Thank you,

Family Caregiver Alliance

Introducing new classes and webinars for family caregivers and providers: 

• Let's Get Away, Together! — March 14. Join the last gathering of this popular virtual travel series as we explore Canada! Full info and registration here.

• How to Talk to Your Doctor (in person at the Pinole Senior Center) — March 13. In this class, participants will learn communication skills that will help them communicate with doctors and health care professionals. They will learn how to be a better advocate for their care recipient and themselves. Grab the flyer; see full info and registration here. 

• Tome Cargo! Planificacion Anticipada de Cuidados (Take Charge! Advance Care Planning) — March 15. This class for Spanish speakers provides a basic understanding of advance care planning, including thinking about what matters most, explaining wishes to family and friends and creating a plan. FCA is proud to be co-hosting this info-packed class with our partner, Mission Hospice. Grab the flyer (Spanish); see full info and registration here. 

• Explicando En Detalle El Permiso Familiar Pagado Y Los Derechos Relacionados Con Los Cuidadores (The Ins and Outs of Paid Family Leave and Related Rights for Caregivers") — March 23. This webinar for Spanish speakers walks participants through the application process for paid family leave and how to protect their jobs while taking leave to care for a loved one. Presented by Legal Aid at Work. Grab the flyer (Spanish); see full info and registration here. 

• Anticipatory Grief Workshop for LGBTQ+ Caregivers — March 23. This workshop helps LGBTQ+ caregivers understand the effects of anticipatory grief on their wellbeing. Participants will come away understanding what anticipatory grief is, how it shows up and strategies to help process it. Grab the flyer; see full info and registration here. 

All classes are free. Bookmark our calendar to stay up to date on upcoming classes, webinars and events.

Part of the reason FCA is able to help so many family caregivers is because social workers refer their clients to us for support, share our website and resources, and partner with us for events, educational forums and other projects. Together, we've able to help so many more individuals and families than we would alone.

We so appreciate the many talented, compassionate and results-driven social workers like you who are part of our network! One of our goals as your professional partner is to provide high-quality, valuable information that helps you help your clients. We're sharing 5 of those top resources below and invite you to browse our extensive resources library for more. If you have ideas for additional fact sheets, webinars or other resources, let us know!

1. Family Caregiver Screening Toolkit — A streamlined tool containing a two-question screening sheet to identify family caregivers and a one-pager listing more than a dozen top-rated resources for family caregivers.
2. Top 17 Resources for Family Caregivers fact sheet — Provides a wealth of information and guidance to answer family caregivers' most common questions. We offer an English version here; and recently launched Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog and Vietnamese versions as part of our National Family Caregiver Month feature page.
3. "You're Not Alone" video series and resource guides — This four-part series was created for caregivers of individuals diagnosed with Huntington's Disease, Parkinson's Disease, ALS or MS. Each part features an info-packed video that shares guidance for every stage of the disease, along with essential resources and recommended contacts.
4. Services By State online tool — This robust and easy-to-use online tool enables users to locate public, nonprofit and private programs and services nearest to the caregiver's care recipient—no matter what state they live in.
5. New Infographics for family caregivers — These 10 new infographics feature quick tips and insights based on our most popular caregiver fact sheets.

In this recurring spotlight section, we’re pleased to highlight a round-up of local organizations serving family caregivers and their care recipients, low-income families and others in need. While we lack the space to highlight all the wonderful organizations doing incredible work in their communities, we hope you'll check out the below and add them to your client resources list or as potential organizational partners. These organizations are based in Alameda County—in future issues, we will share organizations serving other Bay Area counties:

• Alameda County Care Alliance — A faith-based, person-centered lay care navigation intervention serving individuals with advanced illness and their caregivers.

• Alameda County Public Health Department Care Program — Offers culturally competent community-based palliative programs that provide engagement, information, education, resources and advocacy to older adults and people with disability so they can stay safely at home with a higher quality of life.

• Alzheimer's Services of the East Bay (ASEB) — Provides a wide range of services for individuals with dementia, including an "early stage" program and adult daytime care. Services for family caregivers and families includes support groups, education, workshops, information and referrals.

• Center for Independent Living, Inc. — Provides advocacy and services that increase awareness, collaboration, and opportunity among people with disabilities and the community at large. Programs emphasize skills, knowledge and resources that empower individuals for independence.

• City of Fremont Caregiver Support — Offers specialized classes, support groups, counseling sessions and educational presentations to help family caregivers reduce their stress and improve wellbeing.

• Korean Community Center of the East Bay — Empowers immigrants in the Bay Area through access to education, services, resources and advocacy, helping them and their families improve their health and wellness.

To view organizations spotlighted in previous issues, please visit our Provider e-News Update archive (this spotlight section was launched in December, 2022). Have a recommendation of an organization you'd like to see highlighted? Send us an email!

In last month's article on our 15th annual Innovations in Alzheimer’s Caregiving Awards, we mistakenly listed one of the winners as West Walker Academy. The organization's correct name is Walker West Academy.

Walker West Academy is one of the three winning organizations for 2022. Each one is recognized for delivering a state-of-the-art program that addresses the needs of caregivers and those they care for living with Alzheimer’s disease or a related condition. If you didn't have a chance to read about the winners and their programs, check out the article here.

Category: Creative Expression

• Amazing Grace Chorus — Walker West Academy — St. Paul, Minnesota
• Library Memory Project — Bridges Library System — Waukesha, Wisconsin

Category: Diverse/Multicultural Communities

• The Alter Program — Emory University School of Nursing — Atlanta, Georgia

Will you be in Atlanta for the American Society on Aging Conference this month? If so, stop by and say hi! Here are some of our scheduled events — we hope to see you there!

Monday, March 27

• Kathy Kelly will present Elevating Family Caregivers in System Change: California's Experience. 2:45-4:15pm
• Norell Wheeler will be a panel speaker for Multisector Plan for Aging National Symposium. 11:30am -2:30pm

Tuesday, March 28

• Innovations in Alzheimer's Caregiving Awards reception. All are invited! 6-8pm.

Wednesday, March 29

• Al Martinez will present Expansion of Best Practice Caregiving for Family and Friend Caregivers. 10:15-11:45am

Thursday, March 30

• Christina Irving will present with Openhouse — Raising LGBTQ and Dementia Competency Among Senior Service Providers. 9-10am.

We respect your inbox, so we send our Provider e-News Update out every 1-2 months. But between issues, we are still hosting and sharing plenty of activities, classes, webinars and new resources for caregivers.

Stay in the know by following us on any or all of our social media channels — and be sure to share them with others who can benefit!

... and while you're here — sign up for our Connections e-newsletter (designed for family and friend caregivers), ¿Que Pasa? boletin (our e-newsletter for Spanish-speaking caregivers), and our Caregiving Policy Digest newsletter (caregiving policy at the local, national and international levels).