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Volume 29, Number 6
June 10, 2018
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Services face uncertainties after veto
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by Access Press staff
SERVICES To page 5
When someone is useful only matters if you value people by their use. Corinne Duyvis
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Senators Jim Abeler and John Hoffman, flanked by many disability community members, spoke out against the vetoes.
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Supports, special education funds fall to governor's veto pen by Jane McClure Months of work disappeared with a few pen strokes as Gov. Mark Dayton May 23 vetoed the 2018 Minnesota Legislature’s major bills. Dayton nixed the tax and supplemental budget bills, sparking a war of words with the Republican-led House and Senate. The vetoes include money to rectify a looming seven percent cut in waiver services and cuts to children’s mental
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health residential facilities. (See related stories.) Emergency school funding for special education was also a huge casualty of the veto pen. A special session doesn’t appear likely, so many initiatives community members worked hard to pass are now set aside until 2019. That’s a tough pill to swallow for Minnesota’s disability community. Many people spent the final weeks of the session putting in long hours to advocate
Lack of progress on mental health Page 4 City becomes autism-friendly Page 6 First-ever awards given Page 9 Orchestra unveils new concerts Page 11
VETO To page 7
People Incorporated founder devoted life to others by Access Press staff Rev. Harry Maghakian is remembered as someone who helped transform the care of Minnesotans with mental illness. What began as a program for homeless veterans needing a place to go evolved into the nonprofit People Incorporated, one of the Upper Midwest’s largest community mental health services providers. Maghakian died May 15 at age 94, with family members at his bedside. But his work to help people with disabilities live with hope, dignity and purpose continues today. His work began at Dayton Avenue Presbyterian Church in St. Paul in 1962, in what was then a struggling neighborhood. He and his wife Judy bought a home in the community and dedicated themselves to helping others. In an interview for a People Incorporated publication, Maghakian said “Together with this unique congregation, we discovered a line that gave us our direction. ‘The agenda of the church must be written by the world.’ We all took this seriously and worked to bring new life to this aged building with banners, color, a message of hope and belonging. We were energized by the people who came in, looking for a place to call home.” “It was as quiet revolution. We didn’t know it at the time,” the publication stated. “Setting up in an inner-city church
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One of the biggest disappointments of the 2018 legislative session is the failure to address a seven percent cut to the funding many Minnesotans with disabilities rely on to live, work and participate in their communities. The first round of the cut takes effect July 1. With no special legislative session to address the cut and other budget issues, many Minnesotans with disabilities face additional challenges on top of the critical workforce shortage. The first cut will affect tens of thousands of Minnesotans who receive what are called “unbanded” services under the Disability Waiver Rate System (DWRS). Other cuts could take effect in the future, affecting thousands more people. What was considered to be an interim fix to the initial cut was cast aside by Gov. Mark Dayton’s veto of this year’s supplemental budget bill. After a high-profile advocacy campaign, Dayton, the House and Senate had reached agreement as to how to rectify the cut. But changes to address the cut were wrapped into a larger funding package that Dayton said he simply couldn’t support. As of Access Press deadline, there was no sign of a special session to address the cut or other outstanding budget and tax issues. The Best Life Alliance, a consortium of more than 130 groups that has worked tirelessly on the staffing wage and supports issues, had a strong response. “What should have been a no-brainer for legislative leaders and Governor Dayton – to quickly pass a fix to the regulatory policy glitch causing the cut and return tens of millions of dollars back to disability services – was allowed to get swept up in the political mudslide of this legislative session,” said Best Life Alliance Chairperson Judy Marder. Marder is the parent of a child with disabilities. “Now, parents like me, people with disabilities who direct their own support services, and organizations which provide community-based supports, are left struggling to understand how to fill the gaping hole where this funding would have gone.” A May 23 disability community rally planned to urge Dayton to sign the budget bill turned into outcry over the veto. Speaker after speaker said they were disappointed in the failure to address the funding cut. Best Life Alliance members said they’ll continue to push for a special session. While the veto is a set-back that will have huge ramifications for many people across the state, it is not the end of their advocacy. They are committed to continuing to work this summer and
Rev. Harry Maghakian is shown with his wife Judy. basement so that men in a nearby board house would have a place to go. Vets who were sick with what we now know was mental illness, post-traumatic stress disorder. Self-medicating with drugs and alcohol … We didn’t know much about mental illness, but we found out.” A nearby boarding home for homeless veterans was a catalyst. “We saw them
wandering around in a daze every day, therapeutically addicted,” Maghakian said in an interview. “We opened the basement, set up some chairs, a coffee pot, and some ashtrays, and took down the No Smoking signs. Taking down the walls that isolated us from them. They shared their despair. their voices and stories touched the very meaning of what it means to be human beings in community. They became our mentors in helping shape a program that cares about the dignity and common good of everyone.” Four other Presbyterian Churches joined the effort. Maghakian described the start of People Incorporated as a “people power” movement right from the start. Volunteers helped found a halfway house for men in recovery. Board members rolled up their sleeves and helped with everything from painting walls to hiring staff. “We chose our name without a lot of thought,” Maghakian recalled when People Inc. reached its 40th anniversary. “We said, ‘Well, we’re dealing with people, what about ‘People Incorporated?’ We had that ‘just do it’ kind of attitude.” “But it really says something about who we are. We saw people being treated as less than human, and came together to help, adding in others along the way.” In an interview with the Pioneer Press,
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