I serve as a supervisor at The Boltwood Project, where I work directly with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Our weekly site visits are an important part of our Boltwood participants' routines, as they allow them to engage with their community, interact with UMass Amherst students, and express themselves creatively. Consistently, our participants describe the challenges they face due to understaffing in their group homes. Site visits are regularly interrupted for our community participants because no direct care workers are available to drive them over to our site. We have also seen other participants lose their direct care workers and go without care for long periods due to the lack of safety nets. 

These occurrences aren't just minor inconveniences, but life-altering obstructions to our participants' paths toward equitable living conditions and the opportunity to lead fulfilling lives.

As such, we request support for Senate Bill S.1325, an Act relative to meeting human service demand by modernizing incentives for the direct care workforce. This bill would require direct care workers to be paid at least the 75th percentile of similar jobs in Massachusetts, based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This means their wages would support a comfortable lifestyle living in Massachusetts and be competitive with better-paying jobs in similar fields. The Higher wages associated with this bill would make the direct care worker position more attractive and may reduce the currently high turnover rates of. 

By advocating for Senate Bill S.1325, we have a unique opportunity to support the needs of individuals with disabilities and reward the skilled workers who enable them to integrate and thrive in society. Each signature builds toward a world where everyone can receive reliable and compassionate care. Sign this petition to support Senate Bill S.1325 and help improve living conditions for people with disabilities.