Featuring: Jerry Smith, Marketing and Business Development Manager, The Institute on Community Integration (ICI) at the University of Minnesota.
Invaluable: The Unrecognized Profession of Direct Support is a documentary film exploring the underappreciated and underfunded work of direct support professionals (DSPs), the people who support individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities in living full lives as members of their communities. Through stories and interviews with DSPs, family members, advocates, and people with disabilities from across the country, the film honors the complexity of the work and the immense value it provides to individuals receiving support. And it asks us to take action now in strengthening the DSP workforce before the system collapses.Following the film, a panel of DSPs and filmmaker Jerry Smith will discuss the film.