Families lose 'lifeline' after Haitian caregivers let go as TPS status ends - BBC News

Haitian immigrants make up a large portion of the already overburdened home-care workforce.

Image source, Linda MancusoImage caption, Long Island mother-of-two Linda Mancuso's disabled son Michael, 23, lost a Haitian aide his mother considers a "lifeline"

Long Island mother-of-two Linda Mancuso has been "praying on a daily basis" that her disabled son's Haitian caregiver will be able to come back to work.

It was "horrifying," she says, when Jean, who had a temporary work permit, was laid off from work at the end of July from his position at a nonprofit supporting individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities. Her son Michael is a 5ft 10in, nonverbal 23-year-old.

"Showering, sleeping, eating, tying his shoes - Michael can't tie his shoes - I mean, there's so much hands-on involvement, and Jean did all of that," she says.

Mancuso was a ball of nerves when she finally agreed to send Michael to residential care, at the age of 19, calling it "the hardest thing I've ever had to do".