Caring For Others

Click here to download the AARP Caregiver Guide
or call 1-866-560-4714 for a free copy:

Caregiver and cared-for-many North Carolinians will be both. While many persons consider it their duty to care for others, they may not appreciate the difficult, exhausting and stressful role of the caregiver.

UNC-TV presents Focus On...Caring for Others. This local follow-up to PBS's And Thou Shalt Honor surveys statewide resources available to those who take care of others. Hosted by UNC-TV's Marla Roth, Focus On...Caring for Others provides information on counseling, respite care, meals, transportation and other assistance, along with discussions on long-distance caregiving and dealing with nursing homes. A panel of experts-including Lisa Gwyther, Director of the Duke Family Support Program; James Brooks, Director of Project Compassion; and Dr. Sharon Williams, of the Office of Minority Affairs at UNC-Chapel Hill-discuss the issues, decisions, and implications that await many of us. The program also features Elliott Chandler of Roxboro, a long-time caregiver for his wife Peggy, who suffers from Alzheimers disease.

Studies show that 80 percent of the care provided to older adults is done informally by family and friends, and it's estimated that one in six adult North Carolinians care for a family member or friend over age 60, either part-time or full-time. Many caregivers work full-time and have other family responsibilities.

"A great many people who care for family members or friends don't use resources or services that could ease some of the burden," says Suzanne Cameron, AARP's associate state director. "This program will tell them, 'There's help out there, it's okay to ask for it and this is who you should call.'"

In addition, Bob Garner of AARP-North Carolina State Office shares useful resource information from the organization's just published caregiver guide. For your free copy, please contact AARP-North Carolina State Office at 225 Hillsborough Street, Suite 440, Raleigh, NC 27603; telephone 1-919-755-9757 or 1-866-560-4714, or email: ncaarp@aarp.org.