STOP “DANGEROUS” BUDGET CUTS THREATENING DISABLED PATIENTS, DISABLED SAN DIEGO MAN IMPLORES: RALLY SET FOR FRIDAY

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 By Miriam Raftery

 

January 25, 2012 (San Diego) – Raul Carranza has Muscular Dystrophy. He cannot walk, move his arms, eat or even breathe on his own. He requires round-the-clock nursing care—care denied after Medi-Cal slashed his nursing hours due to state budget cuts.

 

Last year I moved away to UCLA by myself and lived away from my family for a whole semester,” he said. “Unfortunately I had to come back home to San Diego at the end of December." That's because the state cut his nursing hours, leaving him unable to survive on his own.

 

Now Carranza is asking for help to draw attention to how budget cuts are hurting disabled Californians. “Please join us so we can stop these cuts and save not only my life," he says, "but thousands of others.”

Over the course of the last three years the state of California has approved approximately $15 billion in cuts to health care and social services, hurting those who cannot afford to care for themselves. These cuts have created hardships for California’s seniors, low-income families, children and people with disabilities and have cost the state thousands of jobs because of cuts from In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) and Medi-Cal.

 

The tragic consequences of these cuts will likely be that many patients will be forced from their homes shared with loved ones and instead, placed into inhumane and understaffed state institutions and hospitals.

 

Carranza will be joined by patients, public sector workers and community members in front of the Statehouse at 1350 Front Street in downtown San Diego at 12 noon Friday, January 27 to call attention to the "dangerous" budget cuts threatening the lives of disabled patients and the jobs of people who care for them. 

 

Hear from patients, caretakers and labor organizers to find out what the community, can do to help. This will be followed by a march to Broadway that will be led by patients with disabilities.

 

“One Voice can bring attention and change to millions, Carranza believes.

For Additional Information About Budget Cuts And Raul’s Story Visit: www.raulcarranza.org

 


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