By Joel Magalnick, Editor, JTNews
Sometimes the hardest thing people can do is ask for help. But help is exactly what a program just launched through Jewish Family Service is offering.
“The program is supposed to surround family members who are caring for a loved one with an illness or a disability…with an array of support services that allow them to continue providing support,” said Don Armstrong, director of community services at JFS.
The program, called Family Caregiver Support, is open to anyone over 18 years old who provides unpaid care to another adult. While the program is largely free, there are caveats based on federal guidelines: The ill or disabled person cannot be receiving Medicaid funding for long-term care and some of the respite-care services are fee-based, though these fees are dependent upon income. Financial assistance is available for caregiver-related goods and services as well, such as for a bathtub grab bar.
The crucial detail of this program is that it’s not for the people who are being cared for — it is for the people who take care of them. They are oftentimes in their 80s or 90s and have taken on the burden of caring for a spouse, but at the expense of taking care of themselves.
“These are individuals who are now themselves oftentimes dealing with some age-related issues and some health concerns and some limited mobility,” Armstrong said. “It’s extremely challenging and some of them are really in demanding situations.”
But many are afraid to ask for help.
“The typical response is, ‘I’m his wife, this is my job, this is my responsibility,’ and people feel that if they’re a good partner, a good spouse, this is what they need to do,” Armstrong said. “They’re very reluctant to bring in outsiders.”
That, however, is why this program exists.
“I keep telling people, ‘We’re a family, we’re all a family, and you’re not alone, and you don’t need to do this alone,’” Armstrong said.
There are several aspects to Family Caregiver Support, starting with an assigned caseworker who is available during regular business hours. After initial consultations and help with basic problem-solving issues, the program offers support groups, counseling, classes, and training in procedures as simple as how to maneuver the care recipient out of the bath. While the caregiver is receiving these services, the respite care brings another person into the house to tend to the care recipient’s needs.
The program, Armstrong said, is a “win-win.” The overwhelming majority of adults, when they fall ill or get a disability, do not want to move out of their family’s home, and the majority of families want them to stay.
The money to provide this service came mainly from a federal grant, though the state put some money in as well. Keeping people at home removes a financial burden for families, but it also helps the state.
“If you can help someone who is ill or disabled and who qualifies, say, for a nursing home bed, if you can help them stay at home for another 60, 90, 180 days, the savings for the state are significant,” Armstrong said. “That’s why the legislature actually expanded this program.”
JFS is one of 10 agencies throughout the state providing these services, which began nationwide a decade ago. JFS’s service area for this program is King County, and it will assist anyone in that area, though it is doing special outreach to elderly Russian speakers, elderly African-Americans — “That’s been an underserved population in some respects,” Armstrong said — the elderly gay and lesbian community based mostly near JFS’s headquarters on Capitol Hill, and the Jewish community.
According to the National Family Caregivers Association, an organization that provides resources and advocates
for this population, approximately 65 million Americans serve in the capacity of caregiver. Since 1994, the association has actually designated the week of Thanksgiving to recognize family caregivers, and Congress and the president have issued proclamations of appreciation every year since.
Just over 20 families have signed up thus far for the program, but the agency hopes to bring in many more to take advantage of these much-needed services.
“We look forward to people accessing this grant aggressively,” said Ken Weinberg, JFS’s CEO. “We want people to come. Let’s use this money and make a case to the government to do more.”