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The Family Caregiver Support Program offers the highly successful, evidence-based national program Powerful Tools for Caregiving. This class series meets one time a week for six weeks offering the family caregiver a wealth of self-care tools to:
Powerful Tools for Caregiving is a program you can count on to make a positive difference in your role as a caregiver.
There is no cost to attend classes. Each participant will receive the “Caregiver Helpbook” to reference during and after the course.
“This program truly has given me some tools for communication with my mother, who has dementia. This course is very helpful because it challenged me to take action for my own needs. I am a better Caregiver because I have taken the time to take these classes.”
Care & Share Support Group
Caregivers so often become overwhelmed with the vast amount of responsibilities placed on them when caring for a loved one. The *virtual* Care & Share Support Group provides a safe haven for the family caregiver. Here they can find some relief from isolation, a safe space to share their caregiver experiences, and express the difficult emotions that accompany their caregiving role.
The Care & Share Support Group meets every 1st and 3rd Friday of each month from 3:00pm-4:00pm via Zoom. To register for the next meeting, call our office at (704)-292-1797. Or, email our Family Caregiver Support Specialist, Susan Rush, at rush@coaunion.org.
Caregiver Book Club
Caregiving can often feel like a maze. Allow our book club to shed some light on the twists and turns you may encounter while caring for your loved one! The books which have been chosen this quarter will guide us in prioritizing self-care, and teach us new strategies to ease our caregiving journey.
The Caregiver Book Club meets every 2nd Friday of each month from 3:00pm-4:00pm via Zoom. To register for the next meeting, call our office at (704)-292-1797. Or, email our Family Caregiver Support Specialist, Susan Rush, at rush@coaunion.org.
Upcoming books:
July: Passages in Caregiving: Turning Chaos into Confidence by Gail Sheehy. In this essential guide, the acclaimed expert outlines nine steps for effective, successful family caregiving. Giving caregivers the tools to turn chaos into confidence during this most crucial of life stages. Emmy Award winning journalist Bill Moyers states, “Trust me, there is no better guide to caregiving.”
August: A Bittersweet Season by Jane Gross. The longtime New York Times expert on the subject of elder care, and the founder of the New Old Age blog shares her frustrating, heartbreaking, enlightening, and ultimately redemptive journey in caregiving—providing other caregivers with valuable information along the way that she wishes she had known earlier!
September: Much Abides: A survival guide for Aging Lives by Dr. Charles H. Edwards II, founder and director of “Memory and Movement” in Charlotte, North Carolina. The author writes in his prologue, “This book is intended to be a survival guide for aging lives. It is intended to be the welcome marker that finally appears when you think you have lost the trail.”
Taking care of an older or ill family member can be enormously rewarding, but it can be physically and emotionally draining as well! Respite care provides relief for the caregiver. It takes some of the burden and stress away. Getting respite care is important for your health and for your ability to continue to provide care for your loved one.
The Family Caregiver Support Program offers temporary respite for eligible family caregivers in need of a much deserved break.
Second Time Around Support Group
Caregivers are not limited to individuals simply caring for older loved ones, sometimes we find ourselves in the unique situation of caring for grandchildren. You may feel ill-equipped for your new role as grandparent and primary caregiver. You may even have anxieties about how to parent in the technological world of today. You are not alone! If you are feeling overwhelmed, or struggling to find the balance in your day-to-day life, please join us virtually via Zoom on the 4th Friday of each month from 3:00pm-4:00pm for support, education, and sharing of resources to help ease your journey.
To register for the next meeting, call our office at (704)-292-1797. Or, email our Family Caregiver Support Specialist, Susan Rush, at rush@coaunion.org.
If you are a family caregiver to a grandchild, ask about the resources available within our agency and other organizations within the county! In order to qualify for limited financial assistance, grandparents must be 55(+) years of age raising their grandchildren under 18 years of age.
An adult day program provides services during the day such as meals, socialization, games and educational activities. Day programs provide the caregiver with the freedom to take a break from their caregiving responsibilities, or continue to work professionally during the day.
Our Next Door Group Respite Program is an available option for an adult day program. Next Door is open to individuals living with memory loss. The home-like setting enables us to create a person-centered approach to providing enriching opportunities for individuals and their caregivers. We operate on a smaller scale, with no more than ten (10) participants in one day. The low participant to professional ratio allows our team to find out what is important to our participants, and provide them with activities tailored to their interests.
If you are interested in learning more about Next Door, or other adult day care options in Union County, North Carolina, by calling our office at (704)-292-1797. Or, email our Family Caregiver Support Specialist, Susan Rush, at rush@coaunion.org.
Council on Aging in Union County is an independent, non-profit agency supporting people 60 and over in their efforts to remain healthy, active, and in control of their own lives. The agency connects clients with the services they need to live independently for as long as possible.
