BUFFALO, N.Y. — Renee Christian is a life coach and mother by choice, but a disability advocate out of necessity.

“I define myself as a very strong and independent woman, a business owner and a mother. And I do everything I can to show up in the best way for myself and for my daughter every day,” said Christian.

What You Need To Know

  • Home health care workers are set to get a $2 raise in NYS in October

  • Still, advocates fight for the passage of the Fair Pay for Home Care bill to raise wages by 150% of the minimum regional pay

  • Renee Christian is an advocate who said her staff member has worked 20 days straight

She uses a wheelchair and requires assistance getting in and out of it, but with the low wages and staffing crisis facing home care workers, she said she’s spent days in old clothes, unable to go to the bathroom and sleeping in her wheelchair.

“I am so much more than the chair that I use to get around, but I am defined by that chair more than anything else in my life.”

That’s why she is fighting for New York to pass the Fair Pay for Home Care bill to establish a minimum base wage 150% higher than the regional minimum wage. Christian said the $2 bump Gov. Hochul approved in the state budget is not enough to end the crisis for good and give people with disabilities their independence back.

“Yes they prepare my meals, they help me keep my house clean, but it’s so much more. They allow me the ability and the freedom to choose who I am going to be today.”

Christian just gave her caregiver her first day off in 20 days so her staff member does not get burnt out and leave for good, like many who have left the healthcare industry. Christian hosts one-on-one meetings with people to not only help them advocate for themselves but also to help organize the push for the bill.