Friday, January 16, 2015

Gloria Rubalcaba's story:
My name is Annette and this is my story;
When I was born my mom was told I would not live to age 14 as I was born a quadriplegic and severely mentally retarded girl. With family love and care plus support and services of Eastern Regional Center I pass my longevity now I am 45 yrs. old.My mom is no longer able to care for me, she is not as strong as she was.
I now depend on care providers paid by Regional Center very loving and caring people. I can't imagine my future without this help. Don't let me down
Annette Rubalcaba

Gloria Rubalcaba, Los Angeles CA
Family member
Denna Zyskind's story:
I have been a vendor operating ARM homes and a community providers, who are struggling to make ends meet, forced to have additional staff on. The consumers want to go to program but can't.
The minimum wages increase from 8 to 9 dollars an hour was not fully reimbursed. I don't know who developed the program but it did not cover the costs of the increase. In addition we have started to pay medical insurance for the staff and we are so deep into the red. We need immediate help, or the whole system will collapse. We have worked so hard for the past thirty years. Now it looks like the end is near. You are the only ones that can come to the rescue. Please help us to continue to serve this incredible population.

Deena Zyskind, Glendora CA
Family member, community service provider
Suzanne Warner Company's story:
I work for a not for profit agency that provides services and supports to people with disabilities. I often hear how damaging it is in their lives when services are being reduced to save the state money. Thank you for restoring dental care for adults. There are many services that are under funded and cause agencies like ours to have to watch every penny. This often means that staff volunteer for fundraisers or do not get paid a wage that allows them to sustain their lives without a second or third job.
I have family members that have disabilities also and funding has not been there to support their needs. Do not allow services to continue on this path of cuts due to lack of funding, or a valuable group of people will be tragically be lost and forgotten. The people I work with hold jobs and are tax payers. They vote and contribute to our community everyday.

Suzanne Warner Company, Ukiah CA
Community service provider
Sandy Waterbury's story:
I am a single mother of a daughter with severe disabilities. My daughter needs 24 hour a day care and my biggest struggle currently is finding in home nursing help for my daughter. I work full-time and take care of her full-time. I work while she is in school. I cannot find someone for after school to help with her care needs.
I also worry about programs that will be available to her once she is out of post-secondary school. I want her to be happy in a local program.
In addition to this, the system can be very confusing and I consider myself knowledgeable, but still struggle at times. I deal with IHSS, SSI, CCS, Medi-Cal, school IEPs, Regional Center, etc. you name it. I find that the more I connect with others (families, etc.) the better able I am to help my daughter.

Sandy Waterbury, Camarillo CA
Family member


Velda Kelley's story:

Velda Kelley's story:
When you have a child with severe development disabilities the medical professionals can perhaps define it for you but they can not tell you how to live with it.  Diagnosis can sometimes be the easy part compared to living with it daily.  It is the services of the PRACTICAL PROFESSIONALS from the various  agencies under the Letterman Act that has made all the difference in the world for our family. Even though we had older children, when our daughter was born with developmental disabilities we had no clue in how to care for her.  We were so thankful that Inland Regional Center was there to come along side us for direction and training.  Regional Center is still vitally important in the life of our daughter for her ongoing well being and quality of life.  It is important to keep a solid core of services and to keep the agencies accountable.

Velda Kelley, CA
Family member
Chantal's story:
As a parent of a young adult with autism, we appreciate the San Diego Regional Center.However, due to budget cuts and changes in policy, we were required to go to mediation to get needed supports for our adult son so that he could leave our home and stay included in his community. We were able to do this. But how many families do not have the tenacity, the time, or the knowledge to do so?  

Chantal, San Diego CA
Family member, individual advocate, autism expert