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CLOUDY Temp: 45 °F Wind: CLM at 0 mph Wednesday, February 19, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend January 20, 2003 Daniel Walsh of Medford holds up the letter he received from the state notifying him that his general assistance funds, on which he relies to pay rent, will end Jan. 31. Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Letters outline severe cutbacks Services ranging from general assistance to prescription drug payments are being trimmed, affecting 1,500 needy people in Jackson County By JONEL ALECCIA Mail Tribune Daniel Walsh unfolds the letter he got Wednesday from the state of Oregon, but Kate Baxted doesn’t need to see it to know what it says. In a few terse sentences, the letter informs Walsh, 59, who suffers from a traumatic brain injury, that his sole income of $314 in state general assistance funds will end Jan. 31. "His rent, even with help, is $300 a month," says Baxted, director of DASIL, a Medford advocacy group for the disabled. "What is he supposed to do?" It’s a question Baxted and others who work with clients of state services have asked — and been asked — dozens of times in the past week. At least 38,500 letters have been sent informing local people of impending cuts or reductions in services ranging from general assistance and prescription drug payments to Medicaid-paid benefits. That includes nearly 1,500 Jackson County clients who will lose services starting Feb. 1. The cuts come as the state struggles to balance its budget in the face of plummeting revenues. Some $88 million in social service cuts will take effect if voters reject a temporary income tax increase on Jan. 28. Others are mandated by the state Department of Human Services’ share of previously enacted cuts and those required because of a dire December state revenue forecast. As the letters began arriving, frantic calls to local case workers, social service agencies and advocacy groups escalated. "Branch offices are being bombarded with calls from concerned clients asking what they should do," said Berta Varble, contracts manager for the Rogue Valley Council of Governments. Other clients have showed up at local agencies, demanding solutions. One man in his mid-30s turned violent in Baxted’s office Wednesday. "He just freaked out," she said. "He punched my door, knocked a hole in it." The man, a longtime client, received a letter a few days ago terminating his general assistance and prescription drug funds. "He wouldn’t stop; he scared everyone," Baxted said. Reports of anguish and violence aren’t surprising to workers such as Connie Salda�a of the RVCOG. "Our clients are just balanced on the edge, so even the notice sends them over," she said. Marion Hartley, a longtime Medford home care aide with the ADDUS agency, believes the state letter contributed to a client’s death this week. The 77-year-old Medford woman, a longtime stroke victim, received a letter on Saturday. "She told me she was just real upset," said Hartley. Hartley talked to the despondent woman on Tuesday night; by Wednesday morning, she’d lapsed into a coma. On Thursday, she died. "I think she felt like she couldn’t fight anymore," Hartley said. "I think she just gave up; I believe that." That attitude is understandable, said Theresa Clayborn, 50, of Medford, who received a letter from the state last Saturday. Clayborn, who receives $694 a month in Social Security, learned that she’ll no longer receive payments for prescription drugs that total $800 to $1,000 a month. "The case workers say, ‘I’m sorry, I don’t know what else to tell you,’ " said Clayborn, a Type I diabetic who also suffers from high blood pressure and migraines. She ordered a month’s supply — the most she could get — of her nine prescriptions from a local pharmacy. When those run out, Clayborn isn’t sure what she’ll do. "My doctor said he’ll help me out with samples," she said. Without those drugs, Clayborn said she could lapse into a diabetic coma within three days. Faced with desperate options, some people may consider suicide, she said. "If I was that type of a person, what would be the easiest way out would be to kill myself," she said. "They’ll figure, ‘Hey, I’m not going to make it anyway’ and do something.’" Don Bruland, director of senior and disabled services for the RVCOG, suspects that suicides among the frail elderly might increase. Local mental health workers have offered advice to case workers faced with despondent clients. "We’re preparing for it," Bruland said. Throughout the system, workers and clients alike are grappling with the uncertainty the proposed cuts bring. No one offers a clear picture of what will happen on Feb. 1. "What are they supposed to do," asks Hartley, the home care aide, "be pushed out on the street to die?" Reach reporter JoNel Aleccia at 776-4465, or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright 1997-2002 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy webmaster feedback A D V E R T I S E R S