Lance Hegland provides an overview of Minnesota's direct support system problems. Lance is a Minnesotan with a disability living in Minneapolis and relying on self-directed direct support services since early 2003. The video transcript appears below near the bottom of this post.
This video is part of a series of videos being put together by Minnesotans for Direct Support Improvements that will capture the experiences and ideas of people with disabilities and older adults relying on direct support, support workers, families, friends, provider organization team members, plus community leaders.
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Video Transcript
As a person with a disability, I generally experience challenges finding people to help me meet my basic health, safety, and dignity needs. Granted, when I’m able to satisfy those basic needs, my focus shifts to participating in meaningful employment, community projects, plus activities with family and friends. Yet, for the past 10 years, my time and energy have been more and more focused on simply meeting my basic needs – on just trying to survive.
Over the past decade, there have been growing challenges and significantly decreased quality in supports available throughout Minnesota, such as Minnesota’s personal care assistant program -- the PCA program. Minnesota's overall direct support system has been slowly falling apart. The system intended to address the public health, safety, and dignity of people with disabilities, older adults, our families, our communities, and our support workers is failing. I believe this deterioration in quality is true for home care, residential group homes, day programs, employment support services, assisted living communities, and skilled nursing facilities (or nursing homes).
Please don't misunderstand my message: there are many very compassionate and incredibly talented support workers and organizations that are delivering these supports. The growing challenges, decreasing quality, and shrinking access isn't due to the performance of these existing workers or organizations.
My message is: From what I understand, we’re running out of qualified support workers and funding to support the rapidly growing number of people needing assistance -- the demand for support is growing much more rapidly than the resources available to provide the support; the workers and the funding. As a result there is widespread, immediate jeopardy to our basic health and safety. I believe this is true for people with disabilities, older adults, support workers, our families, our friends, and our communities throughout Minnesota.
Before I move on to our need for greater transparency and problem-solving, there are two very important points that must be made.
#1) There are many widespread, complex challenges facing our broader society. More information is available in the video about Widespread, Complex Challenges Facing Society.
#2) We can do better. We must believe. We must have hope. More information is available in the video titled We Can Do Better.
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