Fear of the Future and Flood Fun - #atozchallenge

I had set out participating in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge with the aim of writing about some of my experiences as the sister in law of an autistic man in his late 50's.

Now, it's possible we may be facing a crisis.  I've heard from two people, one of whom has contacts in the advocacy community, that our local ARC may be closing.

Quoting from the national Arc website:

"The Arc is the largest national community-based organization advocating for and serving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families. We encompass all ages and more than 100 different diagnoses including autism, Down syndrome, Fragile X syndrome, and various other developmental disabilities."

Bil has been associated, in some ways, with Arc's where he used to live, and now the local one, for over 30 years.  If they are indeed closing, this, to put it mildly, is not going to be a good thing.

My spouse is not one to try to get support.  I am.  And, more than ever, I need to connect with people online.  There are support groups for parents, for sibs, for autistic children and adults.  For in-laws, not so much. In fact, I've found that in laws are not welcome in sib support groups - they want a safe place to be able to vent about their unique experiences.  I can respect that, but I find I'm the one reaching out and researching many times, as my spouse has his hands full doing things for his aging mother and trying to cope with a physical job that is harder and harder to do now that he is a senior.

I thought I was a pretty good online researcher, but finding support for my particular circumstance seems to be eluding me.

Programs continue to be cut.  Funding continues to be cut.  And organizations such as Arc can not do their work without funding.

It's not a good situation.

I fear for the future.  And, right now, with our area of upstate New York, I also fear for flooding.  If our area flooded the way it did in 2011, Bil would have another new adventure - a Red Cross shelter.

And that would not be Fun for any of us.

My A to Z theme - The Unknown Journey Ahead.