There are different types of care services available for elders and their caregivers, both in-person and online. Below, we will explore educational, financial, recreational, and supportive service options that can help develop a community for the senior in your life and for yourself in the caregiver role.
Educational and Financial Care Services
The National Council on Aging (“NCOA”) provides multiple webinars that educate elders and their caregivers about health, financial assistance, food and nutrition, and housing opportunities: Older Adults (ncoa.org). The subjects that the NCOA webinars cover that may be of particular interest to the elderly population and their caregivers include: Social Security and Supplemental Income benefits; Medicare and Medicaid; fall prevention; debt management; and more. If online resources are not the preferred method of obtaining this information, check your local library to see if educational and financial services are offered in your hometown or city. Be sure to visit the AARP Family Caregiving resources available at aarp.org.
Additionally, there are educational and financial care services available to the elderly and their caregivers on Google under "Local Senior Centers".
Recreational and Social Care Services
There are various recreational and social care services available for aging seniors that you may consider enrolling your loved one in based on their interests. At a local level, there may be library programs, age-specific sports teams, chess tournaments, or community dining activities a senior could get involved with to surround themselves with people their age and passionate about the same interests. Check to see if your community has a Senior Center that provides programing for the elderly. There are programs online and state-wide that set up social gatherings for elderly folks and friendly visitors for social stimulation. If your loved one lives in a senior care facility, there may be activity or volunteer programs you they could enroll in for recreation. If your elder lives at home, adult daycare centers exist in many different states that allow for the same activities for people aging in place in their own houses. If your elderly loved one isn’t adept at navigating Facebook or Google to find appropriate services themselves, make a list of your senior’s interests to help you research opportunities on their behalf. And if they are adept, be sure to check up on their searches to avoid scams.
Support Services
Both elderly individuals going through the aging process and loved ones caring for seniors have support groups available to them. In Michigan, the Area Agency on Aging 1-B (www.aaa1b.org) provides a search tool for support programs of all kinds. For caregivers, there are supportive organizations that are patient-diagnosis-specific (such as dementia, Alzheimer’s, cancer, mental illness, etc.). There are also support organizations that are not particularized and provide general support for caregivers to share experiences and provide support for each other. For elders, the options are very similar – you could get involved with an elderly LGBTQ+ support group or a supportive organization that brings people with kidney disease together, for example. Also in Michigan, the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE – www.paceswmi.org) provides additional resources for the elderly who live at home.
The possibilities are truly endless here, you just have to know how to find them. You may also want to seek out other resources in your community like libraries to see if more localized groups are meeting near you, if you prefer in-person supportive services. Facebook groups have also become safe spaces to gather peers going through the same issues in one place. Nonetheless, no matter where you may find one, support groups can help you receive emotional support and practical advice regarding information specific to your needs, as well as give you the tools to manage your expectations and develop coping strategies.
Caregivers, it is important to take care of yourself as much as you take care of your senior. We hope this blog post shines a light on the resources available to you and for the senior in your life to help manage this role and build your own community.
