FUNDRAISER TO HELP HOME OF THE GUIDING HANDS  OCT. 12: CARE FACILITY FOR DISABLED FORCED TO BORROW $1.25 MILLION DOLLARS DUE TO STATE BUDGET GAP

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By Miriam Raftery
Residential ServicesOctober
6, 2008 (El Cajon) -
  A wine-tasting event to benefit Home of the Guiding
Hands (HGH) will be held Sunday, October 12th at Mangia Bene Restaurant in
El Cajon.   HGH provides residential, healthcare and training services
for over 160 children and adults with developmental disabilities at 27 facilities
in San Diego County. But now the program faces financial hardship because
all MediCal and MediCare funds were cut off while the Legislature wrangled
to pass a budget that was 83 days past due.

“Home of the Guiding Hands had to borrow $1.25 million dollars – and
it is going to cost us $6,974 in interest,” Jane Moore, development and
marketing coordinator of the East County facility, told East County Magazine.   MediCal
and MediCare are the only source of funds for HGH, she added.  “The
state has not increased their reimbursement rate to care providers for the
services we provide in over three years—with no consideration for high
cost areas like San Diego.”

With 27 homes in operation, HGH relies on government funding, however meager.  The
average sum for personal expenses is just $40 or $50 to cover monthly expenses
such as clothes, dinner or a movie out, often with no other sources if that
money runs out.  “More than 50% of our people in homes have no family,” Moore
noted.

Governor Schwarzenegger has declared a fiscal emergency for California and
warned that unless California changes its process for approving the budget
(which requires a 2/3 majority currently), a similar or worse crisis is apt
to occur again next year, Moore noted.

In a letter sent to supporters, HGH warned that agencies in California serving
the disabled have come dangerously close to no longer being able to deliver
care.  “This is due to partisan politics in Sacramento from the
very people whom we trusted to be responsible and uphold their duty to ensure
our state continued to support the most vulnerable of our population,” the
letter stated.

In a recent editorial in the San Diego Daily Transcript, Walter Philips, chairman
of the San Diego Association of Nonprofits urged area residents to donate resources,
services or funds directly to San Diego’s nonprofits over coming weeks.
Volunteers are also needed to make up for reduced staffing as a result of budget
cuts. 

The October 12th fundraiser to benefit Home of the Guiding Hands will be held
at 2 p.m. at Mangia Bene Restorante, 221 East Main Street in El Cajon.  PRP
Wine International hosts the event, which will feature wine tasting and hors
d’oeuvres.  Tickets cost $25, with 100% of ticket sales going directly
to benefit  HGH.   In addition, PRP will donate $24 for each
case of wine sold to HGH.

For information and reservations, call Jane Moore at (619) 938-2856.


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