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Missourians With Disabilities Rally For Rights
Hundreds of Missourians rallied Tuesday against cuts to disability services and promote equality for Missourians with and without disabilities.
They gathered for the Ninth Annual Disability Rights Legislative Day.
March is developmental disabilities month and Missourians packed the capitol rotunda on Tuesday for the state's one million people with disabilities. Meanwhile, the state House of Representatives is budget planning this week, which may mean cuts to Missouri's disability funding. Disability Rights Advocate Max Lewis said $500 million of the disability service budget is up for cuts, an amount he says is much larger than Missourians depending on the services can afford to lose.
"Persons with disabilities right now, they can't stand any more cuts." Lewis said. "This is the area that needs the most attention and needs to become more inclusive. If anything it needs to be expanded."
Marilyn Whittle from Rolla, Missouri has a mental disability and worries budget cuts may mean extra costs she can't afford.
"I've been having a really tough winter because my electric bill has been so high and my rent has been so high and it takes all the money that I have," Whittle said.
Lewis said the waiting list for developmental disability services is 5,000 Missourians long.
"So many people with disabilities without the help, they wind up in nursing homes and it's just not what we want. It's really turning the clock back." Lewis said. "We're talking about a basic necessity here of human rights. These people that are waiting to get on the waiting list, think of it as if it were your brother or sister."
Lewis advocates that people with disabilities talk to their elected officials about the importance of their services. He hopes the large turnout on Tuesday will increase awareness on the rights Missourians with disabilities deserve.
State Senator Wes Shoemyer spoke to the crowd Tuesday in support of equality and increased services for Missourians with disabilities. His daughter's success in independence amidst dealing with a mental disability inspired him to advocate for other Missourians.
"We in the government should reflect that value, that social compact. That if my neighbor needs some help, especially in the least of us, we'll never be all that we can be in the state until everyone can be all that they can be." Shoemyer said. "I'm always proud about making sure that the community-based services are there, that the reimbursement that we need for those services are there, for them to have their boards, their commissions are there."
No cuts to disability service funding have been decided on yet.
(2010-03-23 / KOMU)
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