Developmentally disabled can’t wait for a rainy day – A letter to the LA Daily News

By Lena Rivkin, Studio City
(January 29, 2016)

Re “State of the State: Jerry Brown urges caution — and funding for roads and health care” (Jan. 21):

While Gov. Jerry Brown stresses saving funds for a “rainy day,” while his political coffers brim with millions of dollars to fight for causes he deems worthy, funding for California’s most vulnerable citizens remains woefully low.

Many developmentally disabled adults are essentially adult orphans, with families that cannot provide additional, costly support. By skimping on allocations for the disabled, these forgotten citizens are losing life-sustaining programs at drastically underfunded, non-profit agencies like New Horizons and Tierra del Sol Foundation.

While Gov. Brown states that he cares about the disappearing middle class and wage stagnation, he also manages to turn his back on the non-profits that employ (and underpay) many able-bodied Californians who care for our most defenseless and powerless citizens.