Groups that advocate for people with disabilities — concerned that the Legislature could make deep cuts to solve the state budget deficit — will rally at the Capitol today to discuss how cuts will hurt Minnesotans.

The noon rally in the rotunda will be led by Rick Cardenas, co-director of Advocating Change Together, Pat Mellenthin, executive director of The Arc of Minnesota, and  Jeff Nachbar, public policy director for the Brain Injury Association of Minnesota.

The groups say that people with disabilities want to work but often need some assistance to make that happen.

They say people with disabilities and their families already have endured more than $500 million in service cuts, fee hikes and budget shifts, and that 2009 state budgets cuts caused more than 4,300 Minnesotans to lose hours of staff assistance, or lose staff entirely. Another 2,000 could lose their staff help by June.