About 2,000 people rallied outside the Rhode Island State House this week to protest possible cuts in services for people with developmental disabilities in a time of economic uncertainty.The protesters organized the grassroots effort in response to recent comments by the chairman of the House Finance Committee. Rep. Steven M. Costantino said that budget-weary lawmakers had not ruled out sweeping cuts to human-service programs for elderly people and those with disabilities.
Rep. Thomas Slater, D-Providence, chair of the Human Services Subcommittee, said the demonstrators were either “misguided or premature” since no decision had been made.
The rally was preceded by a 72-hour vigil that began on the grounds of the former Ladd Center, the original “Rhode Island School for the Feeble-Minded,” which federal authorities closed 15 years ago after an investigation revealed deplorable conditions.
Tom Kane, president of the Community Provider Network of Rhode Island, said that while no one foresees a return to such institutionalization, “if there are cuts, people will be segregated in their homes.”
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