Becky Cash - Launches Campaign for State Representative

By Maria Smietana

BECKY CASH

Becky Cash Becky Cash is a board-certified holistic practitioner and owner of Indy Natural Health Center in Indianapolis. She is also the author of Healing Autism Naturally. She and her husband Chris are the parents of six children, four of whom have medical conditions, including autism, autoimmune disorders, chronic Lyme disease, juvenile diabetes, mitochondrial disease, and progressive paralysis. The Cash family was featured in the first issue of Special Needs Living.

SNL: What motivated you to run for public office?

Cash: To be honest, the idea of running for office was not a completely far-fetched idea for me given the cloth that I was cut from, so to speak. I come from a family that did not hold back in political discussions. It was a regular topic at the dinner table, as well as with extended family on holidays. There was always a mixture of political beliefs, and while I distinctly recall who had differences of opinion, I don’t remember it becoming a point of contention [between them]. What a different age that was, though it was not that long ago!

That said, I did not think that I would be running at this time, and I did not think that I would be starting with the state legislature. However, a friend put a bug in my ear back in February, noting that someone needed to run in my district to fight for medical freedom. I laughed and said, “I will help you find somebody.”

SNL: What other experiences in your life led up to your decision to run for office?

Cash: As the months went on – after research was literally dropped in my lap, after discussion with my husband, and, quite honestly, what I believe to be a prompting from God – I realized that I was, in fact, being called to take up this campaign. I have never been one to shy away from a challenge, so this didn’t seem like the time to start doing so. My conviction to run for office was further confirmed when we saw that in many ways, our legislators failed the families of Indiana when they did not pass medical freedom legislation in this past session.

Two years ago, I am positive I would not have said yes. At that point in time, my husband and I were barely keeping our heads above water. We’ve reflected a lot on this recently and we can honestly say that we spent about 15 years drowning. At times we didn’t know what the next hour or minute would bring, let alone the next day. We often laugh that when things get calm, we should probably worry and wonder what God is planning. I am so grateful to no longer wake up every morning and go to bed every night not knowing if one of my children would be in crisis or have to go to the hospital or heaven forbid, stop breathing. I am so grateful to finally be at a point where the road ahead is clear and to let my family be a part of executing change in the State of Indiana.

SNL: What changes would you like to see made?

Cash: I think the biggest change that is needed is one that is not politically correct to talk about – we need our legislators to be stronger and stop walking the middle ground. They can’t continue to campaign on tough issues, and then, once in office, pacify the voters by pretending to vote for real change while mostly voting with the majority on politically “safe” bills. We watched heads of committees hold bills hostage during the last legislative session rather than allow committee votes. But I believe popcorn was voted in as our state snack (laughs).

I am running to protect and build Indiana families. We have so many entities that aren’t just consciously tearing our families down but doing it through lack of action. For example, I think that most special needs families would agree that we are financially beaten down in an effort to take care of our families. I am grateful that Governor Mike Pence signed legislation years ago that would give support to every family in Indiana with a special needs child. This family service waiver is an amazing piece of legislation that does not exist in many states. But in practicality families like mine and those in this magazine are going into bankruptcy to get our children back to health and normalcy. Many children are born with special needs but [in my opinion] one of the biggest causes of medical need in this country and in this state is pharmaceutical and medical injury. Look, I can’t run on the premise that legislators need to get a backbone if I am not willing to speak the truth even at the risk of not getting votes from certain people.

My family stopped counting when we had spent over $100,000 to treat one of our children after what I believe was a preventable injury. We also have other conditions in our state, like chronic Lyme disease, which are only being given lip service. Families are having to mortgage their homes to help pay for treatments that can cost tens of thousands of dollars.

Then we have countless children with autism in our state that despite family service waivers, are still not getting the services they need. This means that in homes that are blessed to have two parents, one parent often has to work multiple jobs so the other parent can stay home. But many people may not realize that a parent that stays home for decades has no protections in Indiana to make sure they and their child are taken care of should they become divorced or widowed. This doesn’t even take into consideration the many single parents with special needs kids who already struggle even more. Because of the shutdowns of ABA centers and schools during the pandemic, some of these families have ended up homeless.

One other thing that I would like to see changed is the requirement, once the special-needs child turns 18, that families must apply for social security disability income (SSDI) in order to keep Medicaid and family services. Right now, a family must accept almost $1,000 a month in SSDI, which they may not need, in order to get the help that they do need. Applying for SSDI is such a daunting process that it actually puts many families in the position of having to hire an attorney, who, of course, will take a percentage of the disability money as payment for their services. The other problem with this requirement is once a person has SSDI, it limits their ability to reach a point where they might be financially solvent. We need disabled adults in Indiana to be able to get services and Medicaid without also having to fight for SSDI if they don’t need it. This would save the state considerable tax dollars. I can go on and on with examples of things that need to be changed in Indiana but until we have legislators that are willing to push the button on these and so many other issues, little amendments that get slid into bills are all we have.

SNL: How can others in the community rally together to help make a change?

Cash: Change comes through action. Becky Cash campaign There are so many different actions that can be taken. At the most basic level, putting politics aside, checking in on your neighbor is not just a cliche. We talk about checking in on elderly neighbors when it is frigid outside. I hope that there are people without special needs children reading this magazine because they can check on a neighbor with a special needs loved one just to say, “I was thinking of you.” Drop off cookies. Have your children make cards. Seriously, just letting a family know that you care is worth its weight in gold. Another huge need is for individuals willing to become respite providers. Thanks to the Medicaid waiver, an individual that wants to help a special-needs family for even a few hours a month can actually be paid by the State of Indiana to do that.

From a political perspective, there is much that can be done. I highly recommend that people join organizations that follow the bills in the state that matter to them. For example, there are medical freedom organizations and organizations that fight for disability services. There are organizations that watch special needs education law. We need people to study the law as it applies to malpractice and call their legislators to let them know when it is not adequate. So many of those laws were written before current legislators were even in office. If I am blessed to get a legislative seat in Indiana, I hope that my constituents will contact me and make me aware of legislation that matters to them. Ultimately, I can’t promise how I will vote on each piece of legislation, but I absolutely will listen to the voters in my district and do my best to vote accordingly. So, phone calls, letters, and meetings with legislators are very important. The other thing we need is for people to step up and run for office. We need people to run for every sector of government, from school boards to town and city councils to mayor, the Indiana State House, and right up to governor.

Regarding my campaign, I genuinely want to know the wants and needs of my prospective constituents as I am running. I hope that people will find me on Facebook and other social media sites to learn more about my campaign and if they wish, to support me. As a mother of six children, several of whom have special and medical needs, protecting and building up Indiana families is my top priority. I believe that is done by empowering individuals and families, limiting government, and eliminating the red tape that prevents families from getting what they need.

SNL: What hesitations have you had about running?

Cash: Of course, there is always hesitation and if there is not, then that person might want to examine their motives in running for office. At the same time, there comes a point when you look at the trajectory of where a sector of society is going, and you make a decision. Either you are happy with that direction, or you are not, and if you are not, I believe you have a moral obligation to do something about it. That something is different for each person and through discernment, they will know what they are supposed to do. I didn’t plan to run for public office, but when the call was made, and I allowed God and the people around me to speak, I knew it was time to step up. I guess that is my philosophy – do it scared until you are not scared anymore.

SNL: How can others get involved in your campaign?

Cash: There are so many ways that people can get involved. Of course, I hope that people will visit www.beckycashforIndiana.com and our social media pages. If people would like to canvass, help with events, or host fundraisers, we will need all the help we can get because it [House District 25] is a very large district. But the blessing of having a very large district with people on both ends of the economic spectrum and from both rural and suburban areas is that the ability to make an impact truly excites me. It will just be a lot of ground to cover.

SNL: Additional thoughts?

Cash: As I shared, I grew up in a family that did not shy away from the topic of politics. But other than campaigning for one of my high school teachers, which was probably a conflict of interest (laughs), and one other family member that was on a town council in another state, I don’t have a lot of political experience. I think the biggest part of my past and upbringing that propelled me to move forward was simply the fact that we were not raised to hide. Over the years, I have also grown tremendously as a person, and I do believe that we all have the ability to “skill up” to do what we need to do. Finally, as the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors and a civil rights attorney, I truly believe that “All that is needed for evil to prevail, is for good people to do nothing.” This quote has been attributed to many but most closely matches the words of John Stuart Mill.

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If you would like to share your personal or family story or to nominate someone else to be in an upcoming issue of Special Needs Living, email us at SpecialNeedsLivingIndy@n2pub.com.

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20 Special Needs Living • November 2021