Disabling Cuts
Last Friday at his home, Anderson rolled into his back garden with Mowgli and two of his cats, Toto and Chloe, close by. He unlatched the gate and pushed it open by rolling forward in his chair, and then shut it the same way. Now they were in the alley. It smelled like cut grass.
Mowgli limped down to the street corner and flopped in the shade of an overgrown fruit tree. The cats gamboled.
“See this tree?” said Anderson. “It produces the best red delicious apples.”
Anderson likely won’t lose his IHSS care because of the high level of his needs. But the other cuts will affect him. His dentures will remain ill-fitting. He won’t make his regular trip to the eye doc. Plus, he fears he’ll lose some of his providers who are also living on low incomes.
“One of my ladies, she has a severe dental problem, and when they shut down the Medi-Cal payments for dentistry, how’s she going to get her teeth fixed and be able to work?” Anderson asked.
All in all, he’s worried he might end up in a nursing home. After the mortgage is paid, and all the other house-related bills, he’s afraid he’ll be left with not enough to get by.
“Already, at the end of the month I’m broke,” he said. “And sometimes I go into minus in my account.”
This Friday, June 5, the Tri-County Independent Living Center is holding a rally on the front lawn of the Humboldt County Courthouse in Eureka to protest these proposed cuts. The rally takes place from 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.
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44th Annual Kinetic Grand Championship Race
STAFF PICK / events, art, outdoors, sports, for kids, free / 9 a.m.-6 p.m. A 3-day, 42-mile kinetic sculpture race over land, sand, mud and water! LeMans start at the Noon Whistle on the Arcata Plaza. Follow the race through Manila, Eureka and into Ferndale on Memorial Day for the Glorious Finish. kineticgrandchampionship.com. 889-3024.
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events / 8 a.m.-noon. Woodside Preschool, 900 Hodgson St, Eureka. www.woodsidepreschool.com. 445-9132.
Lanphere Dunes Restoration
STAFF PICK / outdoors / 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Meet at Pacific Union School. Help remove non-native invasives at the Lanphere Dunes Unit of the Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Tools and gloves provided, wear work clothes and bring water. Carpool to the protected site. 444-1397.
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TWO Comments
Comment / By Wren / June 4, 2009, 7:20 p.m.
Advocates need to stand up against unreasonable proposals that call for the elimination of programs that impact Children and Adults with Disabilities, Mental Health Needs, Seniors and Low Income Families. Please take 1 hour out of your day tomorrow to protest these programs cuts. Rally/March tomorrow Friday, June 5th 11:30-12:30 Humboldt County Courthouse. We are one community together.
Comment / By Louise / June 5, 2009, 4:19 p.m.
A $20 cut? Boy, that would be nice. In fact, SSI has already been cut: from $907 at the beginning of this year, to $870— back to last year’s level— on May 1, with a further cut to $850 coming in July, and a threatened cut to $830 in September. I make that $77. Oh, and California SSI recipients are still prohibited from applying for food stamps.