A July 6 feature in the New York Times details ways that high gas prices are making it difficult for elders nationwide to access Meals on Wheels, home care, and other social services.
As Gas Prices Soar, Elderly Face Cuts in Aid is brimming with sobering facts, figures, and quotes - like one from home Katie Clark in Union, Michigan. A single mother of two, Clark says an elderly couple she assists are “just like family to me,” but she sometimes has to borrow money so she can get to their house. Clark earns about $250 a week and spends $100 of it on gas.
Leave a comment below, or read more about this problem and what people are doing to address it.
Elise Nakhnikian, Senior Online Editor
enakhnikian@phinational.org
I am a Direct Support Professional (caregiver) who has often spent the same amount of time driving to clients’ homes as I have spent working with my clients due to a schedule comprised of “split shifts”. Because most of us receive wages that are not livable, many of us had barely been surviving BEFORE the recent spikes in gas prices.
A year ago, I moved to a location within a few miles of my main client. If not for that fortunate event, I would not be able to afford the gas it would take to drive from my former home. As I have needed to in the past, I would be back at the foodshelf and seeking government aid.
This is an unacceptable to caregivers. We deserve a livable wage and a life of dignity. There are a lot of us who are just like Katie Clark; we care about the people we work for as if they are family. I have been working for the same individual for over 8 years. I am a part of his family and his family is a part of mine. It would be a terrible shame if I had to quit my job, one that I hope to keep forever, because I couldn’t afford to do it.
Thank you for addressing this issue!
Bridget Siljander
Plymouth, MN
I must admit, rising gas prices are why I didn’t go into home care.
The only place locally that does home care only pays $8 an hour, and it does not pay your gas for all the errands you have to do for these people you are caring for. It’s sad, but what can you do???
I am very happy working at the nursing home facility I work at.