BY: Robert Jowaiszas, Community Editor/Reporter
Keith S. Shikowitz, Editor in Chief/Investigative Reporter
Suffern NY — The message was loud and clear at the third annual Rally in the Valley which took place on March 13, 2026, inside the RCC Fieldhouse where about 3,000 people were there to ask New York State Governor Kathy Hochul to budget more money (4%) for the Direct Support Professionals who help take care of and work with the people in the IDD (Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities) community to get them to be able to live independently to have a living wage.
Katy Sanchez summed up the entirety of the day in once sentence in her speech. GOVERNOR HOCHUL CAN YOU HEAR US? – WE MATTER!!! Below is her story. It is riveting and inspirational. She shows us that with hard work, determination and the right support like she got from her workers and parents, anything is possible.
That call echoed throughout the annual Rally in the Valley, organized by Jawonio and more than 35 partner agencies, bringing together families, advocates, providers, and people with disabilities from across the Hudson Valley.
Opening the event, William Mullaney, President of Rockland Community College, welcomed the crowd and spoke about the importance of partnerships and opportunity.
“It is a privilege to stand before you… partners and friends who share a deep commitment to inclusion, empowerment, and opportunity for every individual.”
He added: “At Rockland Community College, we see how education, support, and community partnerships change lives.”
He pointed to programs they have specifically to aid the people with IDD opportunities to succeed. He thanked Jawonio for its commitment to the people it serves and looks forward to continuing to share the same values the college holds.
Taking the stage, Randi Rios-Castro, chief executive officer of Jawonio, thanked attendees and local leaders, including Aaron Wieder, Rockland County legislator, for their support.
“When you look around today, you see something powerful — families, advocates, providers, community members, and people with disabilities standing shoulder to shoulder.”
She reinforced the rally’s central message: “So today we raise our voices together. Invest in people. Invest in our workforce. Protect services for people with disabilities, because when we stand together, families, providers, advocates, and community members, our voices cannot be ignored. Let’s continue fighting for a future where every person has the support they deserve.”
“It is about whether people with disabilities can continue receiving safe, high-quality supports in their own communities. It is also about our workforce that directly works with support professionals Therapists, teachers, and caregivers who show up every day. Many of those workers are women, people of color, and immigrants who are essential members of our communities. They bring compassion, skills and dedication to this work every single day. We ask our federal legislators to pursue thoughtful immigration policies that recognize the important contributions of these workers and allow them to continue strengthening our communities.” She continued.
She concluded, “So today we ask our leaders at the state and federal level to stand with this community and continue strengthening the services people depend on, because what we are asking for today is not extraordinary. It is not extravagant. It is the kind of responsible investment any society makes when it values the people that hold it together. Behind every statistic is a real person, a caregiver, a family member, a direct support professional, or someone who is working hard to live as independently as possible.”
Helping shape the message of the day, Diana Hess, chief communications officer for Jawonio, emphasized that providers across the Hudson Valley are facing staffing shortages and rising costs, making sustained funding critical to maintaining services.
Across the fieldhouse, that message was visible and crystal clear. Groups stood together wearing matching T-shirts representing their organizations — including Venture Together, Another Step, The Arc Rockland, creating a strong visual of unity and pride.
According to messaging shared by Jawonio and their partner agencies, advocates are calling for at least a 2.7% increase in state funding, along with protections for Medicaid and additional support for the human services workforce. They also went into specifics of the things that are needed outside of the money to fund the agencies.
Jerry Fox the president CEO of Abilities First and the chairman of Hudson Valley Service Providers,
stated that this partnership has been invaluable when it comes to advocating with the needs of our stakeholders and advancing our great missions. While all of, all of us here today come from different organizations and different quarters of the region, we speak with one clear united voice today. Our message is simple, the work we do matters and the people we serve matter. The state MUST fund these essential Supports at the level they deserve. The strength of our field always comes from partnership, partnership between organizations. Between staff and families. Between advocates and the people who represent us in Albany, when we stand together, when we lift our voices together We turn shared challenges into collective action.
While speakers avoided partisan politics, many made clear that government funding priorities have a direct impact on daily life. Decisions made in Albany and Washington determine staffing levels, wages for direct-support professionals, and whether programs can continue to serve families in need. For providers, funding is not just a budget line — it shapes whether services can be sustained or expanded.
Coverage from regional outlets and social media posts following the rally highlighted the urgency of the workforce crisis, noting that many direct-support professionals remain underpaid despite their essential role in helping individuals live independently and stay connected to their communities.
Speakers and attendees stressed that these services are not abstract. They connect people to everyday life — including jobs in local businesses, volunteer roles, and community participation. Many individuals supported through these programs work in grocery stores and other community settings, contributing to the local economy, paying taxes, and building independence.
For families and workers, the issue is deeply personal. Services mean stability. They mean opportunity. They mean the ability to live with dignity and remain connected to the community.
At one of the most emotional moments of the day, Katy Sanchez, a self-advocate with The Arc Rockland, addressed state leadership directly, leading the crowd in a chant that defined the rally:
“Governor Hochul, are you listening to us? We matter! We matter! We matter!” Her words, echoed by thousands, captured what the rally was truly about — not just funding or policy, but recognition, respect, and opportunity for people with disabilities and the communities that support them.
Congressman Mike Lawler was invited to speak next. “Well, good morning everyone. It’s great to be here in Suffern with so many families advocates and providers Who care deeply about making sure that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities get the support, care and resources they need and deserve. I want to thank Randy, Diana and everybody at Jawonio and all of the organizations that helped put this together today.
Groups like the ARC of NY, Venture and many others here who do incredible work everyday for families across Rockland County and the Hudson Valley. If you were here at last year’s event like I was, you’ll notice there was a venue change. It’s a lot less cold and a lot less windy but no less passionate. At last year’s rally all of you were heard loud and clear.
One main thing that everyone is calling for is making healthcare affordable. This is one thing that Lawler spent a lot of time on in Congress doing to make sure that people here in the Hudson Valley actually can afford the healthcare that they need. “For a lot of families that means Making sure their insurance premiums don’t suddenly skyrocket and we’ve seen the increase in health insurance premiums rise over 125% the last decade plus. That’s why I led a bipartisan effort to extend the enhanced premium tax credit in the affordable Care Act to help ensure that families lower their monthly insurance costs and when my own party leadership refused to put this bipartisan bill on the floor. I worked with Democrats to sign a discharge petition and force a vote.”
He added that this is not about politics it’s about everyone in this room and making sure that you have the support that you need. He met with Dr. Oz and many healthcare providers as he fought to extend the MCO tax For 9 additional months, which brought back $1.2 billion to New York’s healthcare system and after years of waiting were able to get FEMA to finally release more than 2 billion dollars In support for New York’s hospitals, money that was owed From services rendered during COVID.
“This additional 3.2 billion dollars infusion into our healthcare system was not anticipated and will help New York significantly shore up our healthcare system across the state.”
The next topic he went on about was one of the main topics of the event. Staffing and the cost of it. “Now when I look around this room It’s a reminder that when people come together and speak up it makes a difference and my work with the disability community goes back years and when I was in the state Assembly, I worked on expanding job opportunities for people Disabilities, fought to raise wages for our direct support professionals, helped keep Rockland Psychiatric Center open And push for more funding for organizations like Jawonio that do the incredible work. One of the biggest problems providers tell me about today is staffing.”
According to Lawler, the people who work in this field, our direct support professionals, our nurses, our teachers do incredible work helping individuals live independently and be part of our communities. But across New York, providers are struggling to hire and keep their staff and be paid a fair and living wage. The fact is they are not paid enough. They need to be paid more and that is the responsibility of all of them at the federal and state levels to make sure that you have the funding they deserve to be able to provide the services that they do and support every single family and individual in this room.
“Just yesterday (March 12, 2026) I introduced legislation to establish a new grant program for caregivers. Supporting our caregivers helps build a stronger more compassionate care system for the families and communities that depend on them. Next week I will be introducing Legislation to create a waiver on the $100,000 fee on the H-1B visa petitions, so that our providers like Jawonio are able to have the staff that they need to provide the services for all of you. In addition, I have been leading the fight to extend TPS (Temporary Protected Status) for our Haitian community. We in Rockland County know how critical our Haitian workers are. They are a central part of our community, our work force and they should not have to go back to Haiti. I have advocated extensively to the President and to the White House to extend TPS. Last year I introduced legislation that would extend it for 3 years. Last week we got an appellate decision that prevented the administration from revoking TPS. I am to have supported that lawsuit But moreover, last week I signed the discharge petition to bring a bill to the floor for a vote to extend Haitian TPS.”
He concluded, “Folks at the end of the day this is not about politics or policy debates in Washington. It is about the people that are impacted by those debates. It is about the families that want to know that their loved ones will always have the care and support that they need and that includes building more housing for our IDD community here in NY State. It is about the individuals who deserve the chance to live independently and be part of our communities. It’s about the dedicated advocates, providers and staff here today that make it all possible. The Hudson Valley has always been a place where neighbors look out for one another and I’m proud to stand with each and every one of you to keep working to make sure that everyone in our community has the opportunity and the support deserve. God bless you and thank you for everything you do. And thank you for having me here today.”
After a couple of other state legislators spoke, 38th Senate District Senator Bill Weber was the next on the list.
New York State Senator Peter Harckham from the 40th Senate District got up to speak.
“We are here with you in a bipartisan way you see Republicans and Democrats standing together because we have heard YOU. This is a non-partisan issue. This is one thing that we all agree on, you are special people. People with unique abilities. We love you. The people who care for the people with unique abilities. We need to support you. You’ve heard the numbers. I’m not going to repeat the numbers, but we are here because we have heard you and now the governor needs to hear you. Raise your voices so the governor can hear you.”
He said they are going to fight for 4%. It’s not their fault that for 10 years the former governor held all agencies flat and as Shelly just said, they deserve to have sustainable wages. “You deserve to be able to support your family on one job. You shouldn’t have to work three jobs, and that’s why we’re here with your support, but we need your help.
Aron Wieder, Assemblyman from the 97th District was the next official from Rockland County to address the crowd.
Assemblyman Pat Carroll and Assemblyman Chris Eachus rounded out the field of Rockland County elected officials to speak at the rally. They both talked about the need to make life better or all of the concerned individuals at the rally. They both expressed their support for the 4% increase in funding for the salaries to give the DSP’s and others the needed living wage and their general support for everyone.
After the elected officials had gotten through their speeches, people from various disability organizations got up and spoke about what their agencies do, and all kept “yelling” at governor Hochul to approve the 4% increase for the DSP workers and to make sure all of their agencies had the funding they needed to continue the important work they were doing for the IDD communities they serve.