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John 17:15-17 “My prayer isnot that you take them out ofthe world but that you protectthem from the evil one. Theyare not of the world, even as Iam not of it. Sanctify them bythe truth, your word is truth.”New International Version

The prayer Jesus prayed for his disciplesis his desire for us today. We are not towithdraw from the world but to grow inobedience to his Word. His Word, the Bibleteaching, offers protection from evil. We aremade righteous when we place our faith inChrist, but become sanctified by learningand practicing his truth. Hide his Words inour hearts that we may grow in obedienceand holiness. It’s the only way.Life Application Bible Notes

This inspirational message is sponsored by the 31

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Calendar listings are published free on a space-available basis. Submit entries to events@gosa-nangelo.com. If an item must be published on a spe-cific day, an advertisement is required. Be sure tocheck availability as some events are being canceleddue to COVID-19.

SEPT. 11

SAN ANGELO COWBOY GATHERING is on Sept. 11and 12 at the First Financial Pavilion, 50 E. 43rd. Mul-tiple bands will play throughout the day. Cost: $45per day or $70 for a two day pass. Call 325-763-9923to purchase tickets. Info:sanangelocowboygathering.com. 9/11 MEMORIAL SERVICE, hosted by the city, willbegin at 10 a.m. Sept. 11 inside the San Angelo ArtMuseum, 1 Love Street. People are asked to wearface coverings and social distance.GARDENING: Lunch ‘n’ Learn gardening class is fromnoon-1 p.m. on Sept. 12 at PPC Studio, 416 S. Oakeswith speaker Allison Watkins. Cost: $5 per person.Call 325-656-3104 to register or go to:www.peopleplantconnection.org/contact.html.LIVE MUSIC with Wrather Rhodes & Matt Lopez willbe streamed virtually at 3 p.m. on the Railway Mu-seum of San Angelo Facebook page. Info: info.rail-waymuseum@gmail.com.LIVE MUSIC with Kerri Lick from 7-10 p.m. at TheConcho Pearl Icehouse, 1605 S. Chadbourne St.LIVE MUSIC with Rita Capuchina from 8:30-11:30p.m. at the Casual Pint, 19 E. Concho Ave.

SEPT. 12

WALK: The San Angelo Walk to End Alzheimer’s willtake place Sept. 12. This year’s Walk participants canwalk almost anywhere - in their neighborhoods, onwalking trails, wherever they can keep safe socialdistancing and always wear a mask. To sign up, visitact.alz.org/walk or call the 24/7 helpline, 800-272-3900.SAN ANGELO COWBOY GATHERING is on Sept. 11and 12 at the First Financial Pavilion, 50 E. 43rd. Mul-tiple bands will play throughout the day. Cost: $45per day or $70 for a two day pass. Call 325-763-9923to purchase tickets. Info:sanangelocowboygathering.com. FALL LANDSCAPE SYMPOSIUM is from 9 a.m.-noonon Saturday, Sept. 12. This year’s symposium will befree to join on-line. Participants must pre-register online at txmg.org/conchovalley. Deadline to register isFriday, September 11. Info: 325-659-6522.VIRTUAL EVENT: "West Texas Counseling & Guidancepresents the 2020 Shine a Light “Move”ment forSuicide Prevention & Awareness taking place untilSept. 30, with a special virtual event presentationheld on Saturday, Sept. 12. The “Move”ment includesthe act of moving for 20 minutes, donating $20, andnominating 2 others to participate to help support 0suicide. Participants are able to register online inorder to receive their complimentary participationmedal, as well as purchase a t-shirts, pre-orderedBBQ plates. To register online or for more informa-tion, visit wtcg.us/2020shine or call 325-262-0055.LIVE MUSIC with Charles Reyes is set for 2-5 p.m. atOld Central Firehouse Pizzeria & Taproom, 200A S.Magdalen St. Info: 325-227-6710.FOOD DRIVE: Farmers-to-Families Food Drive is from3-5 p.m. at 3301 TLC Way. There will be groceriesgiven away, no questions asked. LIVE MUSIC with Drew Moreland and Dayne Packfrom 7-10 p.m. at The Concho Pearl Icehouse, 1605 SChadbourne St.LIVE MUSIC with The Tequila Brothers from 8 p.m.-1a.m. at the Casual Pint, 19 E. Concho Ave.LIVE MUSIC with Taylor Dee & Shots fired begins at10 p.m. at Whiskey River Saloon, 125 E. Concho.

THINGS TO DO IN SAN ANGELO

Stephanie Kirby says she doesn’t blame the facility— which she believes is taking good care of her son —but she worries that the state’s restrictions on visitorscould have deleterious emotional impacts on the vul-nerable residents of the state supported living cen-ters. It also leaves families on the outside desperatefor closer contact: Stephanie Kirby could better mon-itor how the injury is healing if she could see her son inperson.

“They may as well say, ‘Stephanie, you’ll never seeyour son again,’” she said.

Across Texas, families with loved ones in statesupported living centers are desperate for in-personvisits after months have ticked by with coronavirusrestrictions in place. The facilities closed to visitors inmid-March to prevent the disease from tearingthrough the centers, which together house some3,000 people with intellectual and developmentaldisabilities. Last month, state offi�cials said some visi-tation could resume at nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, but only under stringent condi-tions that include having no confi�rmed cases, andsometimes regular testing of staff� and the use of aplexiglass separator during indoor visits.

A spokesperson for the Health and Human Ser-vices Commission, Kelli Weldon, said none of thestate’s 13 state supported living centers had appliedfor visitation as of Sept. 3.

State offi�cials say the precautions are needed toprotect center residents — some of whom are med-ically fragile and might not understand safety guide-lines like social distancing and frequent hand-wash-ing. Due to COVID-19, we are following state and fed-eral guidance limiting visitors to each SSLC to protectthe health and safety of the people in these facilities,and we have worked to accommodate virtual visitsand have received positive feedback from many fam-ilies on those,” Weldon said in an email.

But parents and advocates say residents with intel-lectual disabilities can’t understand why family mem-bers aren’t visiting, and they are struggling to repli-cate in-person interactions through video confer-ences or phone calls. Some worry they can’t be thereto provide oversight of their children or advice abouttheir care.

“Some of these kids have comorbidity with otherdisorders such as deafness, blindness, intellectualdisabilities, and having that glass barrier, they don'tunderstand it, you can't explain it,” said Kelle WoodRich, head of the Central Texas Autism Center, whichoff�ers one-on-one and group therapy for childrenwith autism. For residents of state-run facilities orother group homes, parents can “feel like it’s a com-plete shut-off�.”

The restrictions were understood at the beginning,but parents have grown frustrated as months — andmilestones — have passed, Rich said.

“‘Oh my goodness, it’s been a month since I’ve beenable to see my child.’ ‘Oh my goodness, I missed mychild’s 21st birthday,’” Rich said. “As the state startedto reopen, things didn’t change for them.”

At the state supported living centers, people live indorm-style housing and receive around-the-clockcare from some 11,600 employees who provide med-ical services and help with intimate tasks like bathingand dressing. The majority of residents have lived inthe centers for more than 10 years, and 144 residentsare under age 22, according to a 2020 report from thefacilities’ ombudsman.

Weldon, with the health commission, said “facil-ities are not required to allow limited personal visita-tion, and we encourage residents and responsibleparties to talk to their facility if they have questionsabout its visitation policies.”

She also said that “multiple factors are considered,including the status of active cases within long-termcare facilities, the trend associated with active cases,the level of recovery in facilities, and the level of com-munity spread.”

As of Monday, there were 62 active coronaviruscases among residents, and 168 in staff�. More than1,000 employees had been cleared to return to workafter testing positive and recovering, and an estimat-ed 504 residents have recovered. A dozen have died,according to state data.

As infections began to increase in Texas — with anearly outbreak at a state supported living center inDenton — people close to the state facilities warnedthey lacked access to adequate testing and other re-sources to respond. Family members on the outsidecomplained they were in the dark about the safetyrisks their loved ones faced. The state later requiredall residents and staff� members to be screened for thevirus, and the health commission, which overseesstate supported living centers, began releasing infor-mation this summer about where outbreaks were oc-curring.

George Bithos, the independent ombudsman forthe living centers, has heard dozens of concernsvoiced by families of those in the centers, and haspassed the reports on to Gov. Greg Abbott’s offi�ce. Of-fi�cials are listening, and the guidelines for visitationaren’t “set in concrete,” he said — but there is current-ly a “blanket rule” that is “extremely diffi�cult” for cen-ters to meet. Abbott’s offi�ce did not respond to a re-quest for comment.

The state has promoted virtual visits and set up apen pal program for patients and residents of statehospitals and state supported living centers.

But advocates and parents say video often doesn’twork with residents of the state supported living cen-ters.

Take the experience of Angela Biggs, from MineralWells, whose 29-year-old daughter, Amber Reynolds,is in the Denton living center because of a brain injuryshe suff�ered at birth. Biggs won’t FaceTime Reynoldsbecause she’s worried about how her daughter will re-act when the call ends.

“I'm concerned about her injuries, about pullingour hair out when I hang up or doing something likethat, banging her head on the wall,” Biggs said. “I haveto weigh all that out. And that's like walking on egg-shells every day.”

Reynolds now gets quiet or puts the phone downwhen her mother calls. Biggs worries Reynolds wouldend up in the emergency room or a state hospital if sheleft the living center, and worries she won’t see herdaughter again if cases surge again this fall.

“I don't want her to think of her mother ... that she

did something wrong or I abandoned her because shedoes have [PTSD] from when she was a child,” Biggssaid.

Abbie Gottlieb, in Houston, has a similar concern.Before the pandemic, Gottlieb and her husband

would visit their 33-year-old daughter, Dana Gottlieb,at the Richmond State Supported Living Center everyfew weeks. Now those visits are replaced with Thurs-day night FaceTimes, daily calls and care packages —stuff�ed with workbooks, clothes, takeout from OliveGarden — that they leave at the guard’s gate. Theyhaven’t seen their daughter, who’s lived there for 15years, in person for about six months, and they’vebeen told visits won’t resume until there are zerocases. There are currently three.

Abbie Gottlieb said her daughter — normally socia-ble, happy and the “last one to leave” dances or par-ties — has become depressed, eats one meal a day,and has asked her parents when she can get out to geta pair of shoes or ice cream from Marble Slab.

“When am I going to see you? I really miss you,”Gottlieb recalled her daughter saying. "We can't hugand kiss her or be right next to her. It's really beenhard for all of us.”

She’s particularly concerned that her daughterneeds dental care and she can’t examine her teethover the phone.

Experts and advocates worry center residents maygrow isolated and depressed. They say there shouldbe a middle ground that off�ers them greater access totheir loved ones without forgoing health precautions.

Greg Hansch, executive director of the Texasbranch of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, saidhe immediately worried that COVID-19 restrictionscould harm people in facilities like group homes andstate hospitals — populations that “often count on re-lationships with their family members as being a criti-cal layer of support.”

Loneliness and isolation — which already aff�ectpeople with disabilities disproportionately, Hanschsaid — could trigger behavioral changes like with-drawal and loss of a daily routine, or more severe con-sequences, like increased susceptibility to depres-sion, anxiety or suicide, he said.

“The power of touch — hugs and squeezing a per-son's hand — those can make an incredible diff�er-ence,” Hansch said. “But that may not be possible atthis point in time.”

Mary Nichols, who started the advocacy groupTexas Caregivers for Compromise, said the healthcommission has taken a clinical approach and shouldbe more “humanitarian.”

The group has started putting up more than 300signs across the state with the names of family mem-bers in long-term care — “each one bearing the nameof a loved one either still living in isolation or who losthis or her one and only precious life while living in iso-lation,” according to a press release.

Nichols said the group has asked Texas legislators,HHSC and Abbott to consider an “essential caregiverplan” which allows one person who was a caregiverbefore the lockdown to visit. The caregivers would fol-low specifi�c safety guidelines, she said.

“We are people who spoon-feed, brush their teeth,clean their dentures, check for bed sores, wash theirhands, fi�nd their missing shoes, replace their hearingaid batteries,” Nichols said.

Meanwhile, families worry their loved ones are re-gressing in the living centers. Some feel like theirhands are tied, because they know they can’t ade-quately care for their children at home.

Jay Cannon, a 31-year-old resident of the San An-gelo State Supported Living Center, has pervasive de-velopmental disorder and intermittent explosive dis-order — meaning he can’t read or write, drive, tie hisshoes or cook. His sister Amanda Horner said he canbe volatile, breaking furniture, hitting people or set-ting off� fi�re alarms if he’s upset.

His lifeline was getting to go home with family onthe weekends, Horner said. She got him an iPhonewhen the pandemic began, but it’s not the same. He’smissed his father’s funeral and his birthday party be-cause of the restrictions, Horner said.

“I tuck him in at night. I pray with him. He helps mecook in the kitchen and do dishes,” Horner said. “Andhe's just like a little kid who wants to do everythingwith you. And he has that little kid view of his family.That is the most important thing.”

For Aimee Burns — whose 20-year-old son, An-drew, has severe autism — the situation feels “cruel.”

Her son spent years in intensive and expensive au-tism therapy, mastering skills like saying certainwords and eating food. When he hit his preteen years,however, he regressed. He became aggressive; he’dhurt himself, destroy walls. Burns tried psychiatric fa-cilities and government agencies, like mental healthauthorities. She scoured the country, looked at everytreatment facility she could fi�nd. She knew her soncouldn’t keep living at home; she had other childrenand felt it wasn’t a safe environment. He’s now spentseven years at the Brenham and Lufkin state support-ed living centers, and has been ordered to be there bya court.

Burns and her husband haven’t seen their son in-person since March. They’ve been able to video callhim, but it never lasts more than a minute or two be-cause he isn’t very verbal, Burns said. She doesn’tknow if their son understands why they aren’t visit-ing, and she said he hasn’t had a haircut or dentalwork since the pandemic began.

She can’t bring herself to drive out to the facility todrop off� a package or peer from afar through the win-dows.

“It would literally break my heart to be that close tohim. … I can’t even imagine being that close and themtelling me I can’t go in there,” she said.

The Denton State Supported Living Centerexperienced an early outbreak in COVID-19 cases.BEN TORRES FOR THE TEXAS TRIBUNE

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