Opinion: Individuals With Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities Need Someone To Fight For Them

From CalMatters:

Guest Commentary published: June 11, 2020

By Lucile Lynch, Carlsbad

Re “If budget represents our values, we must protect California’s most vulnerable”; Commentary, June 9, 2020

On behalf of my loved ones with disabilities, and others I support as a board member of a nonprofit that serves individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, thank you for standing up for those in need, when they need it most. Individuals and families who were often socially distanced pre-COVID-19, and who are now also spatially distanced, need a fighter like Assemblyman Jim Frazier.

You are a hero.

You have tirelessly advocated for individuals who:

• are 7 times as likely to be subject to abuse than those nondisabled,
• are victimized by those they know 40% of the time,
• have unemployment rates that regularly exceed 80%, and in some instances exceed 90%,
• typically lack meaningful housing options,
• have a probability of arrest by age 28 of nearly 43%,
• live in poverty 28% of the time, and
• whose voices historically lack sufficient strength to make changes themselves.

For your tireless vision, advocacy and compassion, thank you for leading.

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