- Target:
- Gov. Tom Corbett, Sen. Jane M. Earll
- Region:
- United States of America
- Website:
- www.facebook.com
According to the DPW, Erie, Pennsylvania has been classified as a rural area instead of urban based on average income for the area. Erie fell short of 'urban' status because it was grouped with smaller counties such as Forest County, Clarion, Warren, and Venango.
Because of this, a lot of organizations (Barber National Institute, etc). that provide services to those with physical and mental disabilities (such as autism, down syndrome, visual impairments, hearing impairments, mobility impairments etc.) are getting a 7% decrease in state dollars for funding. The reclassification from urban to rural means that the DPW reduced reimbursements for caregivers of those with developmental disabilities.
According to Erie County government director of human services, Shari Gross, the new model cuts funding for Erie, and doesn't produce any overall savings.
This will not only affect certain people. It will affect a ton of children, adults and families who suffer and need mental and/or physical health services.
We, the undersigned residents of the City of Erie, Pennsylvania, call on our Governor and our Legislators to change the reclassification from rural back to urban, and stop service cuts for the mental and physical health services.
The City of Erie as a Great Lakes Port and a manufacturing center are more comparable to Cleveland, Buffalo and Toledo than to Tidioute and Marienville.
The new funding cuts don't produce any overall savings, so don't make the children and families suffering from mental and physical health struggle to have to pay out of pocket to travel elsewhere in order to get these services they need.
You can further help this campaign by sponsoring it
The Stop Service Cuts for Mental & Physical Health Services petition to Gov. Tom Corbett, Sen. Jane M. Earll was written by Kristen Kaeberlein and is in the category Health at GoPetition.