Could an elder-care-co-op work for family caregivers? It's an idea that's worked
for years in small communities across the United States with childcare.
Thirty years ago, three of my friends, all stay-at-home moms, got
together and worked out a system that worked very well. One day a week, each of
us took our children to our friends' home for a 'play date.'
It allowed
each of us to take one full day to shop, go to doctors' appointments, get our
hair done, all without our darling children in tow and all without spending
money we didn't have on child care. Sometimes, we didn't run errands; we simply
spent the time alone, soaking in the 'quiet'.
The amount of family
caregivers across the United States that could do something like this is
mind-blowing. In fact, statistics most readily quoted are that on any given day,
fifty million families are caring for a loved one.
Most family members
readily jump in to help a loved one and will put their own lives on hold. Only
46 percent expect to be caregivers longer than two years. In fact the average
length of time spent on caregiving is about eight years, with approximately one
third of respondents providing care for 10 years or more. (Source: MetLife
Juggling Act Study, Balancing Caregiving with Work and the Costs of Caregiving,
Met Life Mature Market Institute, November 1999.)
Senior Approved
Services has decided to run a casual poll to gauge the interest of such an idea.
If the interest can indeed be substantiated, it will move forward by organizing
a program that will match family caregivers interested in trading time in
exchange for receiving time in his or her local community.
Please take a
moment and complete the following elder-care-co-op poll - or if this doesn't
apply to you personally, we would ask that you pass this on to someone that you
know might benefit from such a program. See
href="http://www.seniorsapprove.com/elder-care-co-op.html">http://www.seniorsapprove.com/elder-care-co-op.html
Coming
together, equally taking and receiving, may actually help both the family
caregiver and the elder person in need of care. Seniors would meet at least one
other senior providing the opportunity to develop a caring friendship. Family
caregivers would have the support of at least one other care provider in their
local community.