I have friends who have no plans for their young adults with autism, once they age out of the public school system next June. Without a full day program that provides opportunities for employment and socialization, their young adults face years of boredom and isolation in their homes. 

Our state cannot provide services for adults with disability, because there aren’t enough people willing to work in those specialized programs. And that problem isn’t isolated to the disability world — there is a surplus of openings for certain types of teachers, police officers, and other state positions. Young people are shunning those jobs, even though the salaries have risen, are supported by strong unions, and offer generous benefits. With greater opportunities, more flexibility, and higher respect in other fields, service work isn’t attractive. 

Service work is essential to our society. We need people to take disabled adults to the mall for the day, to teach five-year olds how to read, and to make sure that nobody is parking on the curb. The challenge of the next decade will be to make service jobs cool again and to revitalize our national commitment to community.

Read more at Apt. 11D, the Newsletter