The Frances Haddon Morgan Center (FHMC) takes care of 54 severely autistic people. The parents of those autistic people are upset because governor of Washington and DSHS are threatening the lives of their children.
Governor Christine Gregoire wants the FHMC shut down, and instead of trying to make her case to the legislature when they vote on her proposed budget, she had friends at DSHS try to scare the parents into transferring their children to other facilities. They misled the parents by presenting the threat as if the legislature had already decided to shut down the center.
The FHMC is a pioneering facility specializing in severe autism. Washington state used to have 6 residential rehabilitation centers for 4000 people with various mental health problems. Now it has 5 facilities serving only 900 people, and none of the other facilities specialize in autism. In other words the system is already lean and efficient, housing only the people who need it most, where they can be helped the best.
More information about the five facilities that are still open:
- Fircrest School Shoreline, Washington
- Frances Haddon Morgan Center, Bremerton, Washington
- Lakeland Village, Medical Lake, Washington
- Rainier School, Buckley, Washington
- Yakima Valley School, Selah, Washington
The FHMC is the newest facility. It's page tells you more information about the services it provides AND the relationship between the center and the community. It is an important source of employment for people in the city of Bremerton - especially those who are not afraid of dirty, hard work (and sometimes risk of injury.)
The FHMC is located within city limits and uses land efficiently. Unfortunately there are people who would like to use that land to build a park that will raise property values. The Frances Haddon Morgan Center is already adjacent a large park. Some people see all government property as their personal piggy bank - not to mention all the private property that is affected by these projects.
Bremerton already has empty luxury condos downtown and a massive low-income housing project that has been evacuated and scheduled for demolition even though nobody wants to develop that land. The last thing we need is to kill 54 autistic people so we can plant some trees where people used to be employed doing something useful.
The families and employees of the FHMC are holding a rally to protest this abuse will be held on Saturday from 9 AM to 3 PM at Arnold's Home Furnishings Center, 3520 Kitsap Way, Bremerton.
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