Save Money, Hurt The Hurting
Because I was asked to spread the word by truth_behind_white_lies, here’s a note she sent me after seeing my current post on Autisable:
“I noticed that you have a featured post on Autisible and I’m really trying to reach out to as many people as possible.
In Illinois, they’ve proposed a disaster budget that involves cutting all of the funding to disabled children. I didn’t think it would really happen. I didn’t think it would get through… but just today, we got a letter from the Department of Human Services, stating that it’s happening and that as of September 30th, the residential facility that my 15 year-old Autistic brother lives in… is going to have NO funding, in which case it would close on October 10th of this year, impacting not only us, but every family with a child in that facility or any other.
Now, what I’m requesting from you is very simple. I’m trying to recruit people to spread the word. The more people who talk, the more circulation… and the more rallies and letters to the politicians.
We have a VERY small number in comparison to those who do NOT have an autistic relative, and so we need to get as many voices as possible, whether or not they’re from Illinois.”
So all you Illinois natives and whatnot, spread the word. Protest, write to your senators, do whatever you can! 
Update, 9:52pm central: Some links for those who want to get involved and help:
http://www.carmitimes.com/news/x986610407/State-officials-choose-to-cut-children
http://www.sj-r.com/news/x931194941/Budget-cuts-would-decimate-human-service-providers
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Illinois is not the only place this is happening.
They are cutting the budget of a great deal of social service plans.
It is ridiculous.
Thanks for the links!
I found this link:
http://www.progressillinois.com/2009/7/5/features/tracking-state-budget-fallout
but as I am not an Illinois resident I don’t have information to add to it.
I’m having difficulty finding other resources on the matter, that seems to be the frustrating reality of finding state information.
As a resident of Illinois, I can say this absolutely happening. The problem is, even if every family member sent in their letters and emails or protested outside offices…Our numbers are too small. As voters, we don’t even begin to qualify as a power.
Mainstream wants the budget cuts. Why? These services are part of the “welfare” budget. While if you go around and ask the common taxpayer if they would want these types of services to the disabled cut, they would say no. They claim they want the moochers off welfare. They claim they want the drug addicts and those who refuse to get a job off welfare….as if that is the bulk of a welfare budget. The problem is that they don’t tell their politicians this. They just say…”end welfare”.
Another small group of right wing nutcases seem to think that if all services are cut, families will be able to find a way to save the money to put their kids in homes (the average cost of residential care is 100k per year). They also seem to think that the majority of families out there have endless resources and support from fellow family members. They refuse to use critical thought to come to the realization that even loving families can be short on resources. We grow old and we die and our kids are left with nowhere to go. They claim that churches will provide…churches are already tax-exempt and I don’t see them opening and running no cost or low cost group homes….heck, most don’t even have Sunday school programs that will accommodate the developmentally disabled community.
Families, friends, and those those who with the developmentally disabled are already advocating and it is not working. We need to educate the public at large and educate them with facts and real numbers and ways their tax dollars can actually be put to great use. We need to help them see that our children are assets to be valued, if not treasured. We need the “average” citizen to advocate for our kids as well. Until then, nothing will change and services will continue to be cut. The politicians listen to the big voting blocks. We need “Main Street” on our side.
That is very sad. i just hope that many will participate in your
activity so that your voice will be heard. It is really difficult to
live in this life as a healthy people, what more if we have a
disability? That is more difficult. Then they will cut the funding in
the people with disability. It is like saying that we should be healthy
always. But what about those disabled people who cannot sustain for
themselves? What will happen to them. They need more than just too survive everyday. Please participate in this. So that we will be able to knock at the hearts of the senators.