At the Council on Aging, a family caregiver is anyone – family member, friend, spouse, neighbor, or a paid employee who assists someone over the age of 60.
Caring for an aging loved one can test your budget as much as your patience and endurance. Fortunately, there are federal, state, and even local programs in Central Oregon that can help you make ends meet, find affordable care for your loved one and also obtain respite care for yourself.
More than 1 in 5 adults — a total of 53 million adult Americans — are now unpaid family caregivers, according to a new report from AARP and the National Alliance for Caregiving (NAC).
The number of caregivers has climbed from 18 percent of adults in 2015 to more than 21 percent in 2020, an increase of 9.5 million adults who help with everything from grocery shopping to wound care to medication management. The most significant boost came among those caring for adults 50 and older, which accounted for just over 14-percent of caregivers in 2015 and nearly 17-percent this year.
The Council on Aging of Central Oregon can help with emotional support and guidance for families, partners, and other caregivers who are providing care for another adult.
Caregiver Services
Here are two areas we can help you explore:
- Respite Care: grants to cover the temporary supervision of an older adult to provide rest for the hard-working caregiver.
- Caregiver Support Groups: Family caregivers support each other by practicing self-care, sharing resources, and discussing challenges of caregiving for a loved one.
