Family caregivers are sons, daughters, grandparents, neighbors, friends, co-workers. They are young people caring for loved ones with serious diagnoses, and they are aunts and uncles caring for children who have experienced trauma and loss. In my job, as coordinator of a respite program in New York State, I talk on the phone with family caregivers every day. A few seem to manage their various responsibilities without a sweat, while many are tired and overwhelmed. Our program, which is funded through the Administration for Community Living (Lifespan Respite Care Program), gives caregivers a little bit of money ($600) to hire someone to give them respite, a break. One caregiver hired someone to stay with his wife so he could go fishing; another hired a friend to stay with her mom so she could celebrate her 50th wedding anniversary. She wrote on the follow-up survey: “As a caregiver, you’re so focused on the things you have do — doctor visits, picking up medications, setting up the daily medications, feeding, showering, etc. that you really forget that you need to take some time out of the day for yourself.” Caregiving for a loved one can be very expensive, and in the grand scheme of things, $600 isn’t a lot of money. But it affords caregivers a break. And sometimes that’s all they need to keep going day after day. An article about our program can be found here: https://nymisojo.com/2024/04/ny-caregivers-need-time-for-themselves-one-program-offers-a-lifeline/
