Search
I am the proud mother of four children, the youngest being my beautiful daughter Shannon. Shannon is a happy, young woman that loves life and spreads joy everywhere she goes. She is very social and enjoys being out in her community. Shannon is 26 years old and has cerebral palsy. She requires around-the-clock care to meet all of her needs.
Before the pandemic, Shannon attended a day program daily. She had many friends there and the staff
was wonderful. They had parties, went out into the community, and many opportunities to socialize. As a special education teacher, I work full time. While Shannon was at her day program, I was able to hire a care provider to help get her ready each morning and watch her when she returned in the afternoon. This
helped me with my busy mornings and gave me time after work to run errands, prepare dinner, or just have a little time to unwind before I put Shannon to bed.
When the pandemic began, everything closed, including Shannon’s day program. I began teaching from home
and taking care of Shannon full time which as you can imagine was very challenging. Last April I went back to work full time, but her day program did not reopen and I had to find full time care for Shannon. This sometimes
requires several care providers daily, including her brothers. I rush home from work to relieve her care provider and because of this I no longer have a break
after work; I am tired. Shannon is also tired of being home most of the time and misses her friends.
Shannon’s day program has had many challenges trying to reopen — mainly hiring staff. The support professionals who care for our most vulnerable population deserve a living wage and respect for the work they do. Everyone deserves to live and thrive in their community, but this will take work by all of us to make it happen. It is critical that we work together and advocate to improve the services and supports for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Let’s do it, Arc family!
We are delighted to share a series of stories from The Arc of California families. It has been, and still is, the mission of The Arc of California to be a voice for families of children with developmental disabilities. The Arc team is working on behalf of families with the Legislature and Administration to develop solutions that will address the most pressing challenges facing the disability community. We would love to hear your story!