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This year, at the annual ANCOR Policy Summit and Hill Day, we (Grace Ojedele and Sito Sasieta) had the opportunity to represent L’Arche and to learn more about efforts to compensate direct support professionals (DSPs) with a just, livable wage.
One care provider in Connecticut has been mandated to pay their DSPs a starting rate 1.25x the minimum wage, but the company is not receiving more funds from their state to do so, and thus, they are at risk of shutting down. Another provider in Pennsylvania spoke to the revolving door of DSPs in their community– how often employees need to begin providing care without enough time for training, but such is the need. Both of these anecdotes reflected back to us what a bold decision L’Arche has made to pay our assistants a starting rate of over $20, to prepare our DSPs with a thorough training process that includes learning directly from core members and current assistants, and to provide exceptional health care that supports our assistant DSPs to stay in L’Arche.
The juxtaposition was sharp, which is not to say that we should put ourselves on a pedestal, but rather, to name clearly that we experience a relative stability that many providers do not. After the first day of the summit, it became very clear how critical our board and our donors are for shaping a community where DSP work is honored.
On Day 2 of the summit, Grace had the opportunity to go to Capitol Hill and speak with representatives from the offices of Congressman Beyer & Congressman Griffith, as well as representatives of Senator Kaine & Senator Warner. Grace was the only advocate from the state of Virginia who was able to speak to the DSP workforce crisis. In a state where 15,000 adults with intellectual disabilities are searching for housing, hers was the sole voice to name why DSP retention must become a greater priority. Grace mentioned that some offices were familiar with DSP work and legislation while others were less so.
In spite of ANCOR’s efforts to equip and prepare people to advocate for the recognition of DSP work and higher wages, we were struck on the first day that no recipients of services–whom in L’Arche we call core members–were present. What would these people say about the workforce crisis and how it impacts them? What are the ripple effects of systemically underpaying our DSPs? With a revolving door of DSPs, is it possible to experience mutually transforming relationships? Much advocacy work remains.
Perhaps next year, you can join us.
–Grace and Sito
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