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Joy Essien
Home Health Aide / Partners in Care / New York, NY
“I go from one house to another to take care of four clients,” says Joy Essien, a Home Health Aide with the Partners in Care agency. “I get up at 5 a.m. to take my little baby to the baby sitter so I can go to work and pay my bills, and I still can’t pay them.”
Essien welcomed the support of the many thousands who joined the Union’s Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day rally on January 16th, to call for justice for thousands of New York Home Health Aides.
“People should know about the work we do because its one of the most valuable jobs in healthcare,” said Essien. “With all that we do, we still get nothing.”
At the January 16th rally, many friends of 1199SEIU, such as New York Archbishop Edward Cardinal Egan, Senators Charles Schumer and Hillary Clinton, the Rev. Al Sharpton and NYS Attorney General Elliot Spitzer pledged their support to the aides. Sen. Clinton said the aides struggle was a reminder of where we come from and where we strive to go.
“The foundation of his words, deeds and life is one we must build on. I’m proud to stand here with you today,” said Clinton. “The struggle for economic justice is just as important today as it was when we lost Dr. King.”
Essien hopes to become a registered nurse. She worries who will fill her shoes in homecare. The industry’s poor conditions and low wages keep many away. “I think about progressing, but there will still be a need, “ she says. “A lot of people need help. If there are no homecare workers who is going to take care of them?”
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