AARP Caregiving Resource Center
AARP has named HomeExcept Inc. the grand prize winner of the AARP Innovation Champion Awards competition. The team was awarded $10,000 in cash for designing a home care sensor that allows caregivers to monitor loved ones by using thermal sensors to track movement.
Have you ever asked yourself these questions: “What’s the best mobile app to use or the best device to purchase for achieving everyday goals?” “How can I use technology to stay connected to family and friends, search for jobs, manage my home, care for loved ones and learn a new skill?” Most of us have. To help with answers, AARP is hosting a free Online Technology Fair, Thursday, June 8, from 1 to 6 p.m. ET. You can register now to learn about the latest technologies for your daily life without feeling overwhelmed.
Last week, U.S. Sens. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Reps. Tom Reed (R-N.Y.) and Linda Sánchez (D-Calif.) introduced the bipartisan Credit for Caring Act (S. 1151/H.R. 2505) and AARP endorsed the legislation. The bill would help support America’s family caregivers by offering a federal tax credit for those who qualify.
A couple of weeks back, we unveiled our new caregiving ad — starring a unique caregiver. You may recognize him as the antihero from Machete or Breaking Bad, but you would never assume he’s just like you. That’s right, actor Danny Trejo is a caregiver and he is showing just how tough male caregivers are.
Caregiving is not only a choice but a responsibility to those you cherish and who have showed you love throughout your life. Providing care for someone is simply a selfless act of compassion for someone who can no longer manage for themselves. During this season of love we applaud you for the giving of yourself to someone you care about.
Becoming a caregiver can be overwhelming, especially when it happens suddenly and you are not fully prepared to embark on, unbeknownst to you, your caregiver journey. It can be like becoming a new parent. You are now responsible for ensuring that your loved one gets the best care and advice. You hear other people’s stories of how they did it, read lots of how-to manuals, attend workshops and seminars, but you truly don’t know until you experience it.
Do you know anyone who supports a family member, neighbor or friend with mental health issues? Chances are you do. But it’s likely you don’t know you do.
This weekend we all had the opportunity to celebrate our fathers. As I remembered my Pop — a funny, hardworking, unselfish man — I thought about his devotion to my mom, especially during their later lives when he was her primary caregiver. He shouldered huge responsibilities that I think weighed heavily on his mind.
As I recently told Ron Fournier of the National Journal , the memories of Mom and Pop are part of what drive me in my work to support family caregivers as they help their loved ones live independently at home. Like most Americans, Mom and Pop wanted to stay at home - and not go into a nursing home or other facility. In their 80s they become first-time homeowners of a one-story house, and I continued in my role as their unofficial caregiver. Without realizing it, I had joined a silent army of now over 42 million family caregivers across the states, safely keeping their loved ones from being readmitted to the hospital, out of costly institutions, and at home.