inhuman service

i work in human services, with people who are developmentally disabled. RI has been good about funding services for the last 20 years or so, on part because of the late Senator John Chafee. Now that the state is in a deficit, they needed to take a look at the funding. The agency i work for, along with the others, set about working with the state department that oversees us, hoping the changes would not only reduce costs but keep them high in quality.

The agency i work for has reduced it's operations by $2.5 million over the last three years. Uncomfortable, yes, but necessary. However, it isn't enough for those currently in power. Now the cuts are malicious, the climate of working together is no longer and we are now running homes staffed at a dangerous level.

i am fortunate to have a job, and will do what it takes to keep people with disabilities out of institutions. But the onslaught of attacks from our legislators over the past few weeks has beaten us down; we all walk around like zombies, lifeless and decaying, wondering where this bloodlust has come from.

Human services is just the next scapegoat in the wave of many others: illegal immigration, same sex couples...if you're vulnerable, you're next.