If you’ve ever wondered about what disability service can do for seniors, veterans, and even for children born with disabilities, the answer is they can make all the difference in the world to someone in need of personal care. Yet that’s not the end of the story. Disability service can also mean everything to the person who delivers that care. More and more people from increasingly diverse backgrounds are finding themselves drawn to work as home health aides, in elderly care, and in disability service. Although there are a variety of personal and professional reasons for these career changes, there’s no denying that for most one of the key draws is the meaning and purpose they find in the work. For every 1,000 adults over the age of 75 there are just over 112 home healthcare workers to help them this year. 20% of America’s population will be over 65 years of age by the year 2030, and the elderly are only one of the groups in need of personal care services. Could a career in disability services be right for you? Here are a few things to consider.

Disability Service: You Give Comfort and Companionship

Many studies have shown that older adults tend to feel lonely and depressed when they are socially isolated. This isolation tends to increase as disability increases. This same kind of loneliness and sense of separation can also be experienced by our veterans who come home to a world that can barely understand the first thing about what they have suffered. Children, too, can suffer this kind of isolation when they struggle with the disability that limits their interaction with others. One of the amazing privileges of working in disability service is the ability to provide needed companionship. Meaningful relationships lower the blood pressure, lower the risk of cardiovascular problems, and reduce our risk of developing a mental health issue. A meaningful relationship is not just beneficial for the client, but also for the helper.

Disability Service: Knowing You Make a Difference

It’s not every job where you can be quite sure that your work every day is making a genuine difference in the lives of other people. There is an inspiring sense of accomplishment that comes from knowing you are making a difference in a person’s life and enabling them to live their life to the fullest.

Disability Service: Give Clients the Privilege Of Staying Home

When a family is unable to provide constant healthcare for a loved one with a disability, the choices before them can seem very grim. Few people want to institutionalize a loved one, and yet they frequently find themselves at the end of their emotional and physical strength trying to hold down jobs, raise families, and also care for disabled family The loved one themselves may be very aware of the situation and experiencing depression because they believe they are ruining the lives of their family. Personal care services can change all that by allowing the disability member of the family to stay at home while helping to relieve the burden from the rest of the family.

Disability Service: Professionally Rewarding

Not only is a career in home health personally rewarding, but it also offers many tangible professional benefits. The opportunities for professional growth in this field are enormous, as you train in the use of cutting edge technologies and have the opportunity to specialize your skills. You can work with whatever group you find most personally rewarding, whether that’s helping to bring a disabled infant home, or working in elderly care. You can work with those who have complex medical needs, who have mental disabilities, or who have physical disabilities. The demand for home healthcare jobs is never been higher, so the future is bright for those who enter the profession.

A report by the American Community Survey found that in 2016 nearly 13% of America’s population was living with a disability of some kind. A career in disability service can be a personally and professionally rewarding way of truly ministering into the lives of these people.