. >> hello, my name is jeff wilkins and i'm a social worker at the linkages program at the institute on aging. and we're slated for a 25% cut which will mean termination of services to 1/4 of our clients. linkages serves people who became disabled as adults but who are not yet 65 and these are people who became disabled usually because of an awful disease like multiple sclerosis or lou gehrig's disease or a traumatic event like a motor vehicle accident or a stroke. and these are people who as a result are at risk of snulization and sometimes at risk of eviction and homelessness and sometimes even at risk of death unless they're linked to the appropriate services to support them. our clients' physical and psychiatric disabilities often prevent them from knowing the services that exist in the community and from completing the complicated processes for applying for them. by providing case management services as we do, we are able to link this group of people to the services that they need and thereby prevent unnecessary placements that laguna hana hospital, homelessness and death. so i