Read Letter - PDD Budget Causing Family Stress Too
By Valerie McKinney
Written Feb. 22, 2010
A letter written to Mr. Wayne Cao, Calgary-Fort
Dear Mr. Cao, Last week, I got a phone call from my retired cousin just beside herself with anxiety. Her brother, who has Down syndrome, has been diagnosed with dementia. His condition causes him to have anger issues and my cousin says he has injured himself during these outbursts. For the past several years, he has been living in a superbly supportive environment with a PDD-funded caregiver. However, the caregiver has told my cousin that the current PDD budget will negatively and significantly affect the services she can provide, resulting in my cousin not being sure if her brother will be able to continue to live in that home. My cousin has also been told that she must start lining up unpaid supports for her brother. Where is she expected to go to get qualified unpaid supports? How is she expected to pay for supports that used to be covered by PDD funding? If her brother has to leave his current home, where is he expected to go? My cousin and their 80+ year old parents can't take him in. My cousin is also trying to care for her parents, both of whom have their own signficant medical issues. Despite the line that Minister Jablonski and the Stelmach government are trying to sell to the public, the current PDD budget is putting people with disabilities AND their family members in jeopardy. The families because the anxiety they are beginning to feel is getting to be unbearable for them. And I’ve listened to people who have said that, once services are cut by PDD, they are never re-instated again, even in the “good times.” When I hear what people like my cousin is going through, I wonder what I'm going to do when my husband needs supports. My husband has dementia and has had to retire. But I still have to work full time; he only gets a small pension and we still have a mortgage. Like my cousin and a lot of other people, I'm really concerned about our future. Will there be any services left at all when my husband can no longer stay at home alone? We have no family members able to or willing to help. With services and supports potentially being very costly on an individuals basis, I have no idea know how I would be able to pay for services without financial help. It concerns me that the message I'm hearing from this government is that families like mine and my cousin's are insignificant compared to balancing the almighty budget. Please remind the Premier and Minister that cutting public services don’t just put people with disabilities at risk, the anguish that it causes to families could result in a greater burden to Alberta Health Care (to treat emotionally-triggered diseases), higher personal debt, a possible increase in bankruptcies and foreclosures, and greatly diminished support for this government.
Written Feb. 22, 2010
Dear Mr. Cao, Last week, I got a phone call from my retired cousin just beside herself with anxiety. Her brother, who has Down syndrome, has been diagnosed with dementia. His condition causes him to have anger issues and my cousin says he has injured himself during these outbursts. For the past several years, he has been living in a superbly supportive environment with a PDD-funded caregiver. However, the caregiver has told my cousin that the current PDD budget will negatively and significantly affect the services she can provide, resulting in my cousin not being sure if her brother will be able to continue to live in that home. My cousin has also been told that she must start lining up unpaid supports for her brother. Where is she expected to go to get qualified unpaid supports? How is she expected to pay for supports that used to be covered by PDD funding? If her brother has to leave his current home, where is he expected to go? My cousin and their 80+ year old parents can't take him in. My cousin is also trying to care for her parents, both of whom have their own signficant medical issues. Despite the line that Minister Jablonski and the Stelmach government are trying to sell to the public, the current PDD budget is putting people with disabilities AND their family members in jeopardy. The families because the anxiety they are beginning to feel is getting to be unbearable for them. And I’ve listened to people who have said that, once services are cut by PDD, they are never re-instated again, even in the “good times.” When I hear what people like my cousin is going through, I wonder what I'm going to do when my husband needs supports. My husband has dementia and has had to retire. But I still have to work full time; he only gets a small pension and we still have a mortgage. Like my cousin and a lot of other people, I'm really concerned about our future. Will there be any services left at all when my husband can no longer stay at home alone? We have no family members able to or willing to help. With services and supports potentially being very costly on an individuals basis, I have no idea know how I would be able to pay for services without financial help. It concerns me that the message I'm hearing from this government is that families like mine and my cousin's are insignificant compared to balancing the almighty budget. Please remind the Premier and Minister that cutting public services don’t just put people with disabilities at risk, the anguish that it causes to families could result in a greater burden to Alberta Health Care (to treat emotionally-triggered diseases), higher personal debt, a possible increase in bankruptcies and foreclosures, and greatly diminished support for this government.
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