Care for the Caregiver

Almost without fail, when I’m in an extended conversation with friends, neighbors or colleagues who, like me, are “baby boomers,” concerns are expressed about the challenge of caring for aging parents or other loved ones. Of course, I have not yet fully confronted the fact that I’ll be the one needing care from family and friends sometime in the future. According to demographic trends, more of us will need care, and fewer family members will be available to provide it.

Recently, Holly Fiala, our Vice President for Advancement, shared with me a research summary published last September by the Wilder Foundation. It was based on interviews with about 200 primary and secondary caregivers in St. Paul, Minnesota. Of course, their research is not limited to those caring for older adults, but also includes those caring for anyone of any age who require significant and continuing care from others. Included in the Wilder research summary are some very interesting statistics:

• 43.5 million Americans provide part-time or full-time care for another adult age 50 or over;
• The nationwide economic value of unpaid, informal care provided by family and friends is estimated at $306 billion per year;
• The demand for informal caregivers is expected to increase by more than 20% in the next 15 years and by 85% in the next 40 years. 

Thank God for the uniquely gifted people who provide care for others! But, who’s caring for these wonderful people as they invest time and energy for the sake of a friend or loved one? By the way, the caregivers surveyed in the Wilder study invest, on average, 37 hours per week in this role!
According to the study, most caregivers depend on assistance from an informal support system. Just over half of the caregivers surveyed depend on assistance from another family member while 25% rely on a combination of family members and others, such as friends or neighbors. And 15% indicate that no one is helping them.

Fortunately, more formal support is also available in most communities, including paid services from for-profit and non-profit organizations, health care agencies, county or state services, and other community-based organizations. However, the study also indicates that awareness of these resources by caregivers is an issue resulting in underutilization.

As I thought about the role of the church in all of this, one other statistic caught my attention. Only 7% of the caregivers in this survey reported receiving help from a member of their faith community. This seems hard to believe. 

Fortunately, there are great models of faith communities in action to support the needs of caregivers that serve as examples of what faith communities can do. Wheat Ridge has had the privilege to help seed several such programs in recent years: 

• A Caring Place Community Respite Care Program – Christus Victor Lutheran Church, Elk Grove Village, Illinois
• FUSION Special Needs Ministry – Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Naperville, Illinois
• Experience the Embrace – Respite Outreach Care for Kansans Organization and Ascension Lutheran Church, Wichita, Kansas
• Adult Day Respite Care Program – Lutheran Church of the Atonement, Barrington, Illinois  

I’d love to hear from you about your experience as a caregiver of a friend or family member. If you have a minute, please post a comment below in response to one or more of the following questions: In what ways does your congregation engage, assist, or encourage people who are caregivers? If you are a caregiver, how could your church or other faith community be helpful to you? What helpful models of support for caregivers exist in your community?

Perhaps no story in Scripture more powerfully portrays the commitment of care for loved ones as the story of Ruth, who expressed her commitment to her elderly mother-in-law with these words: Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. (Ruth 1:16-17) If you are a caregiver, thank you for your commitment, compassion and kindness! May God be with you and bless you as you continue to respond to the Gospel in this wonderful and important way!