Caregiver program expands

By KATE BLAIN- | Comments: 0 | Leave a comment

Three new dimensions of the Caregivers Respite Program of Catholic Charities are making it easier for caregivers -- and their charges -- to find help and support.

Founded in 1987 to help those caring for a relative learn about the resources available to them, the Caregivers Respite Program has grown to include support groups for caregivers and for grandparents raising grandchildren, as well as respite help and referrals.

Executive director Marty Haase told The Evangelist that the new year has brought a trio of new additions to the program:

* a support group for grandparents raising grandchildren with special needs, funded by a grant from the Albany County Office for the Aging;

* referrals and estimates for home repairs and cleaning; and

* volunteers to provide free respite care.

Support offered

Regarding the first group, Mrs. Haase recalled the story of one grandmother raising a four-year-old with severe retardation. Totally exhausted, the woman tried attending the new support group, where a fellow member told her it was all right to take time to see a movie and not feel guilty.

Learning that respite care was available, "she was really excited," Mrs. Haase said.

Support groups are necessary because caregiving can often stretch to 15 or 20 years, she noted. Support groups are "a place for caregivers to go that's free, forever."

Repairs

Home repair has been added to the program's offerings, she said, because the elderly are often the targets of scams. A person posing as a repairman may stop at a senior's home and say, "I was just driving by and noticed a problem with your roof." The "repairman" will then ask for a deposit on the work and drive away with the money, never to return.

In other cases, Mrs. Haase said, an overwhelmed caregiver will say of an elderly relative, "It would be great to have somebody just clean her apartment."

To meet both needs, Caregivers Respite has begun providing referrals for home maintenance. A caregiver or elderly person can call the program and be connected with a reputable vendor who can give estimates or bid on a home repair job.

Services range from major repairs to simple housecleaning, yard work or snow removal. In the future, Mrs. Haase hopes to get a grant to provide services on a sliding scale. However, she added, vendors will often give discounts because of the volume of people referred to them through the program.

Time away

Another grant -- this one from a group called Charitable Ventures -- has provided volunteers to provide respite for caregivers. Mrs. Haase explained that the Caregivers Respite Program can arrange for a home health aide to care for a client on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, but having a volunteer to simply sit with the person in between "can stretch the dollars for the caregiver."

Caregiving is a very stressful role, said the director: "We're trying to cover all the bases to give that caregiver support. If you don't, the caregiver will often become sick themselves. They'll go under, and then you're looking at placing the loved one [in a nursing home] or having someone else take over that role, and then they get burned out."

(For information on any offerings of the Caregivers Respite Program, call 449-2001.)

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