Pasted below is the text of my letter to Governor Pat Quinn regarding cuts
to Home Services in Illinois.
=====start letter text=====
August 9, 2009
Honorable Governor Pat Quinn
207 Statehouse
Springfield, IL 62706
To Honorable Governor Quin:
I am writing to strongly urge that you reinstate funding to the Home
Services Program so that Centers for Independent Living (CILs) can continue
going about the job of helping individuals with disabilities live
independently in the community with qualified personal assistants helping
them meet their daily needs. As a board member of the DuPage Center for
Independent Living, the recent decision to change the program so that these
centers are not involved causes our center to lose one staff person.
But more important than that, the need for personal assistants to help
people with disabilities live independently in the community is not going
away, and in fact, is growing with the aging of the population. I ask you,
Governor Quin, if CILs like ours are not helping these individuals find
qualified P.A.s, then who wil? Will it be state employers at a much higher
cost to Illinois than CILs?
CILs are community based organizations who employ staff that are in the best
position to help consumers seeking Personal Assistant services to find
qualified P.A.s so they can remain independent in the community. If we
don't have a strong, well funded home services program, then many of these
individuals will have to move into institutions such as nursing homes.
This is wrong on many levels. For one thing, it costs the state of Illinois
far more to house someone in an institution than it does to allow them to
live independently in the community with the support services they need.
For another, forcing people with disabilities to live in institutions
violates the 1999 Olmstead decision issued by the U.S.Supreme Court which
holds that people with disabilities have the right to live in the community.
Illinois already has an abysmal record of complying with this decision and
your decision regarding home services will make it worse.
But most importantly, people with disabilities who are forced to live in
nursing homes wen they could live independently lose self esteem and
confidence, and are not in control of their own lives. They are told wen to
get up, when and what to eat at each meal, when they can use the restroom,
ETC. It is more difficult for them to see their families and friends when
they want too. They may be forced to room with someone they do not know.
They have few if any opportunities to become employed or pursue an
education. No person should have to live like this against their wil. Yet,
this is what you are forcing people with disabilities who depend on the Home
Services Program to do.
Governor Quin, remember. The minority group of people with disabilities is
one that you or anyone else can join at any time. Would you want a member
of your family or close friend to not be able to live independently in the
community simply because there weren't individuals on the ground in the
community to help him or her find a personal assistant to help take care of
their basic needs? You wouldn't want that and people with disabilities
don't want that. We are people first. Please reinstate the Home Services
Program funding so that CILs can continue helping consumers find appropriate
personal assistant services so they can live independently in the community.
Thank you in advance for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
<my name>
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