This November, The National Hispanic Council on Aging is thrilled to celebrate National Family Caregivers Month.
Caregivers play an incredibly important role in the lives of many older adults, but can also easily be called unsung heroes. Frequently, an older adult in need of care will receive it from a family member. These are not professionals, and they are not paid–they perform this duty simply as an act of kindness and respect for this older adult. Perhaps this older adult was their parent or grandparent, and they now return the care they received in childhood. In any case, Family Caregivers are individuals who have essentially taken on a second job, in the name of providing quality care for their loved one.
NHCOA recognizes the impact of this role, especially within the Latino community. Familismo is a concept within many Hispanic/Latino cultures that reflects our pride in caring for our elders. There is honor in devoting one’s time and effort toward the care for one such person who embodies experience and wisdom in the community. However, this can also result in Family Caregivers within the Hispanic/Latino community not recognizing the sum of their devotion as that of caregiving, a service that some older adults pay professionals for.
In 2018, we conducted a national survey among Hispanic/Latino Family Caregivers. The survey found that on average, these family caregivers were in their fifties, that 81% of participants were women, and that 61% of participants were employed while providing care to their family member.
The participants of this survey were asked what their primary challenges were as caregivers. Amongst their responses, three challenges were highly prevalent:
• Most caregivers reported difficulty in affording the expenses of caring for their loved one.
• Many reported that they had difficulty understanding and enrolling in government provided programs like Medicare, Medicaid, SSI, or SNAP, contributing to their overall difficulty in affording the care for their loved one.
• Many also reported that the balance between their personal responsibilities, and the care for their family member, was very hard to maintain.
This National Family Caregivers Month, NHCOA implores you to consider the acute difficulty experienced by Hispanic/Latino Family Caregivers. The predominant image being working folk who feel an implicit duty to provide the best care possible for their family, while under incredible financial strain, and at the expense of their personal lives and mental health. These communities need adequate resources to make their lives easier, and to provide the best possible care to their loved ones. This means services and programs made more accessible through cultural and linguistic sensitivity.
If you are a caregiver struggling to obtain or enroll in such programs as Medicare, Medicaid, SSI, or SNAP, please consider the NHCOA’s Resource Center for help in your application process and other forms of aid. Please call or text via WhatsApp, at 202-658-8664.
Recent Comments