. Really? These are the same stakeholders the governor has paid no attention to during his repeated attacks on the program. But now, he wants their help to cut it? Let's be real. This is simply a way for him to force a group that he perceives to be powerless to do what he wants. He would say there is no money to keep the program going. That is a lie. There is money. Actually, there is more than enough. People with disabilities must mobilize and take action to pressure our policymakers to fully fund the programs we need. We must demand specific forms of revenue and we must continue to tell our stories to the media, so we remain in the public eye. Politicians respond to two things — votes and money. People with disabilities in general do not have large amounts of money to influence public policy. We do have our vote. We also have a lot more at stake in how state programs are run, so we should use it. I hope you took the time to vote on Tuesday. Disability Rights California has established a statewide hotline for voters with disabilities for the upcoming elections on June 22 and Nov. 3. Staff with experience in voting issues will answer phone calls from voters who have difficulty accessing polling places, casting ballots or have questions about voting. The toll-free number for voice calls is: 888-569-7955. The toll-free number for TTY calls is: 800-719-5798. Individuals who speak languages other than English should state their language and an interpreter will be connected to the call. Callers who wish to use the California Relay Service, Speech to Speech Service or Video Relay can dial 711. • Denika Boardman is the systems change coordinator for Central Coast Center for Independent Living. She writes a monthly column on "Disability Awareness" that appears in Opinion. Contact her at 757-2968 or e-mail her at dboardman@cccil.org.