Poem: Like Me

Like Me

I went to my dad and said to him,
There's a new kid who's come to my school.
He's different from me and he isn't too cool.
No, he's nothing at all like me, like me,
No, he's nothing at all like me.

He runs in a funnyish jerkyish way
And he never comes first in a race
Sometimes he forgets which way is first base,
And he's nothing at all like me, like me,
No, he's nothing at all like me.

He studies all day in a separate class
And they say that it's called "Special Ed."
And sometimes I don't understand what he's said,
And he's nothing at all like me, like me,
No, he's nothing at all like me.

His face looks kind of different from mine,
And his talking is sometimes so slow
And it makes me feel funny and there's one thing I know;
He is nothing at all like me, like me,
No, he's nothing at all like me!

And my father said, "Son, I want you to think
When you meet some one different and new
That he may seem a little bit strange, it's true,
But he's not very different from you, from you,
No, he's not very different from you,"

Well I guess, I admitted, I've looked at his face;
When he's left out of games, he feels bad.
And when other kids tease him, I can see he's so sad.
I guess that's not so different from me, from me,
No, that's not very different from me.

And when we're in Music, he sure loves to sing,
And he sings just like me, right out loud.
When he gets his report card, I can tell he feels proud,
And that's not very different from me, from me,
No, that's not very different from me.

And I know in the lunchroom he has lots of fun;
He loves hot dogs and ice cream and fries.
And he hates to eat spinach and that's not a surprise,
'Cause that's not very different from me, from me,
No, that's not very different from me.

And he's always so friendly, he always says hi,
And he waves and he calls out my name.
And he'd like to be friends and get into a game,
Which is not very different from me, from me,
No, I guess that's not different from me.

And his folks really love him. I saw them at school,
I remember on Open School Night --
They were smiling and proud and they hugged him real tight,
And that's not very different from me, from me,
No, that's not very different from me.

So I said to my dad, Hey, you know that new kid?
well, I've really been thinking a lot.
Some things are different . . . and some things are not . . .
But mostly he's really like me, like me,
Yes, my new friend's . . . a lot . . . like me.

© Emily Perl Kingsley

4/15/09 LA Times article on IHSS

Dear Mr Halper,

In response to your article, "Fraud haunts caregiver programs", you fail to mention many positive aspects to a program like In Home Supportive Services(IHSS). IHSS allows for literally hundreds of thousands of disabled and elderly people to live in their communities instead of in costly skilled nursing facilities, assisted living facilities, and group homes. Also in 1999 it was ruled by the Supreme Court that it was less costly for someone to live in their own community with support instead of a nursing home. The Supreme Court went so far as to say that every state in the U.S. is required to come up with a plan for more community integration for people with disabilities. It should be known that the current administration led by Gov.Schwarzenegger has certainly not implemented any part of the Olmstead Act since they've been in office. It is a known fact that the current administration, despite outcries from the providers, the recipients, as well as many concerned social service agencies has decided to allow budget cuts to this program of up to $2.00 an hour, start effective July 1st, 2009. In some cases, the providers will barely make minimum wage. Providers as well as family members cannot work when they are taking care of a dependent child or adult. IHSS allows disabled people to not just live but to work and also get educated while being in their natural environments. This is extremely ironic because the Governor himself has disabled relatives that use the IHSS program. I guess the only answer to the budget cuts is to warehouse the elderly and disabled and at the same time put all the providers out of work. This makes no sense because health care costs will continue to rise for the disabled and elderly and the unemployment rate will do the same. It was stated recently in Oakland that the state could only come up with $8 million dollars instead of the $10.5 million needed to not make these cuts. It is nice to hear that the state is spending even more money it doesn't have by launching these frivolous investigations that will one day end up killing someone who is home bound and cannot find the support they need.

Sincerely Yours,
Nicholas Feldman

Trying to hault the American Dream in broke California

For the past three years I have been the owner of a home care business which caters to people with all disabilities, but primarily developmental disabilities. It is no surprise that the owner of a business would make a decent income while working hard to create and grow the business. The one unique aspect to this true tale, is that the owner has a developmental disability, cerebral palsy, which requires the use of the state program, Medi-cal which is connected to in home supported services. This program pays for 8 hours of my overnight care and Medi-cal pays for repairs to my medical equipment, including my power wheelchair and other needed disability support. Due to a program created by the World Institute on Disabilities, the program allows someone with a disability to make over 250% of the poverty level, and still keep vital benefits that allow people to work. I was shocked and confused when my benefits were discontinued due to a lack of knowledge about the 250% program. This has a negative effect on me because all of the sudden my world was turned upside down and I had to start to consider what my life would turn into without these benefits.
The workers who work for Medi-cal should be well versed in these programs regardless of what the income level may be. I am grateful to many people, including my book keeper who manages my financial affairs, Mr. Bryon McDonald of the World Institute on Disability and the commitment of these people in less than two weeks to get my benefits turned back on and allow me to keep working and keep paying taxes and being a productive member of society. I hope my part in paying taxes will get rid of the draconious cuts to valuable social services and other community organizations that are being effected by the state budget crisis. You would think that the Schwartzenegger administration would make a tremendous effort to take the working while disabled programs and give them the opportunity to allow all people who want to work with disabilities, an equal chance on the playing field.