Touchstone Residents Make Their Voices Heard
Residents’ voices deserve to be heard. Thanks to Resident Support Specialist Joe Reyes, our residents at Rising Cedar were given the opportunity to share their stories and struggles with representative Ilhan Omar. Currently, due to changes in social security and CADI waver qualifications, many of our residents who have had secure housing, medical care, and psychological care for the last several years are facing challenges that jeopardize the progress they have made here at Touchstone. Brittany, a current resident at Touchstone, stated that “because of the system, I might lose my place here.”
To our residents, this is not a halfway home or a temporary residence. This is their home. For many, a forever home. Chris Hughes, Director at Rising Cedar, clarified the importance of facilities such as ours, “We have built so much here. Problem is, there is no place we can refer them to. There is no other place like this.” Furthermore, if removed from our care, residents will lose more than a home. In addition to housing, Touchstone assists residents with affording and accessing vital medications they need to survive. Brittany, one of the residents that sparked the idea for this listening session, shared that “If [she] doesn’t take [her] medication every day, [she] could slip into a coma and die.”
Throughout all of our residents’ stories, Representative Omar reacted with empathy and solidarity. In fact, thanks to this listening session, one of our residents was able to get assistance from Representative Omar for some of the obstacles they brought up during the session. Additionally, she emphasized the importance of sharing lived experiences such as these with representatives. “We’re all human beings as legislators. When we sit down to have a conversation with legislative staff, part of that conversation is how many people contacted the office asking us to vote yes or no.” While our time with Representative Ilhan Omar was short, it allowed our residents to not only find some of the assistance that they needed but gave them the platform needed to share what it is like to be in their situation. We invite you to do the same.
