Disgusted with Texas’ Health and Human Services Commission’s lack of interest in the attendants who are the back bone of long term services and supports, PACT and ADAPT members took action on October 22.

Since previous communication had been ignored, the group took along a giant letter listing our concerns. HHSC, we had learned, had never bothered to bring up the need for higher wages for community attendants during the special sessions this summer. We already knew they hadn’t included anything about better wages during the regular legislative session, not even putting it in their exceptional items in their budget request.

During the summer, when states were submitting requests to the federal Health and Human Services Dept. for pandemic related funds, Texas had not put in a mention of attendants, and had purposefully avoided getting input from the public – something the feds had recommended but not required. Members of their Direct Services Workforce Group, which was alegedly set up to advise on such matters, were not even asked for advice. Over half the members including all the consumer group representatives and some providers were so disgusted with HHSC’s lack of interest in the issue they resigned en masse in August.

We also brought a giant syringe (designed and made by the creative Eli R.C.) to show the need for better COVID protections for community attendants. All through the pandemic PACT and ADAPT have been mailing out masks to attendants and folks who use attendant services; we arranged a mask and sanitizer give away with Austin Public Health for attendants and attendant service agencies; we arranged for vaccines for attendants and those who use these services along with Austin Public Health and the Housing Authority of the City of Austin. HHSC seems to have done absolutely nothing for these direct care workers who provided these critical services, basically at their own risk, for over a year.

Unbeknownst to us, HHSC had snuck across the street from their old location, but we quickly regrouped and tracked them down. We took over the lobby of their fancy new offices and the Executive Commissioner Cecile Young, too chicken to come down herself, sent a staffer who after listening finally agreed to set up a meeting with Ms. Young.

Security escorted us out of the building once we were done, tsk tsking us as went. But shortly thereafter, as we were debriefing outside, one security woman came out to thank us as she works as an attendant in a group home for her other job and completely agreed with everything we said.

We will be meeting with Executive Commissioner very soon!