By SANDY McGEE

WOONSOCKET â€' Twenty-nine year old Shirley Moore spends her days at the Homestead Group Community Center on Fabien Street helping adults with disabilities with everyday tasks, such as putting on a coat, writing a letter or opening a door.

“I enjoy working with the people I help,” Moore said. “It makes me feel good.”

Moore’s contribution to others and the fate of other program participants, including hundreds of adults and children with developmental disabilities, is in jeopardy with the governor’s recently proposed budget cuts, according to Homestead Group CEO Robert L. Carl.

“If the state cuts go through as they are scheduled, it is my belief we (the Homestead Group) will be unable to operate,” Carl said. “It’s the simple fact that with the cost of requirements, licensure requirements and other protections you have to offer through state and federal law, we would be unable to operate.”

Gov. Donald L. Carcieri presented his supplemental budget proposal to the General Assembly in January. The proposal, which still needs to be approved by the General Assembly, included $152 million in cuts to balance this year’s state budget.

The Homestead Group, formerly the Arc of Northern Rhode Island, operates on a $17 million budget, which is funded mostly through the state’s Medicaid program, said Carl. A very small portion of the funding is provided through private donations and local school districts, according to its CEO.

The non-profit organization provides employment, recreation and residential services to nearly 1,000 children and adults with developmental disabilities. The organization also employs 1,000 individuals on a full and part-time basis at its 17 group homes and work sites.

Moore said she is worried about how her life might change if the Homestead Group’s centers ever closed. “I wouldn’t be happy,” Moore said. “I don’t like them (the proposed cuts).”

“Her quality of life would be badly changed,” Carl said. “She helps us. She’s able to help other people.”

Moore also participates in peer training, computer training and social recreation programs at the community center.

“She’s one of our most talented people,” Carl said. “She’s a member of this community, a leader of this community. Without this, she wouldn’t have a place to go during the day and she wouldn’t have the staff support.”

The organization’s CEO has recently held several emergency meetings with parents, employees and board members to discuss the proposed cuts, which, according to Carl, would significantly affect the lives of 1,000 adults and children who participate in Homestead Group services.

“Basically, the most vulnerable people in the state, people with physical and developmental challenges (would be affected),” Carl said. “Most of the people here have significant challenges. A lot of the people don’t have the attributes to fend for themselves. Many of these people don’t have families. I’m concerned about them all.

“There’s no place for them to go. We offer a protective environment here. That’s something society needs to offer - a protective environment.”

The Homestead Group’s CEO said that the nonprofit is able to budget its programs with less money than a state-run program.

“Without these programs, the state will have to establish its own programs. We can operate a lot cheaper than the state can operate,” Carl said. “They run group homes that run 40 percent more than our programs.”

According to Carl, the Homestead Group has not raised its rates for services in the past seven years, while the cost of living expenses, such as oil, gas, housing, etc., has risen substantially.

“In the last six years, we haven’t had any rate increases for the services provided,” Carl said. “We are operating at the same rate structure as of seven years ago.”

Members of the board of directors for Homestead Gardens are looking into cutting some services in order to save the organization.

Carl said they are discussing canceling a service that provides transportation for individuals from a parent’s home to a work site. Nearly 100 individuals are provided transportation from their homes to the center each day.

“Right now, we get $7 per day from the state to transport people,” Carl said. “It costs us $25 dollars a day to provide the transportation. That would save us a substantial amount of money.”

Officials of the organization are asking parents and staff to contact their legislatures to “ let them know that without adequate resources, we cannot operate,” Carl said. “We seek their continued help. The truth is (that) we can’t operate with our anticipated resources. If we can’t meet payroll, then we can’t keep our doors open.”

The CEO of the Homestead Group also said that layoffs might be necessary if the proposed cuts are passed.

“Eighty percent of our dollars are spent on personnel,” Carl said. “We would expect to layoff several hundreds of people. All the other agencies are in the same situation. These cuts mean thousands of layoffs and thousands of people without services.”

The Homestead Group’s officials and staff members will attend a rally to protest the governor’s proposed budget cuts on Tuesday, Feb. 26, at 3:30 p.m. at the State House.

The nonprofit has grown far since its first residential home in 1973, according to its Web site.

The Homestead Group, formerly the Arc of Northern Rhode Island, began in 1954 when several parents of children with disabilities met in response to an ad placed in “The Call” by Mr. and Mrs. Nate Miller, according to the Homestead Group’s Web site. The primary focus in the 1950s by these parents was to provide day care, education and recreation for their children.

In July 2006, the Arc of Northern Rhode Island became known as the Homestead Group. Program expansion during 2006 included the opening of Homestead Gardens in North Smithfield, as well as the opening of an Early Intervention program that provides support for newborns and toddlers.

The organization currently maintains 17 group homes throughout Northern Rhode Island and provides support to approximately 1,000 men, women and children with developmental disabilities.

For more information about the Homestead Group, visit www.arcofnri.org/index.htm.