THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, April 29, 1996 TAG: 9604290038
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY NANCY LEWIS, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines
A Methodist vision of serving Virginia's mentally retarded population - the most underserved in the country, according to one study - has only one more hurdle to clear before becoming reality.
And it now appears that the plan to open group homes around the state will win unanimous backing at the church's four-day annual conference that convenes June 12 in Virginia Beach.
The idea - prompted by concerns about state and federal funding cuts - has ``grabbed the conscience of the Virginia Conference like nothing I've ever seen,'' said Robert Pitzer, director of the Southeast United Methodist Agency for Rehabilitation. ``Everybody's talking about it.''
If approved by the church's governing body in June, the first residences could be up and running as early as Christmas, said Pitzer, though the timetable would depend largely on the donation of homes and the accumulation of three-year operating funds. Already, five houses have been offered by parents of mentally retarded adults concerned about their children's future after the parents die, and start-up funds for one year of operation are in hand.
In deciding that they should help handicapped state residents, Virginia's United Methodist Church officials sought opinion at 21 public hearings around the state last fall. What they heard bolstered their belief that the need was great.
South Hampton Roads is one of several areas where pleas for church intervention were loudest. Hearings in the area had the highest turnout, and about half the participants came from outside the Methodist church - including caregivers and public-sector employees who work with the mentally retarded.
Other areas where the need is pressing include the Peninsula, Alexandria, Roanoke, Harrisonburg, Danville and Ashland, church officials said.
In recent months, the proposal has received unanimous backing from all levels of the church hierarchy, and officials at the top of the state's Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services are in full support of the proposal, said Pitzer, who oversees operation of 41 Methodist-run group homes.
The driving force behind the initiative was concern that cutbacks in state and federal funding would further weaken support for handicapped persons.
Already, Virginia ranks dead last in providing small-setting residential services for the mentally retarded, according to a 1994 study by consulting firm of Mangan, Blake, Prouty & Lakin.
The state serves 3.4 mentally retarded people for every 100,000, in population, according to the study. By contrast, the national average of people served is 53.6 per 100,000. New Hampshire, which ranked highest, serves about 222 per 100,000.
``The need is tremendous,'' said Pitzer.
The church already runs group homes for mentally retarded adults in the other eight states that, with Virginia, constitute its southeast jurisdiction.
Currently, 41 residences house more than 300 people in Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee. Four more homes are scheduled to open next week, and others are on the drawing board.
Methodists opened the first of the residences in 1974. They are small, serving no more than five adults each, and religious affiliation is not a factor in determining eligibility for service. Money comes from private donations and public sources, including Medicaid and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. by CNB