| You’re
Not Alone Take
advantage of resources that are available for caregivers
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| When you become a family caregiver, you take on an
enormous, important responsibility. At times, it’s
easy to feel overwhelmed and
alone. That’s
natural. But fortunately, it’s not the case. There
are a host of resources available to caregivers that can
make a huge
difference in the
life and health of the senior as well as the family
caregiver. |
At home
- Friends and Family: Keep a list of friends, family, fellow organization members and neighbors nearby for when you need a bit of help now and then.
- Home Care Aides: Handle chores, such as cleaning the house, grocery shopping or laundry.
- Personal Care Aides: Help with activities, like bathing, dressing or using the toilet.
- Home Repair Services: Normal home maintenance, plus small projects that make the home safer and more secure.
- Respite Service Programs: Give the family caregiver a break by taking in or caring for a senior loved one for a period of time.
- Home Meal Delivery Programs: Programs like Meals on Wheels make sure seniors get healthy meals and a little pleasant social interaction.
- Companion/Telephone Services: Volunteers provide welcome interaction and reassurance,
visiting the home or placing telephone calls to check on a senior’s well-being.
- Home Observation Services: Many communities encourage people who stop regularly, such as letter carriers and utility workers, to report problems like accumulating mail to designated responders.
- Home Healthcare Services: These organizations send licensed professionals to the home to assist in treatment prescribed by the senior’s physician.
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Around town
- Senior Centers: More and more communities recognize the value of senior centers as a place
for local residents to gather for recreational activities as well as health screenings, art fairs
and more.
- Adult Day Care: Offer a variety of time periods throughout the day.
- Care Managers/Social Workers: These professionals have training in areas such as gerontology, social work, nursing and/or counseling so they can provide real help with issues facing seniors and their family caregivers.
- Transportation: Most communities run free senior bus/shuttle service to and from places seniors visit regularly, such as senior centers, shopping malls, local museums and attractions. Many facilities, such as hospitals, also run free shuttles.
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Reading Materials For Caregivers
There is a wealth of information readily available that addresses the issues facing family caregivers. Please review the recommended list
below:
- Caregivers Handbook by Deni Brown.
- Caregiving: Hospice-Proven Techniques for Healing Body and Soul by Douglas Smith.
- Caregiving: The Spiritual Journey of Love, Loss,
and Renewal by Beth Witrogen McLeod.
- Caring for Yourself While Caring for Your Aging
Parents: How to Help... by Claire Berman.
- Dutiful Daughters: Caring for Our Parents as They
Grow Old by Jean Gould .
- How to Care for Aging Parents by Virginia Morris
and Robert Butler.
- How to Take Care of You So You Can Take Care of
Others by Sue Vineyard.
- I’ll Take Care of You: A Practical Guide for Family
Caregivers by Joseph A. Ilardo, Ph.D and
Carole R. Rothman, Ph.D.
- Making the Moments Count: Leisure Activities for
Caregiving Relationships by Joanne Ardolf Decker.
- Stress Reduction for Caregivers by Anne D. Katz.
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