I'm writing in response to your Feb. 19 article on the crisis in long-term care.

I am a personal support specialist. I work with elders in their homes, assisting them with everything from bathing and dressing to housekeeping and rides to medical appointments or shopping.

This work is very rewarding for me. I get the satisfaction of knowing that I am helping these folks remain independent in their own homes. This is what keeps me at it.

These elders do not want to move into assisted living facilities or nursing homes when they are still capable of living in their own homes. Can you blame them? Would you want to?

I believe low wages and lack of benefits resulting from low state reimbursements for these services are the problem when it comes to recruiting and retaining home care workers. I do not have health insurance through my work. My husband and I buy our own. It comes with lousy coverage and very high deductibles. We have it so we won't lose our home. If I ever got sick, I would have to find other work that does provide health benefits. That would leave the people I assist without their helper, on a long waiting list to get another. Some might have to enter a nursing home, costing taxpayers many times more.

The services we direct care workers provide are very important. The wages and lack of benefits do not reflect that.

Helen Hanson

South China