[Nfb-or] Article on State Budget Cuts and Their Effects on Blind Vendors

Tue Dec 28 00:53:43 UTC 2010

In today's Statesman Journal, there was a good article on the effects the State's budget cuts are having on blind vendors. Here it is.

Implications of state cuts are wide, far-reaching

Dennis Thompson

>From the Statesman Journal for Monday, December 27, 2010

Sunday's front page article about the local economy tried to connect the dots and show why layoffs in state government could be devastating to the Salem-Keizer area.

An independent businessman named Harold Young served as one of those dots. He runs deli counters in two Capitol Mall office buildings and has seen his business decline as furloughs lightened the wallets of the state employees he serves. Young passed in and out of the article just quickly enough to make the point that needed making. But there's more to his story that wasn't used, and I'd like to share it with you here.

Young is one of a handful of blind people who operate the vending machines and concessions in state buildings. They got the gig under a state and federal program called the Randolph-Sheppard Vending Facility Program, which is aimed at helping the blind find gainful employment by allowing them first crack at concessions in public buildings.

The program came to my attention by way of Art Stevenson, who is president of the National Federation of the Blind of Oregon and vice chairman of the Randolph-Sheppard program in Oregon. He called me in response to my column last week, which was a shout-out for sources who are worried about the possible impact of state cuts to the Salem economy. Stevenson has already suffered some economic loss because of Oregon budget cuts. He used to run the vending machines in the staff lounge and visitors' center of the men's minimum security facility at the Oregon State Penitentiary. The men's minimum closed in October, and when it did Stevenson lost hundreds of dollars to his monthly income. He's also seen business decline in other state buildings where he has vending machines.

Stevenson set up a conference call for me with himself, Young and another business person named Ann Wright. They are all blind people who have been given the chance to earn money through this program, and they've all seen their fortunes suffer as state employees have cut back on their spending.

I've had people already tell me as soon as the next round of cuts come through, they're going to have to stop coming to my place altogether. It's just going to go from bad to worse," said Wright, who runs a cafe in the DMV building and a coffee bar in the ODOT building.

These are interesting people, and not only because they have overcome their disability to run a business and even put other people to work. (Young has a staff of five, while Wright employs six people). They are interesting because they have a unique insight into the mood of the state work force. They are in a position to talk to state workers every day, as their customers buy sandwiches and drinks and bags of chips. And they are concerned about their customers.

The fear among people is crazy," Wright said. It's a topic of discussion every single morning. They're afraid for their health care, and about more furlough days. I have customers who have had to get a second job to support their families."

dmthomps at StatesmanJournal.com

(503) 399-6719

Additional Facts

>From the State Workers Blog

Dr. Bruce Goldberg has released a year-end review for his employees. Here it is. (You can find a link to the original version at this post on the State Workers Blog).

There have been several times over the course of 2010 when I have noted in this weekly message the unprecedented changes and challenges facing us at the Oregon Department of Human Services and the Oregon Health Authority. Now in this year-end review, I want to note how proud I am of the way the two agencies have responded to these challenges and how well-positioned we are to face the tests to come. The biggest challenge, of course, was managing through a record increase in need for services during a time of budget shortfalls and diminishing resources. Our workers across the state are on the front lines of the recession and you have responded heroically. Despite furloughs, pay freezes and reduced staffing, you have continued to deliver high quality services and meet the needs of Oregon's communities. Additionally, we have so far been able to meet this demand within our budget and without asking the Legislature for additional revenues. At the same time, DHS and OHA staff did the work to create two separate but connected agencies. We held community budget forums across the state where hundreds of people shared their priorities for services in their local communities. And over the past year hundreds of our staff have worked on this transition, examining the way we do the work and looking at what services should be separated and which should be shared. Now we enter 2011 with the final stages of the transition ahead and clear missions on the work before us. For more information about the status of the DHS-OHA transition, please check the Inside DHS-OHA intranet website, which provides a weekly status report. Meanwhile, through the work of our Transformation Initiative we have persistently pursued improving our organizational efficiency and effectiveness across both agencies. We have identified $92 million in savings or avoided costs and that work continues daily. As we finish one historic year, we are ready to embark on another. As I know you are acutely aware, Governor-elect Kitzhaber and the incoming Legislature are grappling with a $3.5 billion budget crisis. While there are difficult choices ahead, we at OHA and DHS are already working with the new Governor's staff as part of his budget transition teams. This document on our website has more detail about key accomplishments from our various divisions. As I review this work, I am impressed anew at the ability of DHS and OHA employees to not only rise to great challenges but to surpass expectations as they strive to continuously improve our services to Oregonians. That's something we can all celebrate and be proud of. For further discussion of state workers' issues, go to the State Workers' Blog at StatesmanJournal.com/StateWorkers. .