A new source of help for family caregivers

June 04--Family. Care. Giver.

Separately, those three words evoke loving feelings of selfless support. Put together -- family caregiver -- and the phrase can take on a whole new meaning.

Family caregivers do indeed provide selfless support, often lovingly. But for the estimated 650,000 unpaid family caregivers in San Diego County, most of whom are adult children taking care of an elderly parent, that role comes with a host of challenges many of them didn't know they were signing up for.

Author and caregiver advocate Gail Sheehy famously called caregiving "the job nobody applies for." Make that jobs:

Medication manager, housekeeper, personal shopper, cook, patient advocate, bill payer, appointment maker, driver, financial adviser and private nurse are just some of the responsibilities caregivers take on as their parents age.

"In the beginning, people may not even realize how it's changing," said Martha Rañón, director of government and community affairs for the Southern Caregiver Resource Center, San Diego's largest non-profit caregiver service provider.

"They'll say, 'Sure, I'll pick up the prescription, I'll get the groceries Mom, I'll mow the lawn, don't worry about it.' And before you know it, they're more and more involved.

"Then they're on a treadmill," Rañón said. "Day in and day out, and they have no idea how to get off. It's a lot of hard work."

The Southern Caregiver Resource Center is just one of the scores of non-profit organizations, public agencies and elder-focused businesses in San Diego that serves caregivers. In this region, resources for caregivers abound. There are classes and support groups, Alzheimer's disease workshops and delivered meals and transportation services, tech gadgets that ease the burden, free counseling, paid in-home attendants, respite care for when you need a break, webinars for when you can't leave the house, and much more.

But how can caregivers learn about everything that's out there and access what they might need in one, convenient, trusted place?

That's where caregiverSD.com comes in. A new initiative from The San Diego Union-Tribune, caregiverSD.com is a authoritative clearinghouse of information, resources and support for family caregivers.

"Caregiving is one of the great challenges in our community right now," said Jeff Light, publisher and editor in chief of The San Diego Union-Tribune. "There are a lot of resources available to help families through this phase of life. But it still is a stressful experience. It can be confusing and isolating and overwhelming. Sometimes it can be hard to know where to turn or whom to trust.

"Our aim is to help people with clear, reliable information from trusted sources," Light said. "This initiative isn't focused on news, per se. But it is an important part of our public service mission.

"We believe that quality information improves lives and builds a better community. That is our goal with caregiverSD."

Whether you're a caregiver just getting started, or a long-time caregiver in need of specific advice, visitors to caregiverSD.com will find easy-to-follow information and explanation, resource lists and how-to's on a wide variety of topics, such as:

* senior health needs

* aging-in-place and housing options

* meal delivery programs

* transportation services

* hiring help

* finances and estate planning

* benefits and insurance

* stress and self-care

* understanding dementia

* resources for military caregivers

* how to get the time off you need

Many of the local experts the U-T relied on to shape our content will also help us kick off caregiverSD.com's official launch on Saturday at the CaregiverSD Community Expo. This all-day event at Liberty Station in Point Loma features sessions with many of the leading voices on caregiving in San Diego, including the Southern Caregiver Resource Center's Rañón, who'll give presentations in both English and Spanish.

Speaker's include:

* Dianne Jacob, county supervisor and founder of the Alzheimer's Project

* UC San Diego caregiver researcher Dr. Brent Mausbach

* Jessica Empeno, vice president of programs and family services for Alzheimer's San Diego

* Eldercare attorney Phil Lindsley.

Providing insight and inspiration will be San Diego philanthropist and former caregiver, Darlene Shiley; former TV anchor, caregiver and Alzheimer's advocate Kristen Cusato; and Jon McKee, a former caregiver and recipient of Alzheimer's San Diego's Caregiver of the Year award. (See the full list of speakers and participants elsewhere in this section.)

Saturday's expo will also give caregivers and friends access to exhibitors from dozens of caregiving-related organizations, services and businesses.

According to a study conducted by AARP's Public Policy Institute and the National Alliance for Caregiving, the typical family caregiver is a 49-year-old married woman who works, has children and an average household income of $45,000. That makes the option of hiring paid caregivers out of reach for many.

The study, "Caregiving in the U.S", found that so-called "higher-hour" caregivers, those who provide at least 21 hours of unpaid care a week, have been in that role for an average of 5 1/2 years. They expect to continue being a caregiver for five more years.

Nearly half of the caregivers interviewed reported high emotional stress.

"We want to make sure that people understand that caregiving is not sprint, it's a marathon and you're in it for the long haul," Southern Caregiver's Rañón said. "Just just like a marathon, you have to train and it's hard work."

That's why caregivers need to reach out for help -- to friends, relatives, organizations, paid services and others, she said.

"There is so much out there, and you might not need it all, but it's good to know in case you do need it one day," Rañón said. "You always have to be in the know, these are the resources, here's where you can get help.

"For this marathon, you need a running buddy."

The U-T hopes caregivers will think of caregiverSD.com as their running buddy.

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Twitter: @sdeditgirl

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