London support worker asks how her next MPP will fix the support worker 'crisis'?

Jennifer House loves her job, but wishes there were fewer factors that could one day tempt her to leave. 

As a support worker providing care in a London, Ont., home for adults with behavioural challenges, the 27-year-old  makes meals for the people she cares for and helps them with daily activities, everything from doing crafts to taking a bath to getting out to the park.

"I adore my job," she said. "These guys are special to my heart. I love that I get to hang out with them all day and make them smile and laugh. It's important to me because I feel like the general population kind of forgets about people in this setting unfortunately."

As a part-time support worker, House makes about $5 an hour less than most workers doing similar jobs in a long-term care setting or in hospitals. Her shifts also often change and her hours aren't consistent. 

She's seen colleagues start their jobs and be trained, then leave for more pay. With inflation pushing up the cost of living, House fears she may have to make a similar decision.

House says she'll be watching the campaign unfold, with an eye to parties with a workable plan to stabilize the staffing problem. 

"I will be casting a vote for someone who cares about the careers that are being overlooked right now."

Support worker turnover has led to big challenges in health care in recent years, with problems such as burnout and staffing shortages further exposed during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

"Home care is in crisis," said Sue VanderBent, CEO of Home Care Ontario, which represents 70 organizations across the province — both public and private — providing all sorts of home care, including care that helps seniors stay longer in their homes. 

"Before COVID, we were meeting patient referrals about 96 per cent of the time," she said. "Now it's down to 40 per cent and that's because of staffing. We've got to bring people back into the home care system." 

VanderBent's organization published a report in October 2020 about the staffing issue. Its top recommendation was to bring in pay equity for support workers so they earn the same as staff doing the same job in more institutional settings.

"We definitely need to see the funding increase, that's the most critical issue that we have right now," she said. VanderBent estimates it would take about $460 million a year for the province to begin to plug that pay gap.

She sees it as good value because caring for people where they live, whether it's seniors, people with disabilities or those recovering from surgeries, costs less than a hospital bed. In her view, it also offers better qualify of care. VanderBent said the staffing problem will be particularly pressing as Ontario faces the "silver tsunami" of an aging population.

Despite the challenges, VanderBent said the issue is very much on the radar of parties running in this election