Belleville woman to receive 'Portrait of Care'

November marks National Family Caregivers Month, a time to recognize the 40 million Americans – about 2 million from Michigan – who help older parents, spouses, and other loved ones live independently at home, where they want to be. The unpaid care they provide – managing medications, cooking meals, driving to appointments, performing complex medical tasks and more – is valued at about $15.5 billion in Michigan alone.

Mary Clark from Belleville is one of these unsung heroes. She says: “I realized being a caregiver consumes your life. But I didn’t anticipate becoming a human resources manager, dispute mediator, traffic cop, practical nurse, benefits coordinator all as part of the role.”

AARP Michigan will recognize Mary with a Portrait of Care, an artist’s painting of her and her mother, Eartha. Selected through AARP’s storytelling initiative, I Heart Caregivers ( aarp.org/iheartcaregivers), Mary is one of 53 family caregivers from every state, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands receiving a hand-painted portrait. Thousands have shared their stories on the site.

“We want to celebrate family caregivers, spotlight their experiences of hope, love, dedication and perseverance, and elevate their stories – especially during National Family Caregivers Month,” said Tom Kimble, President of AARP Michigan, which serves 1.4 million Michiganders age 50 and older. “This is especially important as we work to support family caregivers through public policy, education, outreach and more.”

Mary, age 59 and a college administrator, assembled, organized and scheduled a 12-member “dream team,” herself included, who cared for her mother at home following falls and other health issues. Mary borrowed from her own retirement savings to make this care possible until Eartha died in January.

“Family caregivers are the backbone of our care system, serving a crucial role in helping older Michiganders and other loved ones remain in their own homes and communities,” Kimble continued. “That’s why AARP is fighting for commonsense solutions to help make their big responsibilities a little bit easier.”

In 2015, AARP Michigan is fighting for:

• The Caregiver Advise, Record, Enable (CARE) Act to help family caregivers when their loved ones go into the hospital and as they transition home. The CARE Act is in Senate committee.
• Legislation to cut through the red tape and allow nurses to have the full authority to heal.
• Uniform adult guardianship to help family caregivers as they care for their loved ones across state lines.