The Senior Alliance is a non-profit organization serving Wayne County seniors and caregivers. Their mission is to empower people to live with dignity in the community they choose by providing available services. They approached me to tell two stories – one about the shortage of direct care workers throughout Michigan who are caring for a growing population of senior citizens – and one about the daily experiences of family members caring for their aging or disabled loved ones.

To tell the stories I interviewed family caregivers, direct home care workers, agency employees and professors on the topic. They each shared their perspective on the current state of the industry and the fact that changes will need to be made by policymakers at the state level to address the growing crisis.