“Working in a busy DC hospital, I have encountered numerous situations in which lack of employer support to care for family members has led to crises. In one instance, a parent was unable to both care for their special-needs young adult child and go to work. The young adult was dropped off at the emergency room due to lack of a safe place for this young person to be while the parent was at work, aggravating the young person unnecessarily and using hospital resources that could be used differently if the parent had felt able to stay home with the child.
In another situation, I had the opportunity to meet someone feeling so hopeless about life after they quit their job in the human services field to care for an aging family member. Quitting work left them with financial strains that contributed to depression, hopelessness, and addiction. Had there been adequate family leave, this person may have been able to continue working while also able to take the time needed to assist their aging loved one."
