Among the very many initiatives New York Governor Kathy Hochul addressed recently in her State of the State address were support for mental health and public safety initiatives. What stood out was the plan to help low wage New Yorkers meet the rising cost of living.

Ask any caregiver who is being paid by the state to care for Medicaid qualified patients, and they will tell you that $16.20 an hour is not enough to help with the rising cost of living. Even a pay rate increase of $17.20 an hour, which has been set for later this year, is not enough.

Elderly and disabled New Yorkers are still the forgotten citizens of this great state. Inability to hire caregivers who are paid just $16.20 or $17.20 an hour is impacting those who need to hire qualified attendants to care for their everyday needs.

The impact is also being felt by nursing home residents, as well as the disabled who wish to live in their own homes and cannot find 24/7 help to provide the most basic care.

The governor’s pledge to fix the state’s mental health crisis is another major issue that is not new. During the 1990’s, then Governor George Pataki closed mental health facilities throughout the state and pledged to fund community health care to meet the needs of former patients, another service experiencing severe deficits in care. As a result, many with mental health problems are today among the homeless or in jail or prison or in our nursing homes where they are not receiving mental health services. And this directly affects nursing home residents who need basic care from an already severe shortage of staff who are expected to care for patients who need rehabilitation, daily hygiene care, help with eating meals, assistance with bathroom needs and other duties.

State lawmakers who recently voted themselves a 30 percent pay raise need to be cognizant of the state of the state’s plight of the workers who are hired to care for our elderly and disabled and ask themselves if they would want their loved ones living in a short-staffed nursing home or cared for by an attendant who is not being paid appropriate wages, or workers who are just not showing up due to such poor wages. Something must be done! Passing Fair Pay for Homecare would be the first step!