SALT LAKE CITY — A budget resolution in Washington, D.C., could result in major cuts to energy and health programs over the next decade, including Medicaid.
The workers with Volunteers of America Utah are closely monitoring the situation and preparing to adjust if needed. The Volunteers of America focus on helping those who are unsheltered, many of them dealing with mental health or substance abuse issues.
Kathy Bray, the President and CEO of Volunteers of America Utah, says 10% of the group's budget comes from the federal government. Another critical source of funding is Medicaid reimbursement. "It's very important, the Medicaid services that we provide, so we're advocating to keep federal Medicaid in place, we know it's on the chopping block," Bray explained.
Bray has been running the Volunteers of America Utah for the past 26 years. And much like a veteran quarterback, she has to be prepared to read the defense and adjust the plan when things change.
"We have to be best prepared for what might happen. So we're looking at diversifying funding," Bray expressed. "What else might we do to become more efficient? How are we going to respond if cuts come a different levels?"
Bray says her 360-person staff and nearly 8,000 volunteers are all deeply committed to their objective: helping almost 8,000 Utahns every year find housing, and receive substance abuse treatment, and receive medical care.
But for now, she's hoping for the best but preparing for possible funding cuts, "There's an uncertain future. We have a really giving community, good relationships, we may need to lean more on the community to keep things running at the level that our community needs."
Volunteers of America Utah is one of the largest, nonprofit, human service providers in Salt Lake County. They've been at it for 40 years now and Kathy Bray says they will find a way to keep providing those services to the best of their ability.
