Justin shared his story as part of MECEP’s Closing the Gap: Maine’s Direct Care Shortage and Solutions to Fix It report. Click here to read the full report.
Justin is a direct support professional, mental health rehabilitation technician, certified residential medical aid, and a qualified brain injury specialist with 20 years’ experience. He currently provides care at several Kennebec county group homes for adults with brain injuries. Justin is a member of the Direct Care and Support Professional Advisory Council.
I’ve worked for several different agencies, and it feels like we’re viewed as replaceable. They see us as glorified babysitters. No, I’m not a glorified babysitter. This job is hard, unforgiving, and affects every aspect of your life. Most of us feel like we are out there all by ourselves, doing a thankless job with no support.
I’m working longer, harder hours now, and so are my colleagues. We’re getting burnt out. We’re tired, but we stay because of loyalty to the people we provide care for. I’ve seen the low pay identified as a problem, but across the board I’ve seen very little effort to address it. It really irritates me. For what I make and the years I’ve been doing this, I should have walked away a while ago. There’s no incentive for somebody to stay in this field when they can go into a different one and make more money, have better work-life balance, and get better benefits and supports.
Legislators could solve many of the problems in direct care by offering free training through the technical colleges that can build towards a four-year university degree. First, develop a core curriculum that covers all the common subject matter in the different care giver certifications and give it a college credit. Then, for every year of service care workers provide, they should get two or three free classes towards a degree in psychology, mental health, or social work. College is expensive. But if your work can earn a base of credits that can be applied to a four-year degree at a university, that’s a real incentive. That will attract people. And it will also save companies money on all the training. The money they save could be put towards wages and benefits, instead. When wages and benefits increase, they’re more likely to retain those workers once they’ve completed their four-year degree.
I would invite any lawmaker or the governor to come tour any of these facilities. I want them to know that these people aren’t numbers. They’re real people and they need help. There are a lot of great companies out there that just need more funding to keep things going. I mean, I get it, taxes will go up. But I would pay higher taxes to help these people. I would. We are all one step away from a residential home, a nursing home, or a hospice house. Who would you want to be there, taking care of you?
