Question by Sakurachan: Grumpy Blind Guy, do you know about Lutheran Blind Mission, Etc.?
A few days ago, I asked a question about disabled-homebound Christians wanting to serve their church & your response made me sad. I’m sorry the Church hasn’t included you like they should. The reason I asked the question is that I want to work on it. The church I go to has van service & ramp. I hope you can find one close to you. I’m sure a pastor would be happy to come to visit you too.

Blind Mission: http://www.blindmission.org/
Also online Christian radio shows (esp. Issues Etc.): http://www.kfuoam.org/ie_main.htm
And Lutheran Hour: http://www.lutheranhour.org/archives.asp
Find an LCMS congregation: www.lcms.org >Directories >Congregations (http://www.lcms.org/ca/www/locators/nchurches/church.asp)

Best answer:

Answer by crabby_blindguy
I also made it clear that there are some cchurches that do reach out to the disabled community–and if yours is one of them, great.

But most do not–particularly the so-called “fundamentalist” churches. Perhaps they should spend a little more time reading the Bible instead of thumping it: “” ‘Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but fear your God. I am the LORD.” (Leviticus 19:14)

That’s ironic, because in the 1800s, it was churches and Christians who were at the forefront of establishing schools for the deaf and blind and that made the first efforts to establish decent treatment for the mentally ill, worked to discourage trafesties like “freak shows”,” and so on.

The most notable contribution “organized religion” has made in the past 3-4 decades is to oppose parts of the Americans with Disabilities Act that would have required them to make churches accessible on “freedom of religion” grounds!

And–while it is commendable that you–and your church–are reaching out, if you really want to make a difference, it takes a lot more than a van and good intentions. Here’s a few figures to give you a picture:
>Only 55% of the blind are graduating from high school (it used to be closer to 80%–the national average–before visually impaired children were “mainstreamed” into public schools where they are NOT getting the accomodations they need).
>65% of the adults with disabilities who can work are unemployed.
>The Bush administration has repeatedly cut programs for job training and placement.
>Studies show that the single most vulnerable group to domestic violence are disabled women–up to 80% in some areas.
>Due to lack of education and employment persons with disabilities are at higher risk of alcohol abuse and a variety of other problems

Even 100 years ago, as much as persons with disabilities were wrongly viewed as helpless, such a situation would have had every Church in a city up in arms demanding change. Now, the majjority do not even have an outreach program to bring the Gospel to the disabled and all you here on the media are complaints about “tax money being used for socialist programs.”

Our Lord preached the Sermon on the Mount–but He also cared for those with impairments–and He didn’t forget that, while “Man does not live by bread alone,” man most certainlydoes not live without it.

I commend you–but you are a voice crying in the wilderness. God bless you for trying. But don’t expect me to stop criticizing what needs to be criticized.

If you’d like to learn something about the history o fwork for the disabled, here’s a couple of excellant books that do a good job of showing the critical role Christians played in the 1800s:

Freeberg, “The Education of Laura Bridgeman”
Baynton, “Forbidden Signs”

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Question by Evan: I NEED TO KNOW THE MONEY SPENT ON ALCOHOL REHABS YEARLY. RECENT AND RELIABLE PLZ.?
RECENT AND RELIABLE PLZ.

Best answer:

Answer by raysny
The most recent I could find for the US has the figures for 1997:

“A study shows that the U.S. spent a combined $ 11.9 billion on alcohol and drug abuse treatment, while the total social costs were more than $ 294 billion. The results were part of the National Estimates of Expenditures for Substance Abuse Treatment, 1997, which was released at the end of April by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s Center for Substance Abuse Treatment.

The report, prepared by the MEDSTAT Group for SAMHSA, examines how much is spent in the U.S. to treat alcohol and drug abuse, how that spending has changed between 1987 and 1997, how much of the spending is done by the private and public sectors, and how substance abuse expenditures compare to spending for mental health and other health conditions in the U.S.”
http://www.usmedicine.com/newsDetails.cfm?dailyID=54

In NY:
“States report spending $ 2.5 billion a year on treatment. States did not distinguish whether the treatment was for alcohol, illicit drug abuse or nicotine addiction. Of the $ 2.5 billion total, $ 695 million is spent through the departments of health and $ 633 million through the state substance abuse agencies. We believe that virtually all of these funds are spent on alcohol and illegal drug treatment.”
Source: National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, Shoveling Up: The Impact of Substance Abuse on State Budgets (New York, NY: CASA, Jan. 2001), p. 24.

States Waste Billions Dealing with Consequences of Addiction, CASA Study Says
May 28, 2009

The vast majority of the estimated $ 467.7 billion in substance-abuse related spending by governments on substance-abuse problems went to deal with the consequences of alcohol, tobacco and other drug use, not treatment and prevention, according to a new report from the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University.

The report, titled, “Shoveling Up II: The Impact of Substance Abuse on Federal, State and Local Budgets,” found that 95 percent of the $ 373.9 billion spent by the federal government and states went to paying for the societal and personal damage caused by alcohol and other drug use; the calculation included crime, health care costs, child abuse, domestic violence, homelessness and other consequences of tobacco, alcohol and illegal and prescription drug abuse and addiction.

Just 1.9 percent went to treatment and prevention, while 0.4 percent was spent on research, 1.4 percent went towards taxation and regulation, and 0.7 percent went to interdiction.

“Such upside-down-cake public policy is unconscionable,” said Joseph A. Califano, Jr., CASA’s founder and chairman. “It’s past time for this fiscal and human waste to end.”

CASA estimated that the federal government spent $ 238.2 billion on substance-abuse related issues in 2005, while states spent $ 135.8 billion and local governments spent $ 93.8 billion. The report said that 58 percent of spending was for health care and 13.1 percent on justice systems.

Researchers estimated that 11.2 percent of all federal and state government spending went towards alcohol, tobacco and other drug abuse and addictions and its consequences. The report said that Connecticut spent the most proportionately on prevention, treatment and research — $ 10.39 of every $ 100 spent on addiction issues — while New Hampshire spent the least — 22 cents.
http://www.jointogether.org/news/headlines/inthenews/2009/states-waste-billions-dealing.html

Key Findings

Of the $ 3.3 trillion total federal and state government spending, $ 373.9 billion –11.2 percent, more than one of every ten dollars– was spent on tobacco, alcohol and illegal and prescription drug abuse and addiction and its consequences.

The federal government spent $ 238.2 billion (9.6 percent of its budget) on substance abuse and addiction. If substance abuse and addiction were its own budget category at the federal level, it would rank sixth, behind social security, national defense, income security, Medicare and other health programs including the federal share of Medicaid.

State governments spent $ 135.8 billion (15.7 percent of their budgets) to deal with substance abuse and addiction, up from 13.3 percent in 1998. If substance abuse and addiction were its own state budget category, it would rank second behind spending on elementary and secondary education.

Local governments spent $ 93.8 billion on substance abuse and addiction (9 percent of their budgets), outstripping local spending for transportation and public welfare.¹

For every $ 100 spent by state governments on substance abuse and addiction, the average spent on prevention, treatment and research was $ 2.38; Connecticut spent the most, $ 10.39; New Hampshire spent the least, $ 0.22.

For every dollar the federal and state governments spent on prevention and treatment, they spent $ 59.83 shoveling up the consequences, despite a growing

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Question by Pretty thang: I need help with my essay?
My name is Rebekkah. i am 30 years old. I graduated from California State University Dominguez Hills with a Bachelor’s of Arts degree in Pschology. Most of my concentration courses were in Abnormal Psychology, Psychology of the Aging, and The Family. My passion is to work with individuals and families that suffer from mental health and conduct disorders, substance abuse, and family violence issues. I believe that treatment must first begin with involving the entire family.
I have five years of experience working in mental health field with a variety of clients.
First, my job experience working as a mentor/tutor with low-income at-risk children introduced me to the mental health field. And as a result of this experience, I am dedicated to pursuing a career in Marriage and Family therapy. I also have worked with clients in a residential treatment facility who have behavioral and emotional problems. These clients need to be in a more structured environment where treatment can help them overcome their behaviors. I have experience in working with clients to set initial goals and a plan to meet his/her goals. SEcond, my experience as a case manager in handling domestic violence cases taught me that there needs to be professions that can be emphathetic to their needs and situations. I believe that I can bring my attributes to your program of being an empathetic person, compassion, and maintaining confidentiality.

Best answer:

Answer by KnowsEverything773
I’m not entirely sure where your question is, unless you just want feedback on your essay and this is it.

Feedback:
-I don’t know that I would start with “My name is…I am…years old,” etc. I think there’s a stronger way you could phrase that. Eg. “I am Rebekkah, a graduate of California State Dominguez Hills with a Bachelor’s of Arts degree in Psychology.” Do you need to put your age?
-Sentences that start with “I think” and “I believe” are not very strong. Excessive use of the verb “to be” is also risky. For example, in your last sentence, you can probably make it stronger by moving “I believe” to a less important part of the sentence and phrasing it like this: “As an empathetic and compassionate individual who knows the importance of maintaining confidentiality, I believe that I could contribute much to your program.”
-Watch out for spelling and grammar errors, as well as typos. “SEcond, my experience…” <-typo! -Revised sentence: "My passion is working with individuals and families that suffer from..." -Your sentence that starts "And as a result" - drop the "And" and start with "As" instead. -Drop the "First," in "First, my job experience..." -Revised sentence: "I have worked with clients to initially establish individual goals and then a plan to meet these goals." Revised sentence: Drop "Second" and then rephrase, "As a case manager in handling domestic violence cases, I learned that professionals must be empathetic to the various needs of clients and to the situations themselves. Sorry that's all kind of out of order...I just wrote down suggestions as I went through in my weird order, but I hope it helps.

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