The 5% Campaign is now Best Life Alliance
People with disabilities, older adults, caregivers, more than 130 organizations, family members, and advocates throughout Minnesota are a part of this major statewide campaign
The Best Life Alliance, formally The 5% Campaign, is a nonpartisan coalition of Minnesota service providers, caregivers, self-advocates, family members, and community partners advocating for Home & Community-Based Services (HCBS). It is part of a state-wide movement toward fully person-centered and community-integrated services for people with disabilities.
The alliance formed in 2014 and maintains life in the community is the first and best option for people with disabilities, as well as their families, workers, and our state as a whole. The Best Life Alliance supports reform and a rate increase for community-based services in 2016 to address the current workforce crisis.
It will ensure better compensation for caregivers, and support quality services to allow people with disabilities to live as independently as possible in the community. Legislation is being drafted and our chief authors in 2016 will be Senator Kent Eken and Representative Rod Hamilton.
5 Reasons to Support the Best Life Alliance
- Minnesotans believe people with disabilities should live in and contribute to their communities. Community-based services provide greater opportunity to build strong connections with neighbors and the community. A 5% rate increase supports this belief.
- Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) and Caregivers support your family; shouldn't they be able to support their own?
- A 5% increase will help to recruit and retain consistent staff; this is crucial to quality care. Low wages lead to higher staff turnover, creating more stress, less stability and lower quality care.
- DSPs and caregivers who support people with disabilities and older Minnesotans have demanding, highly-skilled jobs. A 5% increase shows we value these employees and their commitment to this field.
- Community-based services are some of the largest employers in rural Minnesota. A 5% rate increase will support dedicated staff who will put dollars to work in their local communities.
What You Can Do
- Subscribe to the Best Life Alliance news & events email list by emailing Best Life Alliance
- Join the conversation on social media where updates and additional ways to get involved will be posted. Share the campaign's posts to spread the word!
Twitter - @BestLifeMN
Facebook – BestLifeAlliance
- Contact your legislators to share your story. Contact your legislators and share why Home & Community- Based services matter to you.
Find out who represents you and how to contact them.
Tell legislators Why a 5% Rate Increase is Important to You:
-Explain how services make a real difference for people with disabilities and older adults
-Describe the difficult and important work that caregivers and DSPs do for very little pay
-Talk about caregiver turnover, and difficulty recruiting/retaining direct care staff
-Share why a rate increase should be a funding priority in 2016
Ways to contact legislators:
-Call, send an email, or write a letter.
-Attend a town hall forum
-Invite legislators to a community service site, such as a day training center, a group home, or your company office
- Tell Governor Dayton Why Community-Based Services are Important to You
Contact Gov. Dayton to ask for his support in 2016
- Share Your Story with The Best Life Alliance
The Best Life Alliance would love to share your story or photo to help support Home and Community Based Services in 2016. They may be written by a DSP/caregiver, other provider staff, a self-advocate, a family member, a volunteer, a case worker or anyone else. Submission may be used on the Best Life Alliance social media, on handouts, this webpage, or in email messages. Content may be edited by coalition team members for consistency, spelling, and grammar.
Simply save our story template (Word), complete the Best Life Alliance consent form (Word), and email it to us with a photo (if you have one).
Questions regarding the Best Life Alliance may be directed to:
Bruce Nelson, ARRM CEO ~ (651) 291-1086, ext. 1
Amy Wartick, LSS, Marketing and Communications Director ~ (651) 969-2343
