We need you to stand with us to support seniors, people with disabilities, and children

Since 1997, I’ve worked as an unpaid caregiver for my family members, and I understand the importance of caregiving on a very personal level. My granddaughter was born medically fragile and was in the NICU for over six months. Myself and her parents provided 100 percent of her care. We navigated finding the right care for her alone. If there were resources out there to help us, we had to seek them out ourselves. And the unfortunate reality was that many of the caregivers who were available (and that was a very small pool) didn’t have the training necessary to care for a medically fragile infant. I’m proud to say we learned a lot and Amelia turned 25 this January, but it was not an easy road.

I am now the sole caregiver to my late husband’s 30-year-old grandson, Michael, who had a traumatic brain injury at three months old that has caused him to have seizures, blindness, and hearing impairment. My husband, John, passed away a couple of years ago after a seven-year-long battle with Alzheimer’s.

25 years later, you would think our state’s caregiving industry would be in a better position, but it’s actually harder to find a caregiver since COVID-19. Why? Because many who have put their hearts and souls into this profession have come to the conclusion that the pay isn’t worth the risk, and there is no respect for a job that is at the very foundation of caring for Alaska’s most vulnerable populations. Even the most passionate caregivers can’t get around the fact that doing this work means not being able to financially support our own families.

Over the years, between Michael and Amelia, I’ve hired many, many caregivers. Most agencies do not pay a living wage. Sometimes caregivers have to work for several agencies, or across several jobs, just to get enough hours to support themselves and their families. It’s not right that the people who are actually doing hands-on caregiving make the least amount of money.

This is not a glamorous job. It’s hard work. It pays less than most service industry jobs. And it’s a tremendous amount of responsibility, being sometimes the only person to ensure that people are getting the care they need, not just for quality of life, but to stay alive at all.

Now is a critical time for the Senate to use federal infrastructure dollars to invest in home care, so we can be sure that caregivers get paid fairly and are trained properly. I don’t think I’d be wrong in saying that caregiving touches the majority of Alaskans. Why wouldn’t it be prudent to elevate this monumental issue to be included in our federal and state investment?

We need you to stand with us to support seniors, people with disabilities, and children, and to help create good, respectable jobs that pay a living wage and keep Alaskans home in their own communities.

Katherine Bacon lives in Palmer, Alaska.