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Disabled man struggles to find place to live Date published: 5/15/2007
BY AMY FLOWERS UMBLE
After decades apart from her brother, Pat Trotter was surprised to discover he lived in an apartment by himself in 2003. Kenny Deal has about six days' worth of school, can't read and has an IQ of 47. He can print his name--a feat he takes great pride in. "He'll sign his name on anything," Trotter said. And in 1999, he signed his name on a lease of a Culpeper County one-bedroom apartment, which he got with help from a Section 8 housing voucher. Trotter came back to Virginia after living across the country for years. She found her brother's apartment, a block off Main Street in Culpeper, and hoped for a joyful reunion with him. But when he opened the door, the smell took her breath away. The bathtub was black, and a colony of roaches had moved in to Deal's bed. His cooking skills consist of using a microwave on highA power only because he can't read the instructions on the back of a box. But Trotter was even more horrified to see neighbors in and out of Deal's apartment, stopping by for money, food, sodas and favors. Deal said "yes" to any request. When Trotter asked why, he said, "They're my friends." He sees everyone as an immediate ally, Trotter said. "He will give away his last dime if someone asks for it." Deal worked part time, doing odd jobs at a nearby park. He showed up at work to find hand-drawn pictures of his chores, so he'd know what to do that day. Deal said he loved his job. When Trotter moved back to Virginia, she became one of thousands of state residents trying to navigate the issues of long-term care for the developmentally disabled. She tried to help her brother deal with day-to-day living and the more complicated issues of finding a permanent home. She immediately threw out his furniture and the roaches living in it. She moved her brother to a new apartment and hired a cleaning crew. She lives in Spotsylvania County and drove 30 minutes twice a week to help him with laundry, groceries and errands.
Date published: 5/15/2007
You always here people say that only people who cannot fend for themselves should get help from society. But this story points out how hard finding that help can be. For a society to spend Billions in Iraq, and have this happen is really disturbing. But, people talk a good line about taking care of the disabled, but when push comes to shove, they want their tax money for war instead of taking care of the living. I know, I have a disabled partner, the maze to find help was most worrying.
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