MARQUETTE, MI— State budget cuts threaten disability services provided by the Superior Alliance for Independent Living.
The Marquette-based Center for Independent Living—or CIL—works with people with disabilities who want to achieve certain goals, like getting adaptive equipment to recreate or receiving help with budgeting due to a limited income. It’s the only CIL in the U.P.
Executive Director Julie Shaw says the state recently cut $130,000 from SAIL’s budget.
She says oftentimes SAIL services are what keep those with disabilities independently living in their home, and not being able to find those resources could have a profound effect on some.
“We could potentially be looking at institutionalization, which we know costs a whole lot more than somebody living in their home independently, and it will just be life-altering for many of our individuals. And we are… concerned.”
Shaw notes the cuts are reducing aid for those who are finding little help elsewhere.
“With all the cuts in social services in so many areas, CILs are one of the spaces where individuals with a disability can turn to for resources, and those resources are dwindling.”
Shaw says lawmakers also cut a program offering those with disabilities personal assistance in the workplace, which could put some people out of work.
