(K-LOVE Closer Look) – Your loved one suddenly needs round-the-clock care. “Your whole world can be turned upside down,” says Marvell Adams Jr, CEO of Caregiver Action Network. It happened to him as a teenager when his own mother suffered a debilitating stroke. “Caregiving is hard work, whether you do it 1 hour a day or 10 hours a day or several days a week.” He currently heads the non-profit CAN to provide advice, support and community for people caring for the elderly, sick or disabled among us.
Caring for caregivers makes for good government and social policy, says Edwin Walker, Deputy Asst. Sec. for Aging with the Administration for Community Living. ACL is a part of the official U.S. Dept. Of Health and Human Services. Known as ‘the Meals-On-Wheels people,’ ACL can supply family caregivers with training and equipment -- like handrails and ramps -- to promote accessibility. In one case, ACL paid for an air conditioner to improve air-quality in the home.
“We know the significance of and monetary value of caregiving,” says Walker. “Family caregivers provide $500 Billion of services which the public sector could not assume if the family did not step in.”
“Caring for the caregiver is not only compassionate, it makes financial sense.”
To protect the long-term mental and emotional health of caregivers, each of these organizations focuses on strategies for self-care.
CAN organizes free information into a Family Caregiver Toolbox, covering topics like juggling your job and caregiving, administering Rxs or how to recognize depression in yourself. “Planning for your own self-care is a part of being a caregiver,” Adams insists. CAN also operates a free and confidential Caregiver Help Desk line (855-227-3640) to get answers from experts.
Connection with peers is also offered via the CAN Facebook group and video testimonials from other families appear on their website. From Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s and COPD and anything in between, stories from fellow caregivers provide valuable advice and provide relief for people shouldering the burden alone.
Walker says caregivers are often reluctant to ask for help. “They will sometimes feel guilty,” he says, “because they don’t feel like they’re doing enough.” But to assist with overwhelming adjustments, ACL points friends and family to local resources via zip code. The Elder Care Locator allows you to find services – housing, transportation, even medical equipment – through its online chat or by phone (800-677-1116). ACL also points caregivers to options for temporary respite care.
Walker invites caregiver inquiries and delights in the mission of the Administration for Community Living. “I would urge all caregivers to feel okay with reaching out for help.”
Adams agrees.
“Caregivers are amazing individuals -- and maybe they can do it all -- but they don’t have to.”
