National Family Caregiving Month: Resources for Caregiving in Crisis

All across the state family caregivers give so much of themselves to care for their loved ones each and every day. Caregiving can be difficult work that can cause financial, physical, and emotional strain, which is why they need, and more than deserve, our support. November, National Family Caregiving Month, is dedicated to honoring and celebrating their work while also advocating for more resources for family caregivers. With the unique struggles associated with COVID-19, the Caregiver Action Network has created and collected a host of new resources to help caregivers navigate this difficult time as part of this year’s theme of Caregiving in Crisis. To put things into perspective, they have highlighted five challenges that family caregivers have faced since the start of the pandemic: learning new technologies for video appointments, unemployment and economic uncertainty, choosing to care for loved ones at home, increased isolation and caregiver grief, and assessing and developing risk profiles for the entire family. While these are not easy obstacles to overcome, the Caregiver Action Network is providing resources and advice to help as part of their National Family Caregiving Month campaign.

Raising awareness of family caregiving issues and providing resources to assist these caregivers is central to the mission of National Family Caregiving Month. With this in mind, this week’s Thursdays with AARP Wisconsin is all about family caregiving. Host Amber Miller will be speaking with Helen Marks Dicks, AARP WI Associate State Director for Advocacy, on Thursday, November 12th at 12:00pm CT. Tune it to learn more about the issues family caregivers face and how you can celebrate and support them all year round.

If you are a caregiver looking for help, AARP and the Caregiver Action Network have a list of resources and community support options available on their websites. Additionally, both organizations have the option of contacting an agent for free caregiving advice. AARP’s agents are available to take calls Monday-Friday, 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. ET at 1-877-333-5885. The support line is also available in Spanish, at 1-888-971-2013. The Caregiver Action Network’s caregiving experts are available 8:00 AM – 7:00 PM ET at 855-227-3640, and you can also contact them via email and chat with someone directly through their website.

You can also join the conversation on Thursday by sharing your comments and/or questions live via Facebook and YouTube, or you can send your questions before, during, or after the presentation to ammiller@aarp.org. 

Visit the AARP Wisconsin website for more information and to register for a reminder of the event by clicking HERE.

To view the event visit: 

AARP Wisconsin page on Facebook.com https://www.facebook.com/AARPWisconsin/live/

AARP Wisconsin channel on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChHenZHWAM4YNUI9ch05Uew/

Please note that our virtual event will be hosted on Facebook.com and YouTube and any information you share on either platform, including without limitations, comments and posts, will be subject to the respective platform’s privacy policy and guidelines.