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BRONX TIMES REPORTER, D 12 EC. 17-23, 2021
BY JESSICA ALTAGRACIA WOOLFORD
My abuela has lived in Kingsbridge
for more than 40 years. When she fi rst
came to the United States, she worked
in garment factories, wrangling enormous
spools of thread that would be
spun into fabrics for clothing, and lived
in a crowded Riverside Drive apartment.
When one of her roommates told
her she could earn more money as a
home health aide, she jumped at the
opportunity. Caring for others was a
natural for her, so this seemed like a
fateful turn of events for a young immigrant
woman looking to build a better
life for herself and her family.
My grandma was deeply invested
in her work, and I saw her passion and
dedication fi rsthand. On days my mom
couldn’t secure child care, we would
climb up the steep hill towards Van
Cortlandt Village to care for Doña Sofi
a and countless others. My grandma
would offer compassion, companionship
and care — preparing meals and
baths, buying groceries at C-Town, and
doing countless intangible things that
don’t fall into what our broken health
care system defi nes as “billable” care.
These tasks are both incredibly hard
work and also measures of love.
As Ai-Jen Poo wrote in “The Age
of Dignity,“ “Care is perhaps the most
powerful expression of our human interdependence.
In the context of caring
relationships, we are never simply giving
or receiving; it’s always both.”
A recent report found that more than
40% of New York’s home care workers
live in or close to poverty levels, despite
working incredibly hard, important
jobs. After earning low wages for
the majority of her career, my grandma
now relies on a patchwork of Medicaid,
social security, and whatever our family
is able to contribute to make sure
she can enjoy her golden years with her
grandkids and great grandchild.
Her story is all too common. But because
of the pandemic, hard jobs have
become too hard and health care workers
across the board are overwhelmed,
underpaid, and in need of both fi nancial
and mental health support.
The current system is failing. It
is shameful that after devoting their
lives to caring for others with compassion
and dignity, we fail to provide care
workers and their loved ones with the
same dignity and support they gave
countless others.
My vision of care for the northwest
Bronx includes better wages for caregivers,
so they can take care of their
loved ones and themselves, an end to
24-hour shifts, and hazard pay for serving
on the frontlines of the continuing
pandemic. Imagine what would be possible
if women like my grandma were
able to earn dignifi ed wages throughout
their careers. We could retain the
people doing this critical work and attract
more people to work in these professions,
reducing the wait time for
help.
To do that, our lawmakers need to
take two critical steps at the state and
national levels. Here in New York, our
legislators must pass the Fair Pay for
Home Care Act to increase the minimum
wage by 150%. And nationally,
Democrats need to get the Build Back
Better bill done and ensure that New
York state gets its fair share of tens of
millions of dollars to tackle the home
health care crisis.
In our corner of the northwest
Bronx, so many of our loved ones rely
on a vital network of care providers
who make sure they can get to their appointments
with ease, that their providers
speak the language that our
loved ones speak, and so much more.
Those caregivers provide an invaluable
service that allows disabled and
older residents to stay in their neighborhoods,
close to family and friends
who know and love them.
When we advance social policies
and programs that improve the lives of
our caregivers, we ensure that everyone
who relies on this system does better.
Caregivers need to earn more. This
caregiving crisis won’t get better until
we muster the political courage needed
to deliver better wages and support
they have more than earned.
Jessica Altagracia Woolford is a candidate
running in the Democratic primary
for the 82nd New York State Assembly
District.
We are facing a home
health aide crisis
Photo courtesy Getty Images
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