Countywide : Handicapped Protest Budget Stalemate

Facing the closure of many self-help programs for the disabled, more than 250 protesters in wheelchairs, crutches and walkers screamed out their anger in front of the State Building in Santa Ana Tuesday afternoon.

Debra Marsteller, director of the Vantage Program and the organizer of the protest, said that more than 20 programs in Orange County that are designed to help the developmentally disabled are in jeopardy and might force some of the recipients out on the streets because of the budget stalemate in Sacramento.

“Since July 1 of this year we have been receiving IOUs, and if we don’t receive some kind of action by the state we are in serious trouble,” Marsteller said.

Donald H. Graham, an administrator for the Developmental Disabilities Center in Orange County, which handles the distribution of funds from the state, said that his agency could do nothing for the disabled other than pay them with IOUs. And he also warns that things could get worse.

“If the budget isn’t passed by Aug. 28, which is the last working day of the month, there will be no money to pay employees,” Graham said. “We’ll have to close the office.”

Marsteller said the protest wasn’t aimed at potential budget cuts but at the damage that a continued delay might cause.

“We understand that almost every type of program is facing some kind of budget cut; that’s no problem,” Marsteller said. “But we need the Legislature and the governor to keep their promises and get this budget voted on.”

Amanda Dalzell, a director with Project Independence, which works with the disabled, said that without a budget, more than 300 disabled people who receive funding from the program will have to move out of their homes.

“They are going to lose their jobs and probably end up homeless,” Dalzell said. “If they don’t pass this budget soon there’s going to be lots of tears.”

One of the protesters, Paul Bedard, a disabled 33-year-old from Anaheim who works for Goodwill Industries, said he was afraid he was going to end up in the streets for the second time in his life.

“All of those rich people (in Sacramento) live like kings, and they don’t care about us,” Bedard said. “We want to take care of ourselves, but they won’t let us.”

Another disabled protester, Melissa Williams, 23, who works for Blockbuster Videos, said, “I want everyone to know that this is a good program and I’m afraid I will end up living in the streets if the budget isn’t passed.”

Not all of the people who congregated in front of the State Building were protesters.

Denice Robles, a 25-year-old clerk from Santa Ana, had noticed the several hundred protesters carrying signs despite their physical and mental handicaps.

“Some of the protesters could barely walk but they struggled with their signs in front of the entrance,” Robles said. “It would be horrible if they didn’t get the budget passed and some of these people were forced to live on the streets.”

One man, suffering from severe disabilities and without the use of his motor functions, struggled to speak but was drowned out by the crowd. For several minutes he struggled to speak when one of the program leaders noticed him turning red and bent over to hear what he said.

“What did he say?” asked an interested bystander.

The woman looked back answering, “He said if the budget isn’t passed we’ll be back.”