On Thursday, December 15th, dozens of 1199 members from the ARC of Blackstone Valley — along with allies from other unions and advocates for the developmentally disabled — held a press conference at the RI State House to call on the General Assembly to restore over $24 million in funds that were cut last year from community programs for the developmentally disabled.  Check out the great coverage from Channel 10:

We then went to the office of House Finance Chairman Helio Melo to deliver an over-sized holiday card signed by direct care support staff and family members of the developmentally disabled, expressing our holiday wish that our consumers and loved ones could continue to lead lives of dignity, and that the programs that support them would be adequately funded.