Some of the nonprofits affected include Live Oak Adult Day Services, Estrella Family Services, InnVision and Loaves & Fishes all in Willow Glen.

On May 19, a crowd made up of those most affected by the cuts—elderly, low-income families, youth and the numerous employees who work for nonprofit agencies—formed outside the Santa Clara County building on W. Hedding Street to demonstrate their displeasure.

Through a show of numbers, protesters wanted county supervisors Don Gage and Jim Beall Jr. to know how badly trimming $10 million countywide from nonprofit services and $1 million from social services in Santa Clara County would hurt.

Adult day care, homework centers, child-abuse prevention and immigrant education are just a few of the services that could vanish when the cuts go into effect after July 1.

"My families are telling me 'Without you, we can't work,' " said Colleen Hudgen, who runs the Willow Glen Live Oak Adult Day Services. "I serve 400 families. They go to work knowing their parents are safe, laughing, happy. This is a tragedy."

If her program closes, she said, those families will have to find $7,000 to $8,000 a month to pay for nursing homes.

Longtime Willow Glen nonprofit InnVision will lose nearly $150,000 in funding. Executive Director Christine Burroughs said she is "frantically trying to strategize how to handle the cutbacks without jeopardizing critical services."

She said the nonprofit is already operating on a "bare bones" budget. And she worries that she will be forced to eliminate some staff positions as a result of the budget cutbacks.

Although this government funding loss only adds up to 8 percent of InnVision's overall budget, the loss could force its shelters to operate fewer hours and to cut back on meals and counseling.

"We are going to make every effort to maximize our service-delivery level without impacting staff," she said.

Another local nonprofit, Estrella Family Services, which serves families from Gardner Academy, River Glen and Galarza, is trying to figure out how it will raise money to replace the monetary loss from the county. It will lose almost $4,000 from a county social services grant. Executive Director Frederick Ferrer said this funding loss may seem small in comparison to those of other local nonprofits, but its effects will be felt immediately by the people Estrella serves.

The cutbacks mean fewer low-income youth will be sent to summer camps. Estrella sends 700 children between the ages of 6 and 15 every year to 16 different summer camps. Ferrer said the youth sent aren't in a position to pay their own way to attend camp because many come from foster or disadvantaged families. The $4,000 lost means fewer scholarships will be awarded.

"This is greater than closing park bathrooms on weekends," said Patricia Garner, executive director of the Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits.

Garner described the protest as a way to send a message to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. "Balancing a budget with only cuts changes lives," she said.

But, like the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, she's not sure how to solve the dilemma. "I would not choose to just cut the programs that provide prevention and intervention," she said. "I'm not elected to make those decisions. I don't know. That's a hard place to go."

Garner said there's still time for the supervisors to change the planned cuts. The board won't vote until June 3 to implement the new, bare-bones budget.

Sparky Harlan, member of the social services advisory committee, said, "I have some real problems with how the county came up with their priorities. Our program isn't mandated, but a new concert hall is? Their priorities are screwed up."

After listening to the protesters during a meeting of the children, seniors, and families committee, Supervisor Don Gage said he was sympathetic. "While you're feeling bad, we're feeling worse," he said. "There aren't any more pots of money for us to look at."

Beall pointed out that the county is targeted for a disproportional amount of cuts compared to those for state agencies. "The governor's budget has a net reduction of 2,300 state employees out of 315,000. Our county will lose 1,400 employees and at least 300 more from nonprofits."

He suggested lobbying lawmakers in Sacramento for a more equitable solution.

The full impact of the cuts won't be felt for several months after July 1.

According to Garner, "It'll take a while for staffs to be cut, for children to go to a homework center and be denied. And then we have another round of cuts coming next year."