Me Too!

State budget talks are under way and the press is reporting how it affects the different perspectives – education, pension, state stores. A minor mention is made of “human services.” Hmm. That term means nothing to those not utilizing those “services.” As it is in terminology, so it is in real life. Hide the pain, hide the people so that we don’t have to be faced with someone else’s need. If we saw it, we might have to make a choice to “look away” or “help” and it’s so much easier not to have to decide. It worked when folks were sent to an institution as children – help but don’t see, someone will take care of them. It works in other segregated settings – someone is taking care of it, I don’t have to think about if it’s the best way or if there are new ways to give them support during the day.

Families are hurting. People need help. Kids are graduating school and there is no money available to provide any “service.” No money for “services” means the child with a disability is left sitting at home with nowhere to go and losing the skills that were developed over the years. Because they cannot stay alone, mom or dad has to quit their job to stay home too. No money for “services” means a woman trying to find a job is not able to get someone to help her be gainfully employed because funding employment supports is not a priority – even though we would get a federal match 4 times what we spend (that’s like going to the grocery store where they’re offering “Buy One Get 4 Free” and not taking the other four.

The fault lies with us too. If every person or family who needs the “services” called their legislator or wrote a letter to the paper or stood up and said, “Me Too!” it might be different. Some don’t because all of life’s energies are going into making the day work from dawn to dusk (and many throughout the evening hours). Some don’t because when you’ve been ignored for so many years, you accept it as normal. Some don’t because it seems it will do no good, so why try?

So legislators continue to look away. But people still hurt.