From our friend Susan Hamovitch-
“Just the facts ma’am. Al and I picked Alan up at his group home in Rockland County 11 ish Sunday morning. It had been a while, I’m chagrined to say, since I’d visited my brother, and a very long time since I”d come by on a Sunday morning. For whatever reason, I didn’t recognize a single staff member. I was guessing turnover, though. Turnover is high at every level. I’m pretty sure that the hourly wage barely tops the minimum. The service-providing organizations have long lobbied the state for pay increases, and I’ve signed many a letter. Now that the State is cutting back ruthlessly on every front, there’s no hope that working at a group home for the developmentally disabled will provide a living wage. Even Alan’s service coordinator, who oversees more than 300 cases, works a second job. So, the folks on duty didn’t know who I was, and opened the door a bit reluctantly.”
Read about the rest of Alan’s birthday here…
