​Announcing Caregiver Support Group​

Author: Doreen Van Leeuwen, LMFT (Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist)

A caregiver is an unpaid individual (for example, a spouse, partner, family member, friend, or neighbor) involved in assisting others with activities of daily living and/or medical tasks. *

At Church of the Incarnation, we value our caregivers, and are starting a ministry to support those who find themselves in the stressful position of caring for loved ones that are ill or aging, or both.

A group designed as confidential, safe, and compassionate, guided by gifted, experienced facilitators, starts in February 2024 and will meet on the church campus regularly.

For more information, contact Doreen at 951-347-1837 or [email protected].

• Research shows an estimated 17-35% of family caregivers view their health as fair to poor. Higher hour caregivers are even more likely to rate their health as fair or poor (22%) and less likely to report excellent or very good health (40%). [AARP Public Policy Institute. (2011). Valuing the Invaluable: The Economic Value of Family Caregiving.]
• Those who are more likely to rate physical strain of caregiving “high” are the following:
  • Those providing care for a year or longer (23% versus 16% for less than a year);
  • Older caregivers (23% age 65+ versus 17% age 18-49);
  • Those who have a higher level of burden (31% versus 16% of those with a moderate level of burden and 9% of those with a low level);
  • Alzheimer’s or dementia caregivers (28% versus 17% for other caregivers);
  • Those who are living with their care recipient (25% versus 17% who do not live together). [National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP. (2015). Caregiving in the U.S.]
• 40% to 70% of family caregivers have clinically significant symptoms of depression. About a quarter to half of these caregivers meet the diagnostic criteria for major depression. [Zarit, S. (2006). Assessment of Family Caregivers: A Research Perspective.] *

*Family Caregiver Alliance: https://www.caregiver.org/resource/caregiver-stati...