Lee Hawn, Activity Instructor
The Arc San Francisco

May 2002

Stepping forward to take a leading role in the SEIU statewide effort to improve and reform funding for the developmentally disabled community is Lee Hawn, The Arc San Francisco activity instructor and The Arc Chapter president. And he has been busy. Last month he attended the three-day SEIU State Council legislative conference in Sacramento where he testified at a public hearing about the developmentally disabled services budget as well as lobbied legislators. Later in the month, in conjunction with the Association of Regional Center Agencies, he spoke at a rally at the SF Arc along with Assembly members Dion Aroner and John Burton. The rally was attended by over 700 people.

He also spoke at the first-ever Grassroots Lobby Day on the capitol steps that drew nearly 1,000 activists. He joined consumers, family members, advocates, workers, and agency representatives in calling for better funding for the developmentally disabled.

“It’s exciting to be able to stand up and see this tremendous involvement and support coming together from the union and the developmentally disabled community,” says Hawn. “It was inspiring. We’ve been butting our heads against this wall for so many years. Now that SEIU is involved in the campaign, we have a better chance of seeing some fundamental changes.”

Hawn is doing this for himself, his co-workers, and his clients. “I work in a field where we are care givers. We want to help. Being involved in the union to improve our situation at the political level is a natural extension of that work. I want to do my part to make some changes.”

Hawn and other workers provide the services that allow the developmentally disabled to live as independent a life as possible with dignity and respect. “It’s very gratifying to be a part in a process that helps our clients get jobs, set up their own apartments, and help them do those things the rest of us take for granted. The more support we receive from the state the better we are to help our clients receive the services they need to lead a more fulfilling life.”

Hawn and SEIU are involved in a statewide campaign to reform how services are delivered to the disabled community. “For years this community has been ignored and chronically underfunded,” says Hawn, “Turnover is high, wages are low, we can’t deliver the services we want, and morale has been down for a very long time. Now we are facing a massive budget deficit and they’re talking about taking the cuts out on us, the people who can least afford it. We need more resources not less. We need to make the needs of the developmentally disabled community a priority.”

Hawn and SEIU are asking for more emphasis on training, livable wages and benefits for staff, and improved services for consumers. “We are certainly not in this job for the money. We are here because we care about our clients. Many of us work with them for years and establish close relationships. We want what is best for them and want to do our jobs as well as we can. But the way the system is funded, our hands are tied and our clients suffer.

“Over the years we have found that we can’t fight this battle alone, which is why we are reaching out to other SEIU unions and employers. Until our agencies are funded adequately we won’t be able to improve our wages and benefits and the needed services to our consumers.”