1/28/13: Please Testify on Cuts to DEL & General Assistance

This announcement is from Chris Rusnov of Maine Equal Justice and Larry Dansinger of Resources for Organizing and Social Change (ROSC). Please share widely (and quickly, if possible), and feel free to cross-post.

There is a public hearing on the Supplemental Budget to deal with the 2013 budget deficit. It will take place on Monday, Jan. 28 before the Appropriations Committee in room 228 of the State House. The governor proposes to eliminate the Drugs for the Elderly and Disabled program (DEL) and to reduce General Assistance spending by half. The committee will hear testimony on DEL at 10:00am and on General Assistance at 1:00pm. 

Please help identify people who might be affected by these cuts. It is critical to help legislators understand how these cuts will affect people served by these programs. We are looking for any senior or person with disabilities who gets help paying for their prescription medicines through DEL, and any individual or family who has received help from General Assistance in the past year (especially great if help from GA enabled them to continue working or prevented homelessness). 

Once you have identified a person, ask them to call me or get their permission for me to call them. I will talk with them to make sure they will be affected, and if they agree, will help them write down their story. 

With your help, we may be able to stop these cuts. 

Chris Rusnov
Maine Equal Justice
126 Sewall St., Augusta 04330
207-626-7058 ext 204
1-866-626-7059 ext 204

Mainers with Acquired Brain Injury Tell Their Stories

In the past month, the recently established Acquired Brain Injury Advisory Council has held three hearings around the state of Maine to "assess whether [people living with brain injury] are getting the help they need," according to a story by Maine Public Broadcasting Network.

An estimated 7,000 Mainers live with the long-term effects of brain injury. While most people who experience some form of brain injury recover, others -- either because their injury was severe or for unknown reasons from seemingly less severe injuries -- experience difficulties with memory, organization, concentration, or issues like walking and talking.

A major theme that emerged at the hearings was the need for better infrastructure (there are just nine rehab clinics in the state and long waiting lists) as well as more education and awareness. Medical professionals need to learn to better recognize and treat long-term effects of concussion and other brain injury and the general public also needs to know more.

Troy Morgan, of Farmington, has had three separate instances of brain injury in his life and says, "We're normal people, but we do have different ways of learning." He says lack of transportation and understanding by employers has made finding work difficult.

Click here to read or listen to MPBN's story on the brain injury hearings.