Nonprofits wrestle to seek out employees to look after the disabled, assist veterans and reply hotline calls

But months after much of the island’s economy reopened, staffing issues continue to limit access to resources like Day Hab, Levine said.

“Every day, Monday through Friday, he should go to a day habilitation center,” she said. “He hasn’t returned since the beginning of COVID.”

Levine said although her son was unable to return to his normal pre-COVID-19 routine, she understood the pressures affecting the organization and was grateful for the work of the staff.

“They went out of their way in many ways to entertain the children and provide activities for them without being able to leave the premises,” said Levine. “We are very grateful.”

Although she values ​​her efforts, Levine fears that staffing issues could lead to the loss of some of the best employees who work with her son.

“The last thing I want to do is get the people who did it all burned out because there aren’t enough staff and they can’t keep up with the extra shifts,” she said.

Demand is “increased”

Burnout has become a major problem in the industry, said Rebecca Sanin, president and CEO of Long Island’s Health and Welfare Council. The group, an umbrella organization that works with over 150 nonprofits in the area, helps connect islanders in need with social utilities such as government health insurance, SNAP grocery stamp benefits, and temporary rental assistance.

“We’ve had a year of trauma, so the need in the nonprofit sector has increased in ways we’ve never seen before,” said Sanin, who is a candidate for the Huntington Town regulatory agency.

Many nonprofits are drawn to an organization’s mission and have often experienced some of the problems nonprofits are trying to resolve, such as financial hardship or addiction, Sanin said. And while that empathy can help in normal times, some of their employees experienced some form of “survivor guilt” during the pandemic and felt compelled to work longer hours to help the affected communities, leading to fatigue.

She said low wages also play a role in burnout.

“The nonprofit sector isn’t known as the high wage sector,” said Sanin. “Workers have spent a year experiencing their own trauma, experiencing trauma from their customers, and many of them take turns saying, ‘I don’t know if I can continue this work.'”

An “exodus” of employees

Colleen Merlo, executive director of the Association for Mental Health and Wellness in Ronkonkoma, which provides care management, residential and peer support services, shared that concern and said the positions at her agency were vacant due to the exposure to COVID-19.

“Last year has been tough for employees,” said Merlo. “I’ve seen an exodus of people from nonprofits in corporations or government agencies because the benefits and salaries are of a magnitude that nonprofits cannot provide.”

Koch noted that salary increases are few and far between at nonprofits. “We haven’t seen a cost of living adjustment in 12 years,” she said. The organization’s expenses, including wages, were approved by state lawmakers for a 1% increase in the cost of living effective last April, although Life’s WORC has yet to receive the additional funding, she said.

This means that a previously existing wage advantage has ceased to exist.

Newcomers to the disability sector used to earn $ 2 to $ 3 above the minimum wage, plus benefits like cheaper health insurance, dentist, paid time off, and retirement accounts, Koch said. But in the past five years, the Long Island minimum wage has risen to $ 14 an hour and will climb to $ 15 by the end of the year. She said the state has not given nonprofits the funds they need to raise their employees’ salaries and maintain that gap.