Program Cuts Spells Real Doomsday for Many Needing Services
By Mary Gallagher
Caroline is 50 years old, lives in an apartment, has a phone, food, furniture and even cable TV. It may not seem like a lot but for her it is.
Just two years ago Caroline lived in an abandoned garage behind an empty house. She has multiple mental and physical health problems. Caroline suffers from bi-polar disorder, serious depression, ADHD and she is an alcoholic. After losing her partner of 30 years, Caroline who was unable to work was evicted from her home. She couldn’t pay for medication, and now she had no place to live.
Desperate – she bounced from friend to friend and then she found the garage. She searched the alleys and found a carpet and some pillows. This became her home for five months. But this was no way to live, Caroline knew that much, and she decided there was no reason to live. She wanted to end her life.
A friend saw that Caroline looked ill and took her to the hospital where she was admitted, evaluated by a psychiatrist and started back on medication. The hospital referred her to Jay Roth – a New Foundation Center employee who helps people with mental illness find housing. Jay told Caroline that he might be able to find her a place to live in the scattered sites housing program– something that is dedicated for people with mental illness who are homeless.
Working with other staff, Jay was able to find a place in the northern suburbs where Caroline could live. Together they worked and arranged for Caroline to see a psychiatrist, a medical doctor, and a dentist. She got a bus card so she could get around and they found some household items to furnish her apartment.
What is Caroline’s life like today?
“I am happy. I feel safe and I’m getting to like myself - to feel confident. I have not felt this good in years.”
Caroline’s goals are to get a new knee so she can go back to work in customer service or cashiering. With the right combination of medication, housing, and services she will.
With a proposed doomsday budget of 34% cuts in the kind of programs offered at New Foundation Center – Caroline won’t.
Caroline is not alone, thousands like her around the state are at great risk of losing the supports needed to prevent them from becoming seriously ill and homeless. The danger for Caroline is real, “I won’t be able to handle living in the streets alone again. I am really afraid of becoming another statistic because I’m too tired to go through that again.”
New Foundation Center is a not-for-profit organization located at 444 W. Frontage Road, Northfield, where adults seeking help for a serious mental illness can find psychiatric rehabilitation, supportive housing, employment services and recovery. In addition to day programs at the Northfield clubhouse it operates permanent housing for 49 members in Evanston, Glencoe, Morton Grove, Northbrook, Skokie and Wilmette.
"Because of the economy we see foundation and individual giving down about 25% from prior years. But we can manage. However, with government funding cuts at 34% - our organization will be much different than it is now. Programs and services will have to be cut and people like Caroline will be left on their own. It is a very sad scenario to see someone who is doing so well be in jeopardy of losing it all,” states Jay Roth Director of Residential Services.
