Social service agencies call for public 'outrage' against budget cuts
By Julie Wurth
Friday September 5, 2008
John Dixon
Tami Tunnell, executive director of A Woman's Fund, left, and Roberta Morris, maintenance and operations coordinator for the group, sort clothing donations Thursday at the Urbana shelter for abused women. A Woman's Fund is having trouble making ends meet after recent state budget cuts and delayed payments.
State officials are "playing games with people's lives" for political gain as they announce cut after cut to vulnerable populations, and it's time to speak up, service providers say.
"We can't just sit around and be silent," said Peter Tracy, executive director of the Champaign County Mental Health Board and Developmental Disabilities Board. "We have a responsibility to this community."
Agencies that help people with mental illness, developmental disabilities or drug and alcohol addictions have organized a Sept. 17 public hearing in Urbana to push legislators to take action.
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