"Hey community! We need to save this business! Can you give us 5 to 8 hours once a week? One person once a week. That's between $50 and $80 someone can earn. One person once a day. It's just if somebody could give eight hours, it would be amazing," explains Heather Pleninger, Executive Director of Big Sandy Activities (BSA). The organization is facing a labor shortage crisis as it heads into the late summer without enough direct care staff. "I have 5 solid openings. I have reached desperation level today." The issue with staff shortages extends beyond the added expense that paying fewer employees exerts through overtime pay. "It's more than overtime. It's desperation." They are seeking part time or full time help. She also expressed a willingness to accept volunteer help. BSA is a residential care facility for people with developmental disabilities. It's easy to see the "developmental disabilities part of the last sentence and brush over "people." The reason this is so important is because the people who are served there are precious, and they need our community to help them.
Residential work is more than just a job. Of course, money is an important factor in any work situation, but caring for clients like the ones who live at the Women's Home or the Co-Ed Home pays out more than just dollars and cents. It is an opportunity to live out "Love your neighbor as yourself" in a real life manner. "Most staff that we have, they find out that our clients are so much more than a client, and they make lifelong friendships. They enjoy that they are so important, so yes. It is very valuable." During my years of working with BSA as a local pastor and friend, I have witnessed this firsthand. I've officiated small funerals for clients whose families are literally the staff of the home. I've seen them laugh and cry over friends who had become dear to them. My good friend Michael met his wife at BSA and had one of the clients sing at the wedding ceremony. Michael explained: "I never thought that I would be able to do the job, I wasn't 'that kind' of person. I soon found out though that working at BSA was one of the most satisfying and rewarding jobs that I have ever had; and it helped forge in me a greater understanding of patience and compassion that is paying dividends for me now."
Heather explained her own experience with this: "When I started, I didn't really realize how the clients would make me feel. They make me like the mother hen. They make me feel happy to walk in and see them. I am very important to them. It's a good feeling to know that they need me to care for them. It makes me feel like I'm doing something for someone that is very valuable."
BSA has been our neighbor since the 70s. It is one of the largest employers in town and is experiencing particular stress at this time because it cannot simply close for the day due to short staffing. The clients they serve live at the facility and depend on them to do most of their daily tasks. The employment shortage isn't just squeezing BSA at this time. "Every agency in the state is like that. Havre, Chouteau, Great Falls... Havre had to close down two houses. They can't get enough employees." When a facility shuts down, the clients are shifted to other facilities, ones that are already taxed by employment shortages. This would be a particular tragedy for BSA where many of the clients have been living there for decades and call the facility "home."
Though the state doesn't require a certain ration of staff presence to client served, Heather explains that the issue is more than one of regulations: "They don't do state ratio requirements anymore, but based on the level of care... I don't feel it's (staff levels) adequate to provide quality type of care." The shrinking of staff has happened across the agency, with the available nursing staff shrinking along with the office staff. Losing staff in both affects operations, but ultimately, it was the loss of the "hands on" direct care staff that was the "stone that made the teeter totter tip."
Heather explained to me that she has been exhausting all of their options in seeking new workers between job fairs, online listings, etc. All of the beating of the bushes has turned up no applicants at all. "I don't know why people aren't coming to apply. There's nobody to apply in our town, I think. Everybody already has a job that wants one."
Heather explained that the agency is willing to be flexible in hours and scheduling. "They (the shifts) are split. 7 to 10 and 3 to 8... but they could be 7 to 9 and 4 to 7. There are weekends, too. Weekends are not a split shift." There is a greater need for staffing in the morning, with evening shifts being more low key and requiring fewer employees.
The work involved isn't overly difficult. It involves caring for the clients. "This is all direct care work... helping with hygiene, meals, laundry, cooking, everything... You have to be able to lift at least 25 pounds. We do have hoists to lift the clients. I would think at least 25 pounds to get them situated in a lift. You have to pass a background check, and you have to be over the age of 18."
a"Starting pay is $11.75 an hour with a signing bonus that is paid out after 6 months... We offer a retirement matching. We have eye. We have dental... We do not provide them, but we have the availability. We have paid time off. If somebody works Christmas, they make double time and a half. We get to eat out,and the agency pays for it." They don't offer health insurance at the moment, but they are looking into it.
Though it can just be a full or part time job, in a larger and more important sense, BSA is an opportunity to make a real, visible, concrete difference in the world around you. It is a chance to live out what you believe about how people should live. It's something that can be more than just a paycheck. It can be a calling, a ministry, and purpose in life. "It can if you want it to be. The clients, if you care for them, they care for you unconditionally." If you are interested in joining the BSA family, pick up an application 142 Great Northern Ave or call to have one mailed. The number is 378-2598.
