Aurora rally protests budget cuts for mentally disabled

Chanting "Save our services," several hundred angry parents, workers and clients rallied Friday at Provena Mercy Medical Center in Aurora to oppose potential cuts to the state's human resources budget.

The rally, held outside the Mental Health and Mental Retardation Services building, was organized by a coalition of area organizations that help the mentally disabled.

The group hopes to push legislators to vote against the current state budget on July 1. Several of the participating agencies, including Family Focus, Hesed House and Mutual Ground, complained of potential budget cuts as high as 75 percent and chanted "It's not right, it's not working, just fix it."

Rhae Houle, an employee at the Association for Individual Development in Aurora, or AID, said the cuts could affect many of the state's most vulnerable residents.

"In the house where I work with AID, we serve people with severe disabilities and - if these cuts go into effect - anyone without a legal guardian or family around would end up homeless or in an institution," Houle said.

The association currently offers residential services, physical therapy, job training and more to people with mental disabilities. Houle said the cuts also could leave some of these people without Medicare, psychological services and more.

The rally attracted elected state and local officials, including Aurora Mayor Tom Weisner, state Rep. Linda Chapa LaVia and state Sen. Chris Lauzen. Weisner conceded some cuts might be necessary, but said he opposes the allocations of the current state budget.

"Maybe it's going to take concessions from all around," Weisner said. "What I don't like to see is social services to take the brunt of it. We're asking leaders to act as human beings and not politicians."

Several rally participants shouted from the crowd calling for lawmakers to approve a tax increase. And Chapa LaVia said she is prepared on July 1 to vote in favor of one.

"No one likes to take an income tax rate vote but, tell me, where are going to cut?" she said, drawing huge cheers from the crowd.

Lauzen told the crowd he disagrees with forcing human service agencies to endure such a large decrease in funds.

"We know it's wrong to have the spending allocated the way it is," Lauzen said.