Center For Communications, Hearing And Deafness

I have had a couple of opportunities to work with this group on a couple of cases. It's a really good bunch of people they have there.

It's good to see them get some recognition and good press.

Walker's Point To Get Funding

Good for them:

Congresswoman Gwen Moore (D-Wisc.) today announced that Walker's Point Youth and Family Center will receive $147,853 to continue their Basic Center program, focused on serving Milwaukee area teens and families. Since 1976, this project has provided temporary emergency shelter to young people who are homeless, runaways, or otherwise in crisis and provided services to empower youth, help them to resolve personal and family problems, strengthen family relationships, and support safe and stable homes.

“Centers like Walker’s Point are essential to ensuring that youth who find themselves in difficult situations have someplace to seek care, and that families going through hard, emotional times have some hope of being reunited,” Congresswoman Moore said. “Whether they are homeless, runaways, or experiencing some other type of crisis, it’s important that Milwaukee’s youth have someplace to stay besides the street – someplace where supportive services are offered and someone can look out for them. Without the temporary services offered by Walker’s Point, many youths would certainly find themselves in very dangerous situations.”

The Walker's Point Basic Center program provides 24-hour shelter, support services to young people, and 24-hour crisis counseling for individuals and families. The shelter provides programming in HIV prevention, and alcohol and drug prevention. Their aftercare program includes non-residential counseling services with the youth or the family and a six-week check-in with the ex-resident youth and parent(s) that had been involved in counseling.

I used to work for one of their other programs in my pre-County days. They do good work and fill a big gap left my the foster care system.

Walker And His Backers Are Clueless and Classless

On Friday, the was a "Put People First" rally at the Courthouse. The purpose was to emphasize the need to preserve services for the disabled, who are truly the most vulnerable among us.

Walker wouldn't meet with them. According to his tweet on Twitter, he was too campaigning with the Greater Milwaukee Committee. But that still doesn't explain why one of his twenty coffee-fetchers couldn't have taken the time to meet with them.

But the kicker is at the end of the column (emphasis mine):

Cindy Bentley said she was worried she might not be eligible for the expanded Family Care program and that she could lose county funding for the caregivers that help her live independently. Bentley said she had an intellectual disability.

"I need to keep my caregivers," she said. "Without them I couldn't live in my apartment and do well."

Walker said even if Bentley didn't qualify for Family Care, she would still be eligible for the same services through another county program.

Considering that this is what I do, I should know this: There is no other program that offers these services. If they do not qualify for Family Care, these people will lose their services within the year.

Cory Liebmann has more here.

But for me, the real outrage came from that Walkerophilic website, which posted this:

According to the JS, dozens rallied at the Milwaukee County Courthouse today for tax increases.

For anyone even remotely impressed – take a look at the rally put on by the Tax Payers a few weeks back.

These disabled people receive SSI checks that total less than a thousand dollars a month. Most of that is spent on room and board for their group homes. A great majority of them have only $80 per month in spending cash and that is only because state law states that they have to receive at least that much.

For 75 of these people to take the time and energy and their limited resources to get down to the courthouse is impressive. Especially since the day was cool, wet and dreary. To me, that means much more than any number of able-bodied, elitist Republicans attending a corporate-sponsored event on a nice day.

Especially when those 75 people are only asking to be allowed to live as independently as they can, while the other group was trying to prevent people from having access to health care.

Shame on Walker and his backers for such a disgraceful display of contempt for the most vulnerable among us.

Man, I Wish I Had Written That

No, seriously, I really, really wish I had written this:

It seems our tax dollars are plentiful for persistent private ventures and playgrounds, but not available for local service provision and sustaining a quality of life for all citizens.

Full post by Brewtown Gumshoe is here.

Good Executive, Bad Executive

It was recently announced by Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk that Dane County was able to secure a large state grant to help with their paratransit needs:

The state grant will help the county schedule and coordinate rides for those with special needs, help more people in need of transportation assistance, and be a one-stop shop for those in need of information and/or referrals for transportation programs.

The new state grant funded position will also oversee work by county purchase of service agencies to help people with disabilities better access public transit and accompany seniors on bus routes until riders are comfortable with taking transit. They will also help them with trip planning and safety awareness so they’re better able to use public transportation more independently.

On the other hand, Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker, who wants to be governor, recently announced that he wants to slash transit routes and raise fares, as well as slash services to the disabled and elderly.

I think I'm starting to feel county executive envy. Why can't we have a good one too?