MUSKOGEE, Okla. -- Oklahoma families that deal with disabilities are planning ahead.
Whether that means rallying or looking at giving up their jobs, the thousands getting care through DHS are fearful for the outcome of budget cuts in December.
Jade Day organized the Rally to Save Oklahoma for her son Gavin, a nine-year-old at the Oklahoma School for the Blind.
"Who wants to put their 18-year-old, 30-year-old, 40-year-old...however old... Nobody wants to put their loved one in a nursing home. It's usually always the last choice. But why does it have to be the only choice?" Day said.
2 Works for You looked at how cuts through the Department of Human Services will affect about 25,000 families that deal with disabilities. It will also hurt hundreds of seniors who could lose their homes if the ADvantage program is cut.
"I think a load of bricks dropped on your head would have felt much better," ADvantage recipient Barb Woodard said.
In addition, close to 30,000 Oklahoma children are getting care through DHS subsidies.
When bringing the Muskogee community together, Day said it's important to look beyond the statistics.
"People have become numbers. We're case numbers. There's 7,500 on the wait list currently. They're not putting Oklahoma faces with these numbers," she said.
The mother said the end goal is her son, and making sure he can keep his dream of serving in the army or becoming a police officer someday.
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