The Arc of Virginia Rally

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Delmarvanow

Fund Community Services, Arc of Virginia Urges

By Laura Peters
Capital News Service

RICHMOND – Virginia should help people with developmental disabilities live in the community – instead of housing them in state institutions.

That was the message that the Arc of Virginia, an advocacy group for developmentally disabled people, sent last week to state officials. More than 100 people attended the group’s rally at the Capitol, warning against proposed state budget cuts for community-based services.

“We’re dealing with significant reductions. There are reductions of support services,” Howard Cullum, president of Arc of Virginia, told the people who gathered around the Bell Tower at Capitol Square.

“This is not looking good. We recognize there are significant money problems, and we accept that, but we don’t like it. We recognize the difficult task the governor and the General Assembly have.”

Attendees at Monday’s rally held signs and pictures of people who would be affected by the budget cuts. The Arc of Virginia is pushing for programs that serve developmentally disabled people in the community instead of putting them in state institutions.
Virginia’s proposed budget would cut state funding for community-based services by more than $270 million.

“The problem is, we’re about to go backwards. We’re about to continue a policy that says people with significant disabilities need to be removed from society,” Cullum said. “We don’t believe that’s the way to go.”

Catherine Olson showed people at the rally the cost difference between state institutions and community services: The average annual cost of operating a Virginia institution is $194,000 per person – but for a community-based service, it is $95,000 per person.

Community-based services are not only cheaper to operate but also cheaper to build, Olson said. It costs $23 million to construct a 70-bed institution but just $8.4 million for a 90-bed community-based service.

“Why in God’s earthly name are they giving money to the people in the institutions when we need it more?” Olson said.

The rally participants marched through Capitol Square to the Civil Rights Memorial and then on to the General Assembly Building. There, they filed onto every floor to hold a vigil for more than 7,300 Virginians who are on waiting lists for services and others who are institutionalized. They stood for 47 minutes for the $47 million needed to rebuild and renovate state institutions.

Linda Trippet of McLean traveled to Richmond on behalf of her daughter, who is 26 years old and living with her. Trippet also cares for her elderly mother, who has Alzheimer’s.
“I’m here to show support,” Trippet said. “It doesn’t make sense to choose an institution. There is a solution.”

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About the Arc of Virginia

The Arc of Virginia’s mission is to advocate for the rights and full participation of all children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
The organization speaks out on issues that affect not only people with disabilities but also their families.

The Arc has six core values: people first; democracy; visionary leadership; community
participation; diversity; and integrity and excellence.

“The Arc believes that all people with intellectual and related developmental disabilities have strengths, abilities and inherent value; are equal before the law; and must be treated with dignity and respect,” the group’s Web site says.

For more about the organization, visit the Arc’s:

Web site, http://thearcofva.org/

Twitter feed, http://twitter.com/TheArcofVA

Facebook page, www.facebook.com/TheArcofVA