Opinion editor's note: This article, part of our New Voices collection, was written by a first-time contributor to Star Tribune Opinion. For more information about our efforts to continually expand the range of views we publish, see startribune.com/opinion/newvoices.

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Think back to when you were in school. Do you remember seeing kids with disabilities around you with their peers, learning, having fun and being a recognized part of the school community? Do you know what happened to them after you graduated from high school?

Many of them were not able to follow a traditional path of going to college or getting a full-time job. Instead, children served through special education programs grow to be adults who rely on Minnesota's home and community-based services to seek a place to flourish and live a meaningful life.

I am the proud president and chief executive of Living Well Disabilities Services, and for more than 50 years we have supported thousands of Minnesotans impacted by disabilities every hour of every day. We are your neighbors, though you might not know it. Our incredible full-time and part-time staff of 500 serves 300 people in 37 homes throughout the greater Twin Cities metro area. We partner with families to give people with disabilities safe, joy-filled homes to live in, help them with their daily needs and medical care, get them to work or other activities each day, and help them live fulfilling lives. What would the adults with disabilities in Minnesota do if our supports didn't exist?

Our industry has been operating in crisis mode for several years. Hundreds of people throughout the state have been forced to leave their home due to the closure of dozens of group homes. On top of these closures, many providers are not able to fill shifts because they cannot find staff to provide support. As a result, people with disabilities are not only displaced, but they are also left with fewer choices, less creativity and less hope of living the life of their choosing.

At Living Well, we are nearly 100 employees short. The average hourly pay for our direct support professionals (DSPs) who care for the people in our homes is $16, yet their job duties are that of a health care professional, therapist, chef, career coach and companion. DSPs are responsible for everything from administering medication and maintaining feeding tubes to cooking specialized meals, providing coaching and life skills training, and much more. These low wages are the result of a fixed reimbursement for DSP services that is controlled by the state Legislature. Following last year's inaction at the State Capitol, this year is a do-or-die situation: Those fixed reimbursement rates have drastically fallen behind the inflated cost of living that we all are trying to manage.

Our tragic reality is that DSPs who love what they do often leave their chosen profession because they can no longer afford to do it. It is nearly impossible to stay true to our mission of transforming the lives of people with disabilities when we are overburdened and overlooked.

Thankfully, there is legislation being proposed at the Capitol this year that would help increase the pay for DSPs. They deserve it. People with disabilities in our communities deserve it. We have an incredible opportunity to help people that have been ignored for far too long. Our state is uniquely positioned to reinvigorate an industry that has been weakening for years. Without urgent support, the services we provide are going to look very different or continue to disappear, with devastating effects for the thousands of our neighbors and community members with disabilities and their families.

We should be proud as a society that within the span of one lifetime, we have gone from warehousing people with disabilities in institutions to empowering them to live successfully as part of their community. Everywhere across the metro from east to west, north and south, people with disabilities are your neighbors and are contributing to your community. But their futures and society's progress is at dire risk if nothing is done.

Tom Gillespie is the president and CEO of Living Well Disability Services. He has spent his career serving adults with disabilities, starting 20 years ago as a direct support professional.