Georgia Kanakarakis

Home Health Aide | Home Services, Inc. | Queens, NY

Georgia Kanakarakis, an 1199SEIU Hero, says that the same impulse that led her to become a home health aide has led her to New Jersey with some 75 other 1199ers to educate voters and help get them to the polls on Election Day.

“I became a home health aide at Queens’ Home Services, Inc. in 2000 because I wanted to make people’s lives better,” she says. “I became an 1199SEIU Hero because I want to help other people use our democratic system to make their lives better.”

Kanakarakis, who is fluent in Greek and English, also joined some 80 1199SEIU homecare members Sept. 30 for a Day of Action in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley. The area made news recently for an anti-discrimination ordinance enacted in Hazleton.

Kanakarakis also has worked as a political action volunteer in other areas of Pennsylvania and in Chicago.

“Working as a Hero is hard work, and we put in long hours,” she says. “It’s not for everyone, and neither is homecare work. But I think I was born to do this. I want to help.

Kanakarakis says that she’s come to understand that politics is important to achieving quality health care. “What I and the other volunteers are doing helps healthcare workers and patients,” she says.

“I’ve noticed through my work that a lot of people don’t see the importance of registering and voting,” she says. “People have fought hard in our country for the right to vote because they realize how important it is. We don’t tell people how to vote. We just try to convince them of the importance of getting involved and voting for candidates who are willing to help. I want to help others make informed decisions.”