The Dreaded Waiting Lists and NOEWAIT

Husband spoke to his brother tonight about their mother's housing and financial situation, and how Bil complicates her elder care situation.

This brings up the dreaded Waiting List.

Everyone who has family with developmental disabilities knows what The Waiting List is.  That's the list your family member gets on...and then rots and rots and rots.  Because in fact, The Waiting List is a fiction.  These lists are years long...we are talking (in some instances) 20 years or more.  This is how you end up with widows in their 80's taking care of their disabled 50 and 60 something sons and daughters.  Or, with family members not free to move where they may want to live.  Or the disabled member being unable to move to where they may have to be because that is where the rest of their family is.

I have just found about about an organization called NOEWAIT:  National Organization to End the Waitlists.  I haven't had a chance to investigate the website yet, to see if this organization may be something worthwhile for us to join.

This organization has a video on YouTube. (I have not reviewed it yet.)

To quote from NOEWAIT's YahooGroup:

Waitlists are a national disgrace. Some states have over 100,000 individuals with extreme needs waiting for services. Yet, individuals are fighting for services on a person-by-person, state-by-state basis.

"Outsiders"  may be puzzled by this.  Families of those "in the system", as my brother in law is, know exactly what this means.

It certainly sounds good on the surface.  Hopefully this weekend we will be able to learn more about it.