COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KOAA) — RiseUP provides a safe place for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities or neurodiversity to learn, grow, and thrive. But proposed Medicaid cuts could put those services at risk for more than 180 people.
At RiseUP, individuals can learn to cook, find creative outlets, and receive one-on-one education.
Thomas Carlson, chief development officer at Rise Up, said those opportunities matter.
"All of these things are essential services," said Carlson.
RiseUP receives roughly $12.5 million, money that funds many services. Medicaid accounts for more than 55% of their funding.
Roughly one-quarter to one-third comes from school districts, with the rest coming from several other sources, including a small number of private-pay arrangements. Even with their annual budget, Carlson said the organization is already operating at its limits.
"We're already stretching every Medicaid dollar that we can to its maximum extent, so when we get a 2% cut, we've really got to cut back on things that we consider essential. I mean this is not just fewer games of Monopoly."
It's much more than that.
A significant portion of that funding supports RiseUP's residential program. Don'Neice Rowe, training coordinator at RiseUP, said cuts to that program could have serious consequences for the people it serves.
"They could end up in state institutions and lockdown facilities where their chance of a normal life is minimized significantly," said Rowe.
Carlson said placing people with disabilities in institutions is not the answer, and is far more costly.
"It can be 10 to 15 times as more expensive. By providing these kind of services in an actual home where people actually cared for, where they feel like they've got a place to belong and they've got ways of getting out of the community and feel like they can contribute to society that's way cheaper than putting them into a hospital," said Carlson.
One of the big goals of RiseUP is to get individuals engrained into the community. But cuts could change the way they get out and about.
"They get out into the community, they can go to the Y, they can go swimming, they can go to museums, they can do other things and all of that. And then they're also learning living skills as well. So when we take a 2% cut for something like that, what that means is we have to think, okay, well we can't do the outings. All we can do is do stuff here in-house or we have to think about the transportation or we have to think about cutting staff," said Carlson.
And keeping dedicated staff who want to help people with neurodiversity or disabilities is another goal of Carlson's.
"The need is always going to be the need and so cutting the support that goes into those needs puts the entire community in a place where we have to react to the need rather than be able to respond to it in a way that's constructive, that's helpful for the individuals, that's good for the families, and that ultimately is good for our whole community," said Carlson.
Carlson said RiseUP is actively working to find funding from other sources. In September, the organization is hosting an Elevation Challenge to raise money and keep its programs running.
"The idea is that you could try to climb 5000 ft or set your own goal. You go out and get people to sponsor you. We're gonna have an awards banquet in October. It's gonna be a lot of fun. We're looking for sponsors for that and all of that money then goes back into some of these essential services to make sure that these individuals are truly taken care of and given an opportunity to thrive," said Carlson.
Rowe said the stakes could not be higher.
"If these programs aren't in place now, the future is going to be very dim for our individuals," said Rowe.
Individuals who deserve opportunities and all the care they can receive.
"These are these are people they may not be able to express everything that you and I express, but they're still human and they've got needs, they've got wants, they've got all the things that we have as well," said Carlson.
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