Home Caregivers Advocate for Fair Wages at Santa Barbara County Board Meeting
Jarrod Zinn
SANTA MARIA, Calif. – Workers with In-Home Supportive Services, or I.H.S.S., attended the Santa Barbara county board of supervisors’ meeting in Santa Maria Tuesday morning.
They were advocating for fair wages for in-home caregivers.
In May of this year, governor Gavin Newsom proposed some deep budget cuts to Health and Human Services including the I.H.S.S. program, in order to address a projected deficit for California to the tune of $12 billion.
The majority of the governor’s proposed cuts in 2025 to I.H.S.S. were rejected, but some were approved.
Several members of I.H.S.S. flooded the Santa Barbara county board of supervisors’ meeting on Tuesday, urging the county to reject cuts in local budgeting.
“My heart goes out to the people that are doing this as a career because it’s very hard work,” says Courtney Cazenave, a 24-hour I.H.S.S. caregiver. “It’s difficult, but it’s so rewarding. And you have to have a heart of gold to be able to do this for people.”
Capping caregiver hours and eliminating services altogether for immigrants are examples of the rejected cuts.
But Medi-Cal enrollment for undocumented immigrants is frozen, and new monthly premiums have been implemented for those with any questions regarding their immigration status.
“I’m advocating for them to receive an increase in their pay so they’re able to provide, you know, better assistance for me, but also have just a more comfortable life themselves,” says I.H.S.S. recipient Edward Lamberson.
According to I.H.S.S. members, in-home caregiving is not limited to trained professionals, and many everyday individuals have to make sacrifices to take care of a loved one at home.
“My mom and my brother are providers,” says Lamberson. “They’re always doing something for me. So they can’t really, like, extend into their own lives too much because I always just end up needing something.”
Members of the program seek higher wages for trained professional caregivers, as well as some income for anyone with loved ones at home who have special needs.
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