Report in on PHA Annual Legislative Meeting: SDC parents speak out

This past Saturday was the Parent Hospital Association's (PHA) annual legislative meeting. Each year area legislators, their staff, and other candidates for office are invited to attend the March general membership meeting. PHA members have a chance to bring their questions and concerns directly to their representatives and get reports on activities in Sacramento, Washington and Santa Rosa affecting Sonoma Developmental Center (SDC) residents.

Turnout was good again this year, and the local press attended. Tuesday's Sonoma Index-Tribune included both a front page article on the meeting, and an editorial.

from the article...

At the Sonoma Developmental Center on Saturday, John Doyle, chief deputy director of the California Department of Developmental Services (DDS), told a gathering of parents and guardians of SDC residents, “Resources must be available in the community before transition takes place. We’re aware of the concerns and we take them very seriously.”

The transition Doyle was referring to is the expected movement of an undetermined number of residents from the 123-year-old facility on the outskirts of Glen Ellen, to smaller, cheaper and ostensibly more efficient group homes in adjacent communities, most or all of which do not yet exist.

And while Doyle sought to assuage the anxieties of family members who have had sons and daughters, sisters and brothers for decades in the Arnold Drive facility, most of the 17 people who addressed a panel of legislators and legislative aids expressed little or no faith in DDS plans to provide a satisfactory and harmonious transition from SDC into the broader community.

Assembled for an annual legislative affairs meeting, the March 8 event was sponsored by the Parent Hospital Association (PHA), a group of family members, guardians and advocates for SDC residents.

Read the full article here: Sonoma Developmental Center parents speak out, by David Bolling (Sonoma Index-Tribune, March 11, 2014)

Coalition and Lawmakers Continue Push for SDC's Future

The Sonoma Developmental Center, Sonoma Valley, Calif. (Conner Jay, The Press Democrat)

The coalition of family, advocates, legislators and environmental groups that has come together over the future of Sonoma Developmental Center (SDC), California's oldest and one of its few remaining centers, continues to lobby for a say in plans for the center's programs, services and resources. The Press Democrat is reporting on the group's efforts most recent efforts to stave off any hint of closure or dissolution of the nearly 1,000 acre property.

“We've made it clear that we are eager and willing to have a conversation about continuation of services, different kinds of services and the preservation of the site,” said Sonoma County Supervisor Susan Gorin, who has taken the lead on local efforts.

The coalition includes the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District, county regional parks, the Sonoma Ecology Center and the Sonoma Land Trust. Sonoma's Parent Hospital Association also is on board.

“We want to be included from the ground floor,” Kathleen Miller, the group's president, said. Her son, Dan Smith, is a resident of the facility.

read the full article...  Lawmakers join fight for Sonoma Developmental Center, by Derek Moore, The Press Democrat (March 7, 2014)

More information about the Sonoma Coalition is available on this blog:
Sonoma Coalition to Present at Next PHA Meeting
Coalition of Organizations Urges Support for Sonoma Developmental Center

Mark Your Calendars for PHA Events in March

First, coming up this Saturday, March 8th, from 10 a.m. to noon is the Parent Hospital Association's annual legislative meeting. This is a regularly scheduled general membership meeting. In attendance and on the agenda will be area legislative representatives and prospective candidates. This is our chance to ask important questions, express concerns, offer information directly to legislators and their staff. The meeting is usually full, and we hope to see as many PHA members as possible again this year. Meet in McDougall Hall on the Sonoma Developmental Center campus.

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Next up this month is our big event, Heroes With Heart. Mark your calendars -- and reserve your tickets -- for Saturday, March 29th. Festivities begin at 5:30 p.m. This year organizers are revisiting the classic "An Evening in the Emerald Isle" theme for this very important evening for PHA. We'll also be returning to the lovely Vintner's Inn in Santa Rosa. More details are available on the Heroes With Heart Event web page, or you can call event coordinators at 707-523-3728.