"We're here to fight! Day and night! For our basic human rights!"

That was just one of the chants shouted by both the disabled and their caretakers and supporters on their march from the U.S. Bank Building to the Capitol for today's sixth annual Disability Capitol Action Day.

Coordinated by the Disability Action Coalition, the gathering of more than 2,000 people was held on the 10th anniversary of the Olmstead Court Decision, a landmark case involving plaintiffs Lois Curtis and Elaine Wilson that set a precedent of helping the disabled to live in community settings as opposed to confined in homes and institutions.

Despite being highly functioning and capable of living in a community, both women were kept in institutional settings. In 1997, the court deemed this a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Judge Marvin H. Shoob suggested the women were being unfairly segregated. The state appealed the decision but lost, and in 2000, the case came to a close in favor of the plaintiffs.

This year's Action Day theme was "Where is California 10 years after the Olmstead Decision?" and speakers and legislators as well as Lois Curtis, a plaintiff in the Olmstead case, took the stage to let the crowd know that California has plenty of room for improvement in its programs for the disabled as well as funding and accessing those programs.

Serving as a message of empowerment as well as a backdrop to the stage was a flag made up of more than 700 handmade "story sticks" with feathers and pictures of individuals who have contributed to a nationwide tour of creating a video archive of stories of both struggles and accomplishments of the disabled.

The state's recent budget woes have led to cuts of essential programs such as in-home support services, supplemental security income, and Medi-Cal that are necessary for the disabled to be able to live and thrive independently. February's budget led to two cuts to SSI/SSP grants, which help to support more than 1.1 million low-income seniors and people with disabilities. By July 1, when the second cut is scheduled to take place recipients will only be receiving a maximum of $850 per month.

Signs posted around the grounds reading "Can you live on $850 a month?" conveyed the sense of frustration felt by many relying on the funding. During intermissions between speakers, attendees danced together on stage and chanted messages of hope and a shared understanding for one another.

Reflecting on her frustration after struggling to find assistance for her son more than 15 years ago after his ADHD and bipolar diagnoses, Misunderstood Einsteins founder and Action Day attendee, Cheryl Maxson, said, "It's gotten a little better, but not much."

She started the company after searching through the Yellow Pages and only coming up with two organizations that could help her son. She recalls being sent in circles in a territory that was new and unknown to her. She said she was given many "politically polite" reasons as to why agencies couldn't help her and wasn't sure where she could turn. Maxson's mission is to fill in the holes in the system and to provide assistance to all.

"If I have to turn someone away, I turn them to someone," Maxson said.

Misunderstood Einsteins is just one organization that showed up to provide information and education at the event. Programs like AT Network, which provides technology to assist people with disabilities, and the California Association of Family Empowerment Centers provided resources to attendees as well.