Options In Community Living

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Join us on the 29th for a fundraiser night at Forage Kitchen in Monona!

Here is an informative and distressing timeline of what has been happening (and the future) over the last year since the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" was signed by President Trump, which will cut $1 trillion to Medicaid over the next 10 years.

"More than 86 percent of optional Medicaid spending goes to disabled people and older adults. When you cut Medicaid by a trillion dollars and tell states to find the savings, there’s no version of that math that spares us. We are the optional spending. The home care, personal aides, equipment, and therapies all sit in the category states are allowed to cut first.

And they always cut it first. The last time federal Medicaid funding dropped, between 2010 and 2012, every single state cut home and community-based services to some degree, and the waiting lists grew. We have the receipts on what happens, because it already happened.

Home and community-based services, HCBS, is the thing that keeps me out of an institution. It’s the aides and support that let me live in my home instead of a facility, work, have a life, and be the person I want to be. It’s also, in the cold language of Medicaid, optional. ".

"Here’s the warning that should worry everyone reading this who doesn’t have a disability yet. Most of you will. Disability is the one minority group anyone can join at any moment, on any ordinary afternoon, in a car, diagnosis or a fall. The system they’re building to manage us is the system that’ll be waiting for you."

The Year They Came for Us in Pieces One year of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, and the machine it turned on

Join us on the 29th for a fundraiser night at Forage Kitchen in Monona!

This month, we're celebrating the dedicated individuals who have chosen to make a difference in the lives of people we support every single day. The impact you make extends far beyond your job description—you build relationships, foster independence, and bring kindness into the lives of those we support. Happy Work Anniversary and thank you for everything you do!

Please join us in congratulating our July anniversary staff members! 👏🎉

- Eddie Adouna: 7 years!
- Farimang Busso: 1 year!
- Momodou Ceesay: 6 years!
- Eugene: 3 years!
- Matarr Faal: 3 years!
- Monica Flores: 19 years!
- Yirga Gagebo: 10 years!
- Rachel Hahn: 16 years!
- Sheena Hernandez: 5 years!
- Abram Herrero: 12 years!
- Fatou Jawo: 16 years!
- Yolanda Jones: 3 years!
- Tonya Maier: 6 years!
- Richard Raven: 3 years!
- Kim Rogge: 34 years!
- Eileen S: 3 years!
- Shynesha Stewart: 2 years!
- Taylor Edge: 1 year!
- Hailey Voelker: 2 years!
- Hafida Zourib: 7 years!

"36 years ago, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) became law, promising that individuals with disabilities have the right to access community-based supports. But community living is only possible if we continue to fight for these rights. Will you join us this July to keep up the pressure on Congress to protect the community-based services that make it possible for people with disabilities to live and thrive in our communities?

Essential community-based services are being attacked. The Medicaid cuts passed through the budget reconciliation bill last year are underway, and the administration continues to devalue community-based services, the role of family caregivers, and the very disability rights the ADA protects. With discussions of a new reconciliation bill underway in Congress, critical supports for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities could be at risk." --
-ANCOR American Network of Community Options and Resources

Please consider using this advocacy tool to tell your members of Congress to protect home and community-based services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) by rejecting further cuts or harmful changes to Medicaid.

Tell Congress: Protect Medicaid From Further Cuts | ANCOR Medicaid is a lifeline for people with I/DD. After suffering the largest cut in funding since its creation with the passage of the budget reconciliation law last year, the future of critical home and community-based services (HCBS) continues to be under threat.

On June 18, 2026, the Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel issued a slip opinion that directly attacks decades of progress toward equality, inclusion, and community living for people with disabilities. We strongly condemn this attempt to undermine the fundamental principle that people with disabilities have the right to live, work, learn, and receive services in their communities rather than be segregated in institutions. For generations, advocates, families, and people with disabilities have fought to dismantle systems of isolation and exclusion. This opinion rejects that hard-won progress and disregards the experiences of millions of Americans whose lives have been transformed by community-based services and supports.

Although this opinion does not overturn Olmstead v. L.C., repeal the Americans with Disabilities Act, or invalidate decades of federal court precedent, it sends a deeply troubling message about the Administration's intentions. The opinion is inconsistent with longstanding interpretations of federal disability rights law embraced by courts and administrations of both parties. By questioning the legal foundations of the Integration Mandate, it threatens the protections that help people avoid unnecessary institutionalization, remain connected to their families, secure stable housing, access education and employment, and participate fully in civic life. At a time when community-based supports are already under strain, this effort risks reversing decades of bipartisan progress and weakening one of the most successful civil rights movements in our nation's history.

“Our vision is rooted in hope and in the belief that people with disabilities belong in their communities, with the supports, opportunities, and dignity they deserve—and we will not go back,” said Marlene Sallo, Executive Director. We reject any effort to return to systems that separate people with disabilities from their communities or limit their choices and independence. We will continue to defend the protections and promises of Olmstead, the ADA, and Section 504; protect the services that make community living possible; and stand with people with disabilities and their families in the fight for equality, dignity, and self-determination. The work of community integration is not over, and our commitment to keeping people in their communities and homes remains as strong as ever.

This month, we're proud to recognize and celebrate the dedication, compassion, and hard work of our staff reaching work anniversaries in June. Your commitment to supporting adults with disabilities in their homes and communities makes a meaningful difference every day.

Thank you for the care, advocacy, and positive impact you bring. We are grateful to have you!

Please join us in congratulating our June anniversary honorees! 🎉👏

- Mohammed Alsager: 3 years!
- Abdoulie Baldeh: 3 years!
- Joy: 9 years!
- Jeremy Berson: 5 years!
- Hassan Chengoul: 27 years!
- Matthew: 1 year!
- Monica De La Cruz Arguijo: 11 years!
- Kokou Dossa: 10 years!
- Dave Engler: 14 years!
- Erin Estervig: 21 years!
- Georgie: 1 year!
- Kat Kazynski: 3 years!
- Kate Krueger: 29 years!
- Toya Lee: 10 years!
- Ayan: 1 year!
- Brian Mulholland: 25 years!
- Erin: 1 year!
- Herlinda Pena: 6 years!
- Sandy: 1 year!
- Caleb Seiser: 10 years!
- Phil Stadler: 10 years!
- Karia Torrijos: 3 years!
- Eric Walker: 8 years!
- Beth Welch: 21 years!
- Shannon White 8 years!

Ironically, today is the 27th anniversary of the Olmstead decision, which ruled that people with disabilities have a right to live in their community. We're not going back!

Today is the day! Don't forget to mention us or use the code!

Join us next Wednesday at Jersey Mikes @ East Towne!

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