Say NO to Disability Funding Cuts In NC!

The 2009 North Carolina General Assembly was given a difficult task:  Balance the budget in NC, in spite of an estimated $4-5 Billion shortfall.

The 2009 NC State Budget (SB 202) has within its pages many difficult cuts, but none so troubling as the dramatic funding cuts for Mental Health.

Under the current House version of the budget bill, the General Assembly plans to decrease payments to local disability service providers (Caregivers, Mentors, Habilitation & Rehabilitation Technicians, Nurses, etc.), as well as decrease funding to mental hospitals and reduce the amount of Community Service provision (services provided to individuals with severe needs outside of an institutional environment and in their own communities...these services mean that patients can live at home, with their families, and possibly achieve independence and DIGNITY).  Families will also be forced to co-pay for equipment, medicine and services.

In particular, the cuts for these community services, and specifically the CAP/MRDD program, will lead to severe financial hardship, increased dependence on State Mental Institutions, an increase in the developmentally disabled and mentally retarded in jails and prisons (not to mention the increased strain on the local law enforcement) and many more terrifying outcomes.

It is vital that we stand up to this travesty, that we raise our voices in opposition and provide a voice for those who have none.

The picture to your right is of my family, my brother Max, my mother and my grandmother celebrating his 24th birthday.  We will be one of the many families affected if CAP/MRDD services are cut in NC. 
 
We, the undersigned, demand that the vital CAP/MRDD services and other important mental health services are not cut out of the NC State Budget!  We believe that these cuts are dangerous and will only further damage our fragile mental health system in North Carolina.  We know that the disabled and their loved ones will suffer, families will be torn apart, and irreparable damage will be done to the ones who need us most:  those with developmental disabilities and retardation who are unable to speak for themselves.

Thank you for raising your voice for the voiceless,
Bambi Weavil and The Weavil Family
Wilmington, NC
CallToActionNC.com