WHEREAS, Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) are the primary providers of community-based long-term support services for thousands of individuals with disabilities in Maine; and

WHEREAS, DSPs are valued for their work in building respectful and trusted relationships with individuals to assist them with their most intimate needs; and

WHEREAS, DSPs provide essential support that ensures that individuals with disabilities are included as a valued part of their community; supported at home, at work, and in communities across Maine; and empowered to live with the dignity that all people of our state deserve; and

WHEREAS, DSPs provide a broad range of individualized supports, including meal preparation, medication assistance, personal care and life skills training, mobility, work and life enrichment opportunities, and other daily tasks; and

WHEREAS, DSPs support informed choices and person-centered practices that honor and respect the individuals with disabilities that they serve; and

WHEREAS, an adequate workforce of high-quality DSPs is necessary for the people of Maine to respond to the needs of people with disabilities, and to avoid more costly institutional care;

NOW, THEREFORE, be it resolved that I, Janet T. Mills, Governor of the State of Maine, do hereby proclaim the week of September 8-14, 2024 as

Direct Support Professionals Recognition Week

throughout the State of Maine, and I urge all citizens to recognize these individuals who provide vital support and care for older adults, people with intellectual disabilities, autism spectrum disorder and other related conditions and help them live full and meaningful lives in their community.

In testimony whereof, I have caused the Great Seal of the State to be hereunto affixed GIVEN under my hand at Augusta this twenty eighth day of August Two Thousand Twenty-Four