Caregivers deserve a better wage

What is it, or was it you wanted for your children transitioning to their adult life after high school? I think we all have similar hopes and dreams. We want our children to be safe and secure, to have stability, to love and be loved, and to feel they are able to fully live a life of purpose and joy. Unfortunately, this is not the reality for thousands of young Maine adults with disabilities. The fragile support system that sustained these young people is broken and I implore our legislators and DHHS to no longer think this is a problem that will be fixed by someone else in the future.

We are beyond a crisis. We must do two things to restore our credibility and integrity to these young adults. We must approve the rate increase for long term caregivers. Surely we value the work done by these caregivers as much as we do the work done by fast food servers and gas station attendants, but we are paying them less. The work done by long term caregivers is not only life-enhancing, it is often life-sustaining. These caregivers quite literally save our children’s lives. The non-partisan long-term care commission painstakingly developed a list of several key improvements needed, including a starting wage of no less than 125% of minimum wage for caregivers.

Secondly, we must eliminate the waiting list for Maine children and adults with physical, mental, and developmental disabilities. Almost 2,000 Mainers are on a waitlist for services while their families struggle in isolation to provide for their specialized needs. Once a young adult leaves high school their needs do not end. The needs can grow exponentially without the routine and supports of the school setting. Families of people with disabilities have been forced to become beggars. In the midst of the hardest life imaginable, they have to continually fight for their children’s basic rights. We owe these families a long-term solution.

I am a life long Mainer who is budget-conscious. I know there are finite resources, and we must allocate funds with incredible care. But it costs everyone so much more to waste human potential than to develop it. Please let your representatives know that you support LD 1984 and LD 2109 to fulfill our promise to our children.

Kathy T. Rickards,
Brunswick

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A broader perspective

The town of Brunswick has put into law a ban or cigarette smoking on Maine Street and a number of other areas in town.

There is a large volume of traffic on Maine Street every day. Cars are emitting exhaust fumes, tire dust is going into the atmosphere and our lungs as well. And, of course, the noise from heavy traffic is not very pleasant.

The cosmetic industries often use petro-chemicals in their products.  Ever wonder why a cologne fragrance lingers for so long.  Some people have a health reaction to the overwhelming odor of various synthetic colognes. Many public places around the nation are “fragrance-free.”

I have stood in crowds taking in the odor of cosmetics and for me, a cheap cigar is more pleasant than most of these synthetic fragrances.

Smoking will not get anyone popularity awards,  however, we really need to look at and see what human activity has done and is still doing while creating an unhealthy environment.

Before we narrowly dictate what a person can or cannot do, we really need to understand from a broader perspective.

Joseph Ciarrocca,
Brunswick

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