Dear Families,
We need your help. We know that families across Massachusetts are struggling to meet the needs of their loved one with a disability. We know that many families do not receive enough financial support, and that this can create substantial financial and emotional hardship. We know this, but our legislators do not. Which is why five statewide organizations are launching a campaign to substantially increase funding for families who are supporting individuals with disabilities in their homes.
There is a crisis facing many of the eighteen thousand families who support their loved ones at home. The families which face difficulty do not have adequate funding through the Department of Developmental Services (DDS). We can and will provide facts and figures that justify this expenditure, but the most powerful thing our legislators can hear are the life experiences of families like yours. Together, we can communicate the critical need to invest in families, and the incredible potential that will be unleashed when we do.
We are asking you to think about this question: “If family support was truly supportive, what would it look like?” It is important to capture what your life looks like now and what it could look like with more financial support from DDS. Some families have said they could get a job if they had more family support funding; some families say they could pay someone to take over during the night so they could get a full night’s sleep; other families have said they would buy adaptive equipment that would radically change the quality of their loved ones’ life.
We need your story, so that we can communicate the real challenges faced by real families, and the real impact that increasing family support can have on our families and our communities.
We will be using these stories to raise awareness in the general public and in our legislature. You can choose to have your identity remain anonymous or public, and we will fully respect your choices of how we may use this information.
Please consider completing the attached survey of guiding questions, or email us your story. The survey is also online at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/8D2GGK9. Together, we can make a difference!
For more information, email us at SupportingFamilies@arcmass.org. Thank You!