Aubri Slaugh

Lawmakers debating the merits of Gov. Janet Mills’ budget proposal should take a walk in my shoes. I am a certified nursing assistant, and one of the many direct care professionals from whom this budget takes away pay, by eliminating our cost-of-living adjustments.

For a CNA, providing care means wearing dozens of hats in addition to the one you were trained to wear. Beyond supporting the routine tasks of daily living, CNAs are there for people who worked their entire lives; who created careers, homes and families. People who built a living they cherished, just to end up spending their last days in a nursing home.

CNAs are with them if they have no family or relatives to fall back on. We are there for veterans who fought previous wars, and watch them have to fight new ones. We are with the people we care for through every step of decline, even when their memories disappear and all they know is confusion. We are there to provide comfort and kindness at the end of life.

Those who need care rely on CNAs like me to do everything they once were capable of doing. The physical demands of the job are challenging — lifting, rolling and repositioning people who are three times our weight. There are days when we are solely responsible for more than 40 residents. There are days when backup doesn’t come, and we’re required to stay on the job, stretching a single shift to 16 hours.

Despite those long, grueling hours, we can never work enough to get ahead. Between bills, groceries, transportation, housing and health care, our cost of living is forever beyond our reach.

I do my job, because I’m also moved by the responsibility of compassionate care. That means finding a way to make the people I care for smile. It means showing up every morning and knowing that my presence brings dignity and comfort to others.

Working in this field is not for the faint of heart. Most people likely could not manage the mental, physical and emotional demands. And yet, despite my experience and the level of personalized care I provide, despite the difficulty of the job, my pay isn’t much different than a fast-food worker’s. No matter what is happening with our economy, whether there are surpluses or deficits, the needs of direct care professionals are always pushed aside.

For most of us, there are no raises. There is no holiday bonus. And now, even if inflation makes a comeback, there are no cost-of-living adjustments.

The people who care for your parents and family members who can no longer care for themselves shouldn’t have to scrape change from the dryer to feed their own families. They shouldn’t have to take on a second job when their first is already far more than full time. Single parents should be able to take these critical jobs and keep a roof over their heads.

Many of us who do this work feel called to it. I hope lawmakers with the power to make positive change feel called to care for the caregivers and give us the opportunity to do more than just survive.

Aubri Slaugh is a CNA working in a nursing home in Franklin County. She is also a member of the Direct Care and Support Professional Advisory Council.