“We are building a movement so we can be a nation that takes care of one another across generations”
“This year is the first year of the “age wave;” every eight seconds, an American will turn 65. In the coming years, more and more members of our communities will need care, just as more and more workers will need quality, dignified jobs. At a time when we desperately need new jobs, new paths to citizenship, and new solutions to persistent crises in care, a broad coalition of people from all walks of life are coming together to push for change.
For the past year, the National Domestic Workers Alliance, Jobs with Justice, Progressive Jewish Alliance & Jewish Funds for Justice (PJA & JFSJ), Family Values at Work Consortium, Center for Community Change, Institute for Policy Studies, AFSCME, Hand in Hand: The Domestic Employers Association, Direct Care Alliance, SEIU, National Employment Law Project, PHI, AFL-CIO and a many other key partners have been working hard to lay the groundwork for a campaign to transform long-term care in the United States for our loved ones who count on the support of caregivers to meet their basic daily needs, the workers who provide the care, and the families who struggle to find and afford quality care for their loved ones.
The campaign has many goals including building a new national movement of care recipients, care providers and families, and to achieve five core policy goals, the “Five Fingers of the Caring Hand,” including:
1 The creation of new, quality jobs in home care,
2 Labor standards and improved job quality for the existing jobs and new jobs,
3 Training and career ladders for home care workers,
4 A new visa category and path to citizenship for care workers,
5 Support for individuals and families in need of support and care, including a matching registry and maintaining and creating new funding streams.
The campaign will support the creation of “Care Councils” in cities around the country, as well as town hall gatherings called “Care Congresses,” to bring together care recipients, care workers and their families to share stories and work together in local communities to realize our dreams for care in America.
Caring Across Generations will also engage voters, young and aging, on the policy goals and values of the campaign, as well as related efforts to protect and expand workers rights, work-family balance and the existing safety net for the aging and people with disabilities.”
To view more photos go to www.flickr.com/DignidadRebelde
To learn more and support the campaign here: http://www.caringacrossgenerations.org/