Barb Nadeau –
Senior Services Associates, Inc. is offering a program to support caregivers as they support seniors with needs in their homes. Caregivers sometimes don’t even identify themselves as caregivers in the day to day service they provide to their loved ones. So, where are the caregivers? They are in homes throughout our community caring for individuals they love. They are often invisible, they are often in need of a listening ear, and they are often suffering in silence.
Meanwhile, Senior Services Associates offers a program just for them. The untold story in senior care is that there are hundreds of children and grandchildren, nieces and nephews, and neighbors too, caring for older adults, and helping them to stay independent in their own homes.
The truth about caregiving, though, is that as time goes on, and the elder is in need of more care. Loved ones start making adjustments in the home, and personal lifestyle changes to accommodate the elder’s need. It is a downward spiral that continues to form a new normal for the caregiver until finally the strings break. Caregivers can be in a state of distress that would give most of us pause, and they may not even know it. Worse yet, caregivers often don’t know where to look for help or answers.
There is a network of help available, but sometimes caregivers just don’t know whom to ask, or what questions to ask. That is where Senior Services Associates, Inc. steps in to help.
Senior Services Associates, Inc., through the Area Agency on Aging, has started a Caregiver Counseling Program offering individual counseling, support groups, education and training, financial resources and guidance as well as referral services for residents of Kane County. The program is coordinated through the efforts of Debbie Miller who has worked in the field as a Care Coordinator with Senior Services for several years. She is a licensed clinical social worker.
The Caregiver Counseling Program is available at no cost for any adult family member or any other individual who provides unpaid in-home and community-based services for an elderly person, an individual aged 19 through 59 with Alzheimer’s disease, or a related neurological or organic brain disorder, or a grandparent or older individual, 55 years of age and older who is a relative caregiver or primary caregiver.
It is a grant-based program that stems from a need identified in social services agencies. Senior Services Associates took on the cause in 2016, and is offering the program free to caregivers in Kane County.
“It is hard to communicate the value of this program unless the caregiver has lived this path,” said Debbie of Seniors Services Associates, Inc.. Self-identification as a caregiver is the first step towards handling the numerous responsibilities and challenges involved in the role of caregiver. Senior Services Associates, Inc. Care Coordinators are indispensable in helping families of seniors aged 60 and older to identify their abilities and needs. The Caregiver Counseling Program steps in with the support and respect to help caregivers continue on in this difficult labor of love. This team approach welcomes in other social service agencies in communities which can assist, as well.
“Becoming a caregiver for a loved one brings unexpected joys, sorrows, and daily challenges, calling forth a new path in life,” said Debbie. “Assistance is just a phone call away.” You can reach Debbie at 630-897-4035 ext. 124.
Barb Nadeau works for Senior Services Associates of Kane, Kendall, and McHenry Counties as a Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) & Transportation Coordinator. She is a freelance writer and television host. She can be reached at bnadeau@seniorservicesassoc.org.