Vol. 14, No. 12

December 2023

Dear Friends:

With the holiday season here, caregivers may find this time of year can bring out strong emotions. These may be positive, but they can also be unwelcome feelings of isolation, loss, exhaustion, stress, and irritation. One source of help that caregivers may find beneficial are support groups. In these groups, caregivers both receive and give support, form social connections, and allow caregivers to focus on their needs. FCA has four online support groups, two email based support groups (Caregiver Online Support Group and LGBTQ+ Community Support), and for residents of the San Francisco Bay Area, two video chat (Zoom) support groups are available (LGBTQ Caregiver Support Group and Young Adult Caregivers Support Group). Caregivers who are looking for a support group local to them, or a support group focused on a specific condition, are encouraged to contact FCA. Finally, those caregivers interested in starting a support group can refer to FCA's post on How to Form a Support Group for families of brain-impaired adults.

FCA's Board of Directors and staff would like to wish you all a Happy Holidays, a Happy New Year, and best wishes for you, your family, and your loved ones in the coming year.

Sincerely,

Calvin Hu

Education Coordinator

edprograms@caregiver.org

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”

— Lao Tzu

FCA Publishes Caring for Veterans Fact Sheet

Veterans, due to the unique nature of having served in the military, may require care that poses additional challenges compared to caregiving of non-veterans. FCA's fact sheet addresses the unique concerns for caregivers of veterans, including common injuries and mental health, the VA (and long-term care), and caring for the caregiver.

Please Donate to Support Family Caregivers This Holiday Season

As the number of caregivers continues to grow year after year, FCA's mission to improve the lives of family caregivers is more vital than ever. As the is the go-to resource for caregivers of adults with physical and cognitive impairments, FCA serves caregivers both locally and nationally.

Last year, many friends of FCA helped us support caregivers through donations that went toward respite, which allowed caregivers to take well deserved breaks. This year, we're asking our friends and supporters to make a donation that will allow FCA to meet the growing need for caregiver counseling so we can take families off our waitlist. These much needed services are aimed at addressing caregivers' most pressing needs, including relieving stress and increasing confidence, as well as providing emotional, legal and financial support.

Please visit our donation page to support family caregivers.

Get Your Own Personalized Caregiving Resource Dashboard

Go online to complete a brief questionnaire and get a personal dashboard loaded with information that matches your unique caregiving needs. CareNav, our secure online service, offers quality information, support, and resources for family caregivers of adults with chronic physical or cognitive conditions such as Alzheimer’s, stroke, Parkinson’s, and other illnesses.

To learn more, click here or register here.

Holding a Family Meeting

Caregivers are often advised to seek help to lessen the caregiving workload. For many individuals, the natural place to turn for such help is family. FCA’s Holding a Family Meeting fact sheet provides information on how to approach the subject, advice on creating an agenda, lists key points to consider discussing, and explains potential conflicts that may arise.

Grief and Loss

Grief is the process of how to accept the unacceptable. Growing up, most of us thought of grief as something that happens after the death of a loved one. However, when a family member or friend is struck by a chronic illness or a cognitive impairment, grief is felt even before a physical passing. This fact sheet explains the symptoms, stages, and types of grief.

Caregiver Resource Center Classes 

The California Caregiver Resource Centers (CRC) serve families and caregivers of adults affected by chronic and debilitating health conditions (FCA is the San Francisco Bay Area CRC). FCA is now hosting a calendar of classes, workshops, and events compiled from each of the 11 CRCs and open to family caregivers across the country.

For more information on December's events, please click here.

Seven Tips for Parenting Parents

When an adult child takes on caregiving responsibilities for a parent, the role reversal between child and parent may be jarring, awkward, and uncomfortable. To provide some advice for adult children caring for parents, Psychology Today in collaboration with Mind Matters provides seven tips, including seeking support, practicing stress management, and celebrating small victories.

How to Find Time for Self-Care When Caregiving

Many family caregivers are aware that self-care is an important practice for maintaining their overall health, but finding the time and energy can be a challenge. Everyday Health's Lauren Krouse provides a good overview of the importance of self-care, and offers advice on how to practice self-care more regularly.

Missing My Mother at Christmas: The End of Caregiving

Being a caregiver is often described as a journey (with an unknown end date). Lee Woodruff, writing for AARP, was a long distance caregiver to her late mother. Woodruff shares her feelings of gratitude for all her mother did, grief over her mother's missing presence during the holidays, and a surprising feeling of loss over the end of her role as a caregiver.

CAREGIVERS CONNECT:

FCA EVENTS

Dementia 101

Caring for someone living with dementia poses many unique challenges for family caregivers. This class will provide a basic understanding of dementia and how it affects an individual. Dementia 101 will also include some tips for caregivers on how to cope with these changes.

When: Wednesday, January 3, from 11 a.m. to 12 noon (Pacific time)

Where: ONLINE

Cost: No charge

Registration: Click here

This class is funded by Alameda County Department of Adult and Aging Services, Contra Costa County Area Agency on Aging, the City of San Francisco’s Department of Disability and Aging Services, San Mateo County Aging and Adult Services, Sourcewise, and the California Department of Aging

It Takes Two! A Refreshing Approach to Understanding and Coping with Dementia Behavior

This four-week class offers skills and tools for family caregivers who care for a family

member or friend with Alzheimer’s disease or related dementias. In It Takes Two! you will: learn more about your relative or friend’s ability to understand and communicate; learn skills to handle troubling behavior; feel more confident and positive about your caregiving role.

When: Four consecutive Wednesdays, January 24, 31 and February 7, 14, from 1 to 3 p.m.

Where: Online (Zoom)

Cost: No charge

Registration: Click here

Registration is open to family caregivers in the San Francisco Bay Area.

This class is funded by Alameda County Department of Adult and Aging Services, Contra Costa County Area Agency on Aging, the City of San Francisco’s Department of Disability and Aging Services, San Mateo County Aging and Adult Services, Sourcewise, and the California Department of Aging.

CAREGIVING POLICY DIGEST

Caregiving Policy Digest is a publication of the National Center on Caregiving, a program of Family Caregiver Alliance. The newsletter offers a fresh look at the rapidly changing world of caregiving policy―at the local, national, and international levels.

You’ll receive briefings on key legislation, news on innovative public programs, and the latest information on caregiving and long-term care policy at national and state levels. Subscribe here.

Click here to view archived issues of Policy Digest.

Professional Research Listings

• Are you a caregiver of an adult over 50 years old, and willing to try Routinify services at no cost?
• Are you or a loved one living with early symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease or mild cognitive impairment?
• Equity in Caregiving
• Inviting grandchildren, nieces/nephews, siblings, and step-kin to participate in a telephone-based dementia caregiving study
• Learning from Family and Friends Who Helped with Dementia Care
• Nationwide Study for Understanding and Improving Surgical Decision-Making for Persons Living with Dementia, their Family Caregivers, and their Providers – Patients and Caregivers Needed
• Participate in a Study About Dementia and Caregiver Stress
• Participate in a study about Understanding Informal Caregivers

Graduate Student Research Listings

• Caring for a Parent with Dementia
• Help-Seeking Behaviors and Service use for Mental Health in East Asian American Informal Caregivers of Persons Living with Dementia
• Looking for past and present caregivers to volunteer to participate in a research study
• Measuring Emotional Distress in Caregiver and Patients with Primary Brain Tumors
• The Couples Lived Experience Study - Boston University
• The Impacts of Caregiving and Social Support on Stress for Multiple Sclerosis Caregivers

Thank you!

We would like to take a moment to extend a warm thank you to the many generous supporters who make the work we do possible through thoughtful donations to Family Caregiver Alliance.

FCA has led the way in supporting family caregivers for over 40 years. Your donation makes all the difference!

CONNECTIONS CREDITS



Editors: Calvin Hu, Al Martinez

Contributors: Kathleen Kelly, Executive Director, Calvin Hu, Lana Sheridan, Leah Eskenazi

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

President: Ian Tong

Vice President: Karen Sperling

Treasurer: Keely Stevenson

Secretary: Amanda Breeden Warner

Athan Bezaitis, Amber Christ, Deborah Kan, Shruti Kothari, Mary Ellen Kullman, Scott Peifer, Tiffany Riser, Wyatt Ritchie, Marda Stothers, Celine Takatsuno.