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RHD, clients, partners rally in Harrisburg to advocate for vulnerable populations at risk in PA budget crunch
3/7/2010 9:46:36 AM
Contact: Kevin Roberts, RHD Communications, kevinr@rhd.org
Resources for Human Development is mobilizing public support to fight for services for the state’s most vulnerable populations with a March 9 rally in Harrisburg at the state capitol at 11 am. Many leading providers and support organizations, including the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center, the Mental Health Alliance of Southeast Pennsylvania and the Southeast Pennsylvania Coalition for Essential Services, are joining together to urge lawmakers to take a balanced approach to the budget in times when needed services are most at risk of devastating cuts.
“We cannot continue to balance the budget on the backs of the most vulnerable people,’’ said Valerie Brown, director of Concepts, a residential program for people with developmental disabilities and mental illness. “These are not the hard choices – these are the easy choices, because this is a group without deep pockets and giant lobbying firms. These are the people who are advocating for themselves, who have made choices to be productive and have grown by leaps and bounds in these supports. And they fear for the quality of their care, and for their quality of life.”
RHD's clients, people battling issues from mental illness to homelessness, will attend the rally to make their case. Afterward, they'll make legislative visits to lawmakers' offices to put a face on this issue.
Last year’s budget cuts were devastating for the state’s nonprofits and the people they serve, weakening investment in citizens and vital services. Around the state nonprofits were forced to cut critical services, lay off employees and incur significant financial burdens while waiting for the budget resolution.
Reducing support for the essential services Pennsylvanians rely on only costs the state more in the long run. The people who require those services do not disappear – they show up in emergency rooms, in shelters unable to accommodate them, and in an already overburdened judicial system. Taxpayers will still pay to provide for people in need. But in most cases, they’ll do it poorly and pay more for it.
Investing in these services provides children, working families and people with disabilities the support they need – and saves jobs for those people who support them. Taking a balanced approach to Pennsylvania’s budget while protecting our most vulnerable citizens is the right thing to do for our state, and will help set us all on a sound course for the future.
Following the rally, the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center will host a budget summit examining solutions to the state's budget issues.
