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Dear Friends, Jessica needs your help! We beg you to spend a few moments of your valuable time urging your New York State representatives to fund OPTS Proposal # 619. A residence for Jessica and five other young people was purchased in Glen Cove by the Mental Health Association of Nassau County. It was to be ready in the spring of 2009, but progress was stopped because of the state’s financial crisis. Bringing her back to New York will reunite our family, boost the NY economy--by creating jobs and increasing our local spending-- and actually save the state more than $70,000 a year. Please contact Governor Paterson, our Senators and your Representatives as soon as possible! You can e-mail, write, or call. We have attached a list of their contact information for your convenience. You can use a single sentence, such as “We urge you to fund OPTS Proposal 619 and bring Jessica Fuchs home to New York,” copy the attached letter, or describe in your own words how important a group home in New York is to our family. We would like to receive a copy of what you write. Please pass this request on to your circle of contacts. We need the support of as many New Yorkers as possible to help us reach this important goal. Jessica wants so much to come back to New York. If you can do us this important favor, we will be exceedingly grateful. Thank you! Warmly, Sid and Phylis Fuchs ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------ The Governor:
To find the names of your representatives:
Dear NY State Representative/Senator: I/We are friends/family/neighbors/ educators/therapists/ of Jessica Fuchs/parents of a disabled individual/advocates for the disabled and we urge you to support full funding for OPTS Proposal # 619, “Spreading Your Wings.” This is a rare win-win opportunity in which you can improve the lives of your constituents while decreasing long-term costs to the state. Proposal 619 will create a home for four young men who have worked hard to overcome the handicaps of autism and two young women who have fought the dual disabilities of autism and deafness. Two of these individuals now reside in out-of-state institutions, at tremendous financial cost to the State of New York and personal hardship for their families. Fully funding Proposal 619 is of huge importance to these six disabled young people, their families and the families of the children waiting to move into their current programs. The NY State Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (OMRDD) approved staffing levels for these residents. The Mental Health Association of Nassau County (MHNC) purchased a large home in Glen Cove for the six individuals through a bridge loan. An architect completed plans to modify the building to meet their needs and comply with safety codes. The MHNC sent out the plans for bids. The parents of the young New Yorkers visited the house and eagerly imagined their children building community ties and friendships through recreation, continuing education, and volunteer or paid employment opportunities near their new home. Like all parents, they wanted their children to live in a stable environment and lead happy and productive lives. One set of parents saw that and so much more: A chance to reunite a loving family separated by a family emergency. When Oceanside U.F. School District (OUFSD) deemed 13-year-old Jessica “a danger to herself and others,” she continued to live at home for another year while OUFSD and her family anxiously searched for a residential school. Not one program in the great State of New York had a bed for a girl with her normal intellect, dual language difficulties, and severe behavioral challenges. On September 14, 2001, New York sent Jessica to “temporary emergency placement” in Manchester, New Hampshire. She enrolled in a school 250 miles from home when she was just 14 years old. Jessica has worked hard there and made amazing progress: She uses sign language and reads and writes at the fourth grade level. She has second-grade math skills and keeps her own check book. Equally important, her behaviors have improved greatly. She qualified for part-time paid employment at the school, and even did a presentation before some 200 people at her graduation. Last June, she turned 21. OMRDD is continuing her funding there at school levels—a tremendous expense. Moving her to the Glen Cove group home could save New York approximately $70,000 in one year. Jessica’s parents still dream of a time when they can see their daughter often. Since 2001, they have driven some 40,000 miles in all weather to have monthly visits with their child. They have spent thousands of dollars on gas, hotels, and food in New Hampshire and weeks of precious vacation days on the grueling six-hour trip. Please ease the burden for parents who have gone through so much to have a semblance of family life. Jessica has spent a third of her young life living in an institution and being raised by a committee. In her recent psychological evaluation, she eloquently voices her longing to live in New York near Mom and Dad. Despite New York State’s goal of “people-centered planning” for the disabled, Jessica has been away from her family for seven long years. We implore you to recognize the years of enormous effort that this young woman has invested in learning to express herself and grant her wish for a home near her family. You can do so much to change the lives of these disabled New Yorkers and their families for the better. Please help to get OPTS Proposal # 619, “Spreading Your Wings” fully funded before this wonderful opportunity is lost! Sincerely, I wish you all the best in your quest to bring Jessica home. Happy Holidays. Done!You must be soo proud of your daughter. I pray your story has a happy ending.Will gladly forward your letter. |
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