Governor David Patterson of New York has recently proposed budget cuts to many branches of government that directly affect people in the special needs field. The budget cuts would mean a cut in the services provided to the people we serve. They could even mean cuts to direct care staffing.
Four ladies who live in the residence where I work volunteer, work, and are very active in the community. When we sat down and expressed what was going on at the capital they wanted to go there to speak their minds, so they came to Albany on November 10, along with a few of us staff and other people from the ARC chapter I work with.
The vigil we attended had about a hundred people (there were others around the state, and some had as many as 250 people). There were direct care and administrative staff along with family members, advocates, and the folks themselves. Signs and stickers stating “Don’t I Matter” were handed out, along with quotes expressing everyone’s concerns.
A few days before the vigil, we staff members and the ladies decided to make shirts to wear to show that we were unified. We got some white shirts and some paint and got to work! Each lady chose a color and one by one we painted our hands and placed them on the shirts. On top we wrote: “Someone at ARC has touched my life.” We thought this could be a great way to show that we direct care workers and the people we serve all care about each other. On the day of our vigil, everyone who went from our house wore the matching shirts. It gave a great feeling of empowerment.
The governor never came out to talk to us, which was disappointing. We sat from one o’clock to four o’clock in the evening, having driven down an hour to be at the capital. There was a great feeling of togetherness, though. The ladies seemed to really enjoy the experience. None of them had ever been to the capital before.
There were people from all different areas and for lots of different reasons. People came as staff and as family. Most importantly, the people who would be directly affected by these cuts were there. The people that we direct care workers serve stood in the governor’s war room with stickers and signs asking Governor Patterson to think about what he was doing. For us direct care staff, it was a big deal to realize how many of us this budget cut would effect.
Sadly, since the vigil, Governor Paterson and the government did decide to pass the bill, which will lead to dramatic cuts. The Senate’s side alone of the cuts equals $37 million. The full results of this vote are not seen yet, and will probably take a while to be finally settled, and numbers released. With these cuts we will soon see many changes.
On a personal note, it’s sad that the people we serve will be suffering these cuts just as much if not more than the staff and people who work with them. I have been with Warren-Washington County ARC for just over a year now, and I have seen how everyone in the agency has pulled together for each other in times of need. I was sad to see that our government could not pull together for them.
The ladies I work for have become like family to me, and to most anyone who has gotten the pleasure to work for them. The same could be said for many of the people that work in the agency. The people we serve should be given every chance to succeed in life and to thrive. Budget cuts of this measure challenge that belief.
We hope that something will change so things improve. It is important that we direct care workers be given the resources we need to help the people we serve.
Rachael Musial
