#SupportMeSupportDSPs

You may have noticed that the last few holidays, we have joined the Pennsylvania Advocacy and Resources for Autism and Intellectual Disability (PAR) in their Virtual Rallies focused on the FY 20/21 Pennsylvania budget.

We’re thrilled to announce that during our last three social media rallies, our posts were shared 219 times and reached over 25,200 people!!! This is huge and we couldn’t have done this without the support of the followers on our Facebook page, so thank you!

For anyone who may have missed it, as an organization and on personal profiles, we advocated on social media to Governor Wolf and other legislators to include funding in the budget to raise Direct Support Professional (DSP) and Front Line Supervisor (FLS) wages by $1.50/hour and to reduce the wait list for services.

We know firsthand how hard DSPs and FLSs work and how much they sacrifice, especially on holidays, to care for the people we support. We believe that they deserve appreciation and recognition from everyone – family, friends, peers and even state legislation.

What is a virtual rally?

A virtual rally is the same concept as a regular rally, but rather than creating signs and marching on the Capitol steps, we congregate on social media to share our voice. This can be done through posting photos, captions and tagging lawmakers on various platforms.

Why on holidays?

These rallies are held on major holidays to show that while most people get to spend the day relaxing with their families, a DSP’s work never stops, because the needs of those we support never stop. The goal is to educate and raise awareness for the dedicated work of DSPs, and to show that increased wages are much deserved.

What can I do to show my support moving forward?

Follow us on Facebook! We will be posting on major holidays and throughout the year in support of raising wages for DSPs and FLSs. Please share our posts and spread the word, using the hashtag #SupportMeSupportDSPs!

And, we encourage you to tag Governor Wolf and your local legislator in order to get their attention and make an even bigger impact. Don’t know who your legislator is? Find them using this link: https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/findyourlegislator/county_list.cfm?CNTYLIST=ALLEGHENY

We thought we would share some of our favorite posts and the results from the past few rallies in case you missed them. Thanks for all of your continued support!