From:
A Southbridge Constituent
To: Senator Moore
Senator
Moore:
I know you get a lot of invitations - from the Boy Scouts, the Chamber of
Commerce, and the Elks, to name a few. But I hope you will see this one
as extra special.
I am inviting you to take a day to Walk in My Shoes, and see what it's like to be one of the tens of thousands of people in the Commonwealth with intellectual and developmental disabilities who rely on state funding for critical services.
On Thursday, Feb. 25, more than a hundred people with disabilities, their families, the staff that work with them and volunteers visited the state house, bringing their own pair of shoes to highlight what's happening to to disability services in the recent budget. Some may have already visited your office!
Now, as one of your constituents, I want to show you first hand how the decisions you make in the Senate have a huge impact on my daily life.
With the cuts in the House 2 budget, the state will have cut DDS community-based services $49 million over the past year and $103 million the past two years.
This has meant a serious reduction in services to us, and it has influenced my/my family's quality of life. As someone involved with the chronically under-funded human services safety net, I can tell you this:
we are on the brink of disaster. We are willing to make changes and find creative efficiencies, but at the end of the day, I need you to make me and the disability community a funding priority.
That said, I am formally inviting you to walk in my shoes for a few hours, in my home, my day or employment program or my residence. You will have the opportunity to see the impact of reduced funding for yourself. Your presence could help publicize our plight in the district by inviting press to stop by during your visit.
Thank you for what you do for our community. I know you have some hard decisions ahead.
Thank you,
A
Southbridge Constituent
From:
Senator Moore
To: Southbridge Constituent
Dear
Southbridge Constituent,
Thank
you very much for this
information and for the
invitation to "walk in
your shoes."
I have received
several other similar
requests.
As the cousin of a
woman with Down's Syndrome,
I think I have some
understanding for the
hurdles that she, and her
aging parents (my Uncle and
Aunt) have faced over the
years.
In addition, my years
of work in health care and
with individuals and groups
advocating for those with
developmental disabilities
has given me a solid basis
for understanding and
appreciating the needs of
the developmentally
disabled.
I
think that my colleagues and
I in the Legislature
understand the needs and are
supportive of providing as
much as we can to be
helpful.
The problem, however,
is not a lack of
understanding of the needs
of the developmentally
disabled or a failure to
appreciate that budget cuts
in services will often
simply shift the burden to
others.
Our problem is the
severe budget conditions
facing this state, and every
other state in the country.
I
am working very hard, as the
President-Elect of the
National Conference of State
Legislatures to get the
President and Congress to
extend supplemental Medicaid
(FMAP) funding to the
states.
This will be a major
help in meeting our budget
shortfall this year in FY
2011 and, in fact, the
Governor has counted it in
his budget even though
Congress has yet to approve
the funding.
However, we will
still have a budget problem
in FY 2012 if the federal
government fails to give
states additional resources
and flexibility beyond FY
2011.
Please be assured
that I am virtually walking
in the shoes of the
developmentally disabled
community in working to find
a much funding as possible
to continue these important
programs and services.
Thank
you for your continued
advocacy for this important
cause.
Senator Richard T. Moore
This
site was created by Senator Richard T.
Moore to provide citizens with the opportunity
to post their suggestions for dealing with the drastic drop in state and local
revenues and for making government more
efficient and responsive.
