About 200 Federation members and members of the community turned out at Centralia College Wednesday night (April 8) to urge legislators to oppose the closure of Green Hill School and Naselle Youth Camp, and reductions to parole and group homes.
Their main message: Capacity lost cannot be regained easily and without expense.
The panel and speakers urged continued calls to legislators.
“If just everyone in this room called, it would make a difference – things would change,” Federation Executive Director Greg Devereux said. “You need to talk to your legislators.
“Everyone, stand up and say something – and there wouldn’t be any closings.”
Four legislators lent their support.
“Populations do continue to decline, but at a slower rate and leveling off and will start to go back up,” said 20th District Rep. Gary Alexander, ranking Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee.
“I would be very cautious about not having the capacity to deal with it. This is a passionate issue and you’ve presented it with empirical data. Let’s look somewhere else (for cuts).”
Also on hand were Sen. Dan Swecker of the 20th District, Rep. Sam Hunt of the 22nd District and Sen. Karen Fraser of the 22nd District.
Speakers said that Green Hill School specifically is a functioning, deliberate model that will be changed and no longer exist if residents are shuffled.
Members and community speakers voiced concern over the potential shift from focusing on treatment and skill building to managing outbursts and acting out.
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