Thomas was chosen by the student body at Shorecrest High School in Shoreline to be part of the Homecoming Royal Court this year. He is certainly far from being isolated and restricted –
he has flourished from being allowed to grow and learn in the environment which is the least restrictive for him.
When RHC residents move to a community setting, many will need an increase in direct support staff due to the more restrictive environment for them, which will also increase the cost of care.
Moving my son and many others with similar needs from the RHC to a community setting is far from “doing the right thing” and will actually bring restrictions and harm. “Doing the right thing” means adhering to the US DD Act and the US Supreme Court Decision Olmstead –
not evicting people from their homes because you don’t like where they live.
Please continue to allow our loved ones to thrive
in the environment which is the least restrictive
for them!
Because We Care - Beyond Inclusion 
Thank you for this blog about LRE. I work in a self contained classroom at Shorecrest and many of my co-workers feel the same way about Fircrest. We have seen residents leave Fircrest and not function nearly as well as they do at Fircrest. Community homes are great for some, but for others they are much more restrictive and involve much less “community” living than living at Fircrest allows.
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Thank you very much for your comment. This is a critical issue that many do not understand and only believe what they are told by many who are opposed to any congregate care. If you could, would you by any chance send a letter to the DD Task Force (emails below) telling them your viewpoint? They are meeting currently and they need to have proposals in by tomorrow evening regarding the future of the RHCs. There has been a HUGE push to close another one – most likely Fircrest or Rainier. This decision (if they make it) will be a disaster for everyone. I do hope that they come to realize they are going down a dangerous pathway. For many residents, if they left the RHC, they would be imprisoned – either in a “community” home or jail – neither of which are humane choices.
Here are the email addresses for those on the DD Service System Task Force: (This list also includes legislative staff involved)
Linda.Merelle@leg.wa.gov
Rosiebud1907@hotmail.com;
clintDL@dshs.wa.gov;
ggoodwin@co.grant.wa.us;
Tami.Green@leg.wa.gov;
Norm.Johnson@leg.wa.gov;
balslkl@DSHS.WA.GOV;
Curtis.King@leg.wa.gov;
Adam.Kline@leg.wa.gov;
lance@arcofkingcounty.org;
leslie.smith@ddc.wa.gov;
shenon.porter@des.wa.gov;
sueh@wfse.org
Laura.Bell@leg.wa.gov
Michelle.Butler@leg.wa.gov
Bryn.Houghton@leg.wa.gov;
Lisa.McCollum@leg.wa.gov;
Gale.Sackman@leg.wa.gov;
Andi.Smith@gov.wa.gov;
Megan.Atkinson@leg.wa.gov;
Kathleen.Buchli@leg.wa.gov;
Stacey.Folsom@leg.wa.gov;
Eric.Lohnes@leg.wa.gov;
Linda.Merelle@leg.wa.gov;
Brittany.Yunker@leg.wa.gov;
James.Kettel@leg.wa.gov
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