As a registered nurse and a direct support professional myself, I build my life around showing up for others.

I’ve been there for early mornings, long nights and moments of real vulnerability. I support people with complex medical, behavioral and communication needs — helping manage medications, assisting with brushing teeth, taking a shower and getting dressed each day. I also get to be there for the moments that matter just as much: learning a new skill, finding a job, gaining confidence and feeling a sense of belonging.

This work takes training, patience, trust and time. It is not something we can ask a family member to take on overnight. Families who do so suffer consequences both emotionally and financially. Family or not, 24/7 care takes an extreme toll without relief in the form of a direct care professional.

Without home- and community-based services, people with intellectual and developmental disabilities don’t just lose support. They lose stability, safety and independence, and risk being pushed into far more costly institutional settings.

Direct support professionals and the families we support need Sens. Collins and King and Reps. Pingree and Golden to reject all proposals that put community-based services for people with disabilities at risk. Direct support work cannot be replaced, and the people we support cannot be left behind.

Darryl Wood
New Sharon