71 residents of the Austin State Supported Living Center, a home for some of the more profoundly mentally disabled among us, are being evicted from the campus effective immediately, without due process or provisions for comparable services. This is in violation of their civil rights, and in some cases will isolate them from family members and trusted caregivers, putting them in a precarious situation. We are their families and legal guardians. We are distraught, and gravely concerned for the wellbeing of our loved ones, many of whom have proven incapable of living elsewhere, or have lived 30, 40, even 50 years of their lives at the Austin State Supported Living Center and for whom a change could prove disastrous. Our stories matter.  These people matter.  If the state is willing to oust its most vulnerable citizens under unjust circumstances, we fear for the future of all mentally disabled, mentally ill, or special needs Texans.

We ask that you support our call to put a STOP to the evictions and hold our representatives accountable for the notices that were sent to our families in June, 2014, months before the Sunset Review made the suggestion to close the Austin State Supported Living Center, the fate of which is to be determined in the next session of the Texas Legislature, 2015.