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The forecast was for somewhere between 6 and 12 inches of snow and the roads were bad on the morning of the town meeting with Senator Sanders. I was worried about attendance, but by 10:45 or so we had about 50 people, which felt like a victory in and of itself.

There was real energy in the room. Bernie (which is what everyone called him) started with some great opening remarks, talking about the workforce on the national level. Next up was Jean, the former director of the Vermont Center for Independent Living, who receives care at home. She talked about how Vermont’s been taking the lead in consumer direction and needs to continue to do so. The commissioner of the Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living gave an excellent summary of the recommendations of the Legislative Study of the Direct Care Workforce in Vermont (to be published on the DAIL website next week). Then Diane, an LNA who works at the Visiting Nurse Association of Chittenden/Grand Isle counties, talked about why she is a caregiver and the challenges she and her colleagues face, while Bernie shook his head in agreement.

An RN named Mohamed, who runs a staffing agency that employs 17 caregivers, spoke about his appreciation for direct-care workers and the challenges he faces in trying to give them better wages and benefits. And Deborah, the executive director of the Vermont Center for Independent Living, talked about the need to have enough workers to ensure that people with disabilities can live in independent settings and be full and productive members of society. Her testimony was very moving.

Bernie closed by taking lots of questions. That’s when I took the mike (above), talking about the need for people to follow up with the governor and their legislators to get the study’s recommendations passed.

Bernie gets folks fired up, and there is a lot of momentum around this issue in this state right now.