On Wednesday, November 16, Living Resources staff and program participants were part of the 200+ self-advocates, family members, DSPs, and members of disability care organizations that came together to tell lawmakers that NOW is the time to invest in NY’s care economy. We NEED adequate funding. High inflation hit nonprofit providers hard. The non-personnel costs in our supervised residential programs have increased by more than 25% since last year, predominately in the areas of transportation costs, energy, food, and maintenance. Also, our health insurance premiums will be increasing by double-digits next year. So, in addition to investing in the workforce, we need the Governor to include an 8.5% rate adjustment so that we can keep up with the overall rising costs of operating homes and other programs.