Share Your Utah Portrait of Care

“After my mother had her first stroke, when her time in the rehab hospital was over, they just kicked her out and said you have to take her home today – and that was it.”

In 2009, Gwen’s mother suffered a stroke and suddenly needed round the clock care. Gwen became her family caregiver – juggling her new caregiving responsibilities with her full time job – determined to keep her mom at home, where she wants to be, and out of costly institutional care.

 

Gwen isn’t alone.  Approximately 336,000 Utahns perform a labor of love every day caring for older parents, spouses, and other loved ones. Each year, they spend 313 million hours helping with bathing and dressing, meals, chores, transportation and more – like complex medical tasks including wound care, giving injections, and complicated medication management. This unpaid care is valued at about $4.2 billion a year. But we know this care is invaluable.

 

AARP believes family caregiver stories aren’t celebrated nearly enough.

 

As we fight for commonsense solutions to support family caregivers – like help at home, workplace flexibility, training and more – we think it’s time the world got a better picture of just what it means to be you.

 

 

Share your story and photo with us at aarp.org/iheartcaregivers

 

Watch to learn more about Portraits of Care:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpEiZC4McbE&list=PLErIJrtiGWSzApcdW0WyMv2oJu2G3JrVB&index=340] [/youtube]

 

If you are a family caregiver, you’re not alone.

• Find the tools and support you need, as well as ways to connect with other caregivers at org/caregiving.
• See the stories behind Portraits of Care, and share your own story and photo with us at org/iheartcaregivers.