Advocates warn against further social services cuts
| Friday, Jan 08 2010 06:23 PM
Last Updated Friday, Jan 08 2010 06:24 PM
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Alex Horvath / The Californian Independent Living Center Systems Change Advocate Brandy Morgan spoke for the need to keep "Family Recovery Plan" and is worried about the Governor's cuts that are coming today. Pictured behind Brandy at the news conference are Lou Lopez and Dane Geer.
Alex Horvath / The Californian Jenise Miller talked about her need for denture help and how it improved her life. Miller is worried about the Governor's cuts that are coming today and how it will impact other people needing help from health and human service programs.
Jenise Miller of Bakersfield had several teeth pulled last February, and suffered for nine months before being approved for dentures.
"I felt horrified and traumatized, like I'm not going to have teeth," Miller said Friday. "I had no self-esteem and I couldn't eat right."
Miller, a Medi-Cal patient, was speaking at a press conference at the Independence Living Center of Kern County to show how people depend on the program, which could be cut under Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's final proposed state budget.
Nancy Gomez, Southern California lead agency organizer of Health Access, denounced cuts that have already been made and the ones the governor would unveil two hours later.
"We deserve better. The cuts have real human consequences," Gomez said.
Miller applied for Denti-Cal after giving birth to her son last January because the adult coverage would be cut off in July. She applied well before the deadline to get her upper and lower partial, but was denied three times.
After her third denial, Miller went to Greater Bakersfield Legal Assistance and it helped her file for a state hearing. Instead of going through with the hearing, Miller's case was reconsidered and her approval granted.
With a new set of teeth, Miller said, she was finally able to smile at her baby son. Before, she felt like a monster because her son would always look away from her.
"He smiled a big ol' smile like his mom -- I was happy," Miller said.
Brandy Morgan, who works at the Independent Living Center, said she's looking to legislators to help save the services disabled and other in-need citizens have, such as the In-Home Supportive Services. If this service is dropped, some disabled citizens may have no choice but to give up their independence and live in a nursing home.
"I say this because the price involved with the cuts that he is making are going to be a snowball of damage and the cost related to fix what he has proposed is going to be astronomical," Morgan said.
