As more Californians age, the need for better solutions for home care providers and their clients has dramatically increased. Metta Fund grantee, the Pilipino Workers Center (PWC), is a long-standing advocate for immigrant homecare workers, addressing issues such as wage theft, poor working conditions, and systemic inequities. Their work centers on building economic power and leadership among low-wage, primarily BIPOC and immigrant care workers.
Vivid Life Home Care Cooperative –launched by PWC — is a bold, worker-centered initiative that builds a statewide network of caregiver-owned cooperatives, designed to raise wages, improve working conditions, and deliver high-quality, culturally rooted care. It is a scalable, sustainable model that empowers caregivers – primarily immigrant women and women of color –to own their workplaces, earn a living wage, and deliver high-quality, consistent care to those who need it most. It also addresses a looming care workforce shortage in California and aims to create sustainable, high-road employment models for this critical sector.
With strategic partners like Venture with Purpose, The ICA Group, and Democracy At Work Institute, PWC is piloting a Central Co-op and a Co-op Academy to support the development of local cooperatives. The goal is to transition full governance to worker-owners within five years, ensuring long-term sustainability and equity in the care economy.
Q&A with Aquilina Soriano Versoza, Executive Director, Pilipino Workers Center
1. How does the Vivid Life Home Care Cooperative improve care for older adults?
The Vivid Life Home Care Cooperative improves care for older adults by ensuring consistency, compassion, and professionalism from caregivers who have a true stake in their work. Because caregivers are also worker-owners, they are deeply invested in the quality of care they provide. The cooperative model fosters stability and continuity—two essential elements in elder care—while also allowing for more culturally responsive and community-centered support. This leads to better relationships, trust, and overall health outcomes for older adults.
2. Why is investing in care workers essential to supporting our aging population?
Care workers are the backbone of our aging care system, yet they are often undervalued and underpaid. Investing in them—through fair wages, training, and leadership opportunities—is not only the right thing to do, but also critical to ensuring a sustainable care infrastructure. With California’s older adult population rapidly growing, we face a serious workforce shortage. Investing in care workers means we’re strengthening the entire system—ensuring that older adults receive the dignified, high-quality care they deserve while also building economic opportunity for historically marginalized communities.
3. What long-term change do you hope this initiative brings to elder care (for both elders and care workers) in California?
Our hope is that this initiative transforms the care economy into one that truly values and uplifts both caregivers and care recipients. We envision a future where women—who make up the majority of this workforce—have real economic power and voice in their industry. At the same time, elders will benefit from higher-quality, stable, and dignified care. We aim to scale a model that is worker-owned, community-centered, and equity-driven—one that can serve as a blueprint across the state and even nationally.