CDD May 1st Newsletter Article 2010

CDD Computer Training
Our Services Needed Now More than Even
By Kathleen Patton

Every day we hear news of another round of budget cuts. Quoting a CNN Article from March 21st, 2010,”Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is proposing "painful" layoffs and service cuts to close a $485 million budget deficit as the city struggles to cope with an economy beat down by a recession.”

At a time when the need for services and support are increasing, important programs are, being eliminated. Upmost on the mind of our CDD Members is how these cuts effect our students and centers. I have to report that, unfortunately, each center is being hit hard and are feeling the pinch.

One reason they are so dramatically effected is that our partner centers, Cri-Help, Soccorro, Walden House and the House of Uhuru are not the “Betty Ford” Centers in our city. They do not have big names behind them or multi-million dollar budgets. Yet our centers support the most at-risk population of our community. These are adults with few resources or opportunities available. The Centers take these adults in crisis and when possible charge a reasonable fee. Too often though the client is unable to pay any of the fees having been without a job due to a long incarceration or years of battling their addiction. But when a person is reaching out for help is the time support should be available. Our Center partners, in the past, have been there to catch them before they fall permanently through the cracks. They have been able to do this due to the foreword thinking and progressive policy in California, which provides funds to people in crisis, who are unable to pay.

The state of California has been a model state in understanding the importance of timing to someone seeking to go into recovery. The state have put in place a varitable network of Recovery Centers and Halfway Houses over the past forty years. These crisis centers have aided thousands of people put the pieces back together and go on to live valuable lives. No doubt the state would look very different had these programs not been available. The result would be more people in prison; a greater number of Californian’s livingon the streets or worse.

CDD is also on an important turning point. Over the past several months, funds have been dramatcially reduced to our Centers, with more cuts very possibly planned. Each of our Centers are reporting having fewer clients enrolling due to an inability to pay for treatment. The Centers are being forced to lay off staff and reduce the important programs so badly needed by their clients. This has also resulted in fewer students enrolling in and benefitting from taking the CDD Computer Class.

Compounding the situation is a new law recently passed which will dramatically cut the prison population. An article from the Los Angeles Times on January 26th, 2010, quotes “State prison authorities Monday began reducing the number of parole violators sent back behind bars and offering inmates more opportunity to shorten their sentences, as part of a plan to decrease the prison population by 6,500 inmates over the next year.” (Patrick McGreevy) As of March of this year several thousand prisoners have been released early back into society. While CDD wholeheartedly supports early release programs, we do so when coupled with job training, mentoring and recovery programs (where needed) in order to assure these adults a successful transition. Without these program it could well be a recipe for failure.

CDD is working hard to find ways to take up the slack. We are fervently seeking grants from a number of donors as well as backing from our local representative. We need to expand our services at this crucial time. It is non-profit organizations and private groups who are expected to fill in the wholes created by the cuts to these social programs. But without funding we too cannot succeed. CDD has already a long list of centers waiting for our services. Our model of offering training while people are in recovery has proven to be highly successful. We are able to both propell our students upward at a crucial time in their recovery process and keep costs low by utilizing already exsisting recovery centers. CDD has built an amazing group of passionate volunteers who have become experts in transitioning students back into society. Being 100% volunteer based, CDD by far is the most cost effective, as well as experienced in transitioining struggling adults back into society But we cannot grow without additional funds.

How you can help CDD- You can help by donating your time, computers and money today, at www.cddnp.org. Hold a Computer Drive in your office or neighborhood. We can help you plan and impliment this project. Host a Fundraiser. We have many ideas of hosting a fun and successful event. Please write to us anytime with your suggestions and feedback at info@cddnp.org. Thank you for your ongoing support for our students and the CDD Program.