Caregiving has become a hot topic in recent years, with good reason. The role places a significant burden on loved ones. Some even find themselves having to care for their own children, as well as aging parents or grandparents, at the same time.
To make matters worse, many seniors don’t have family members to support them. Some may never have had children, or their children may have moved away. Others might be estranged from family. Being a caregiver isn’t always viable anyway. People have their own lives and some cannot (or will not) step into the caregiving role.
This pattern means that many adults currently struggle with the burdens of unpaid caregiving and many seniors don’t have the support that they need.
The issue is only getting worse as the population ages.
As an op-ed from The News & Observer reports, there are somewhere from 40 to 60 million caregivers in the United States right now. Demand is already high. It will just increase as members of the baby boomer generation get older and need additional support.
The truth is, we’re unprepared.
As a nation, there is so much about caregiving that we simply don’t know. For example, there is a wide range of different types of elder care and support, each of which has unique aspects.
The caregiving role is also unresearched and needs much more support than is currently available. More often than not, caregivers are unpaid, female and have commitments of their own.
Thankfully, there has been some good news.
Earlier this year, President Trump signed into law the Recognize, Assist, Include, Support and Engage (RAISE) Family Caregivers Act. This act includes a focus on a national strategy for supporting caregivers and should help to develop support structures.
But, for current caregivers, this law may be too little and too late. It will take time for any significant supports to be available and the act does not provide additional funding.
Indeed, the time requirement for a national strategy is 18 months from the enactment of the law. That strategy is just the first step in ultimately providing support.
In the meantime, the role of supporting caregivers falls to the groups currently involved, including non-profit agencies, along with friends and family of caregivers.
This suggests the need to do more at the local level, particularly by people who are not caregivers themselves. There are many different ways that friends and family members can support caregivers. Even the smallest gesture can have significant impacts.
While it will take time to determine solutions, hopefully the new act will increase awareness of caregiving challenges and possibly support at the same time.
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