BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Buffalo Bills football team is just one of artist and performer Jason Smith's many passions.

The 53-year-old adult with a developmental disability showed off his artwork of a Bills helmet at People Inc.'s The Art Experience program. The season ticket holder says he plans to bring it to a game.

Smith is a bit of renaissance man.

"I do everything from art to crafts to music to theater and everything that I love" he said.

Around four year ago, Smith found the program and began cultivating interests he's had since he was a kid.

"Society that we live in has these strange ideas of what a disabled person ought to be doing," he said. "They don't know. They'll never know."

Lizzy Hinman is one of Smith's instructors.

"The people that are here are passionate about the work that they do and the art that they want to create, whether it be visual art or performance art or music," Hinman said.

People Inc. said programs like this, subsidized by the government, are enriching lives across the state. However, Associate Vice President of Public Affairs Kevin Horrigan said the state has not provided a cost of living adjustment for developmental disabilities services in a decade.

"The money's there," Horrigan said. "The money's there from the federal government to the state so we need it and we haven't received it in 10 years so now's the time."

Gov. Kathy Hochul's executive budget proposal did include a 5.4% cost of living adjustment, as well as a sign-on bonus for health care workers. New York disability advocates are urging instead to use the bonus money to increase the adjustment to 11%.

Horrigan said it will help providers cover increasing day-to-day expenses like food, utilities and transportation, but also importantly allow them to offer more competitive salaries for direct support professionals.

"If we don't have those public funds, what we experience is high turnover," he said. "We have a difficult time hiring. Would you rather take care of somebody who has maybe some health care needs or would you rather, like I said, go flip a hamburger?"

Hinman said she does the work because it's rewarding, but people still need to be able to make a living wage.

"I really do believe that the work we do here is pivotal and valuable and so important and it's a clear message from the state, getting this funding, that they see us and they acknowledge us and they also support the work that we do," she said.

Smith said as he comes to the program the same day. Having consistency is important to him.

"We keep the good people that want to work instead of people that we don't know because that can be a very scary thing," he said.

He said the people at the art experience are not just instructors but have become part of his extended family.