CHARLOTTE, N.C. — With ongoing discussions of government funding ahead of the government shutdown deadline, Lifespan Services, a nonprofit that helps individuals with disabilities across North Carolina, is working to shed light on how they use Medicaid funding.

Medicaid is not mentioned in the short-term funding bill, but the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office recently released a report last week that said the budget will probably require cuts to Medicaid or Medicare to make funding possible.

The potential change to funding is something Christopher White, chief operating officer of Lifespan Services, believes could affect members as a majority of the facility’s funding comes from Medicaid.

“If we didn’t have Medicaid funding, the trickle-down effect is that person would end up at home and if they’re at home, their loved one would make a decision in life, which means they probably would have to leave their job, and if they’re leaving their job, that’s putting a heavier burden on that caregiver,” White said.

The nonprofit would probably have to turn to philanthropy dollars, he added.

At Lifespan’s creative campuses, individuals can gain valuable life skills and find job and housing opportunities.

“There [are] a lot of voices that aren’t heard,” White said. “Seeing the fact that a person’s moved just because they were able to dress themselves for the day, things we take for granted, we simplify this and we’re like, ‘These are normal occurrences.’”

Individuals like Bashir Gordy have been able to gain confidence and independence through resources from Lifespan, White added. In the last month, Gordy has landed a job interview through the help from interview classes at Lifespan.

“It teaches me how to stand up for myself and be independent and teach me how to count money,” Gordy said.

As individuals like Gordy work to make strides at Lifespan, White said a cut to Medicaid funding could affect opportunities that make independence possible and would make it harder to hire caregivers.

“Our biggest portion that we’re working through at this moment is with our DSPs, our direct support professionals, making sure that we secure livable wages, for them and in that aspect, that feeds into also having qualified folks to be able to care and support the folks we’re working with in the community,” White said.

White wants strengthened funding and improved access to resources for Medicare and Medicaid — not cuts.

“All these things that we’re fighting for now, we want continued services on the ones that we have stabilized those services. But let’s not go backwards. We put so much work in together. So I would more so say not change, but let’s continue walking the path forward and sustain where we’re at,” White said.

Defense spending would rise by $6 billion under the new bill, while non-defense spending would be reduced by $13 billion from last year’s levels.

The deadline to fund the government is Friday, March 14, and it is still unclear how potential cuts could affect programs like Lifespan Services. 

Lifespan is open for volunteers to teach creative classes and is offering guided tours of the facility for people looking to learn more. You can visit their website here for more information.