Letters to the editor: 12/18/05
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Housing alternatives help people become independent
I am writing to follow up on Steve Twedt's Dec. 4 story on personal care homes ("The Fraying Safety Net: Retarded Spill Into Loosely Monitored Care"). I'm glad that Mr. Twedt began to show the public about life in a personal care home, because I don't think people in our community realize the struggles that those who live in these homes face.
I lived in a personal care home with more than 200 other people for over three years. I had very little privacy and no control over my personal space. I constantly had things of value stolen by other residents and staff: a cherished necklace, my shampoo, some laundry soap -- anything. I had very few options to move on. This is the kind of place where more than 1,000 people in Allegheny County who have a mental health disability live, as well as thousands more people across the state. We receive a monthly allowance of $60 for all of our living expenses: bus pass, personal items, cigarettes, entertainment and now even medication co-pays. It keeps us living at a poverty level.
After years of saving a few dollars per month, I was able to move out to my own apartment. I went to Community College of Allegheny County to become a certified nursing assistant, and I'm now a working, tax-paying member of my community. I'm no longer dependent, and now I'm involved and active in many organizations. Personal care homes are helpful in the short term, but people outgrow them. Unfortunately, there are too few options for people with mental health disabilities to move on and become independent.
The state must work to provide more housing options for people across the disability community.
LINDA HARRISON
Bloomfield
Appropriate care
My heart broke as I read Steve Twedt's Dec. 4 article "The Fraying Safety Net: Retarded Spill Into Loosely Monitored Care." These older retarded adults have nowhere to go. Their parents get old, become infirm themselves and die. Group homes are not enough because they are full. Assisted-living facilities are not equipped to handle the day-to-day complexity of serving a person who is mentally retarded. Caring for an elderly or physically challenged person is entirely different from caring for an individual with retardation or other mental handicap.
First Published December 18, 2005 12:00 am
