The latest care work stories
I never had children – so I look after seniors instead
I never had children. I look after seniors instead. I didn’t plan it this way; life just happened. After losing both of my parents, I’ve adopted the role as a nomadic, companion/caregiver for many of my aunts, uncles and a host of friends over 70. I adore their...
Queer Millennials Are Becoming Family Caregivers. We Aren’t Ready
"When my grandpa began to fade, I didn’t realize that I would be the one who’d fracture. Nor did I realize how precipitously someone can slip away. Not long ago, my 97 year-old grandfather, a decorated World War II veteran, was living a proudly autonomous life. But...
The caregiving trouble with siblings
Vanishing Sibling Syndrome or V.S.S. It is probably NOT something a lot of people talk about when it comes time to plan for eldercare of a loved one. However… Picture this: you have a mother or father who raised two, three, four or more kids. So you might think that...
Losing a Parent in Your 20s, What I Wish I’d Known.
From diagnosis to death, my dad’s journey was a callously swift nine months. A strange lump in his thigh turned out to be osteosarcoma, which then became the subject of aggressive chemotherapy and then - after metastasizing and spreading to his lungs - became...
Beginner’s Guide: Launching a Working Family Caregiver Employee Resource Group
Caregiving doesn’t just happen during the work hours. In fact, as a sandwich-generation working family caregiver, I often had to use my time off for care, leave work unexpectedly, and make calls during the workday. Sometimes, my head wasn’t completely wrapped around...
The High-Wire Act of Caregiving and Saving for Retirement
Tara Driver would love to retire before age 70. But it’s not going to be easy. The 51-year-old’s finances are still recovering from the hit they took more than a decade ago, after she spent about eight years caring for her ailing father. During that time, every extra...
How Do I Support My Partner When They’re Depressed?
"Sometimes, supporting your partner goes beyond trying to immediately “fix” their problems. Instead, reflecting on why you want to help, evaluating if you have the capacity and knowledge to do so, and asking how they actually want to be shown support can all be ways...
You Shouldn’t Have to Take Care of Your Aging Parents on Your Own
"For most older Americans, care will come from unpaid family members or friends, who contributed around $600 billion worth of free labor to the economy in 2021, according to AARP. That care is not, of course, free for those providing it. Dwane Hodges is a 62-year-old...
A Huge Threat to the U.S. Budget Has Receded. And No One Is Sure Why.
Something strange has been happening in this giant federal program. Instead of growing and growing, as it always had before, spending per Medicare beneficiary has nearly leveled off over more than a decade. The trend can be a little hard to see because, as baby...
Top Articles & Resources
Become a paid family caregiver in Canada
Become a paid family caregiver in the US
Compassion fatigue
Anticipatory grief
Caring for an abusive parent
When you’re at a breaking point
Dating as a family caregiver
Dealing with anger
Finding someone to talk to
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Common terms for caregiving
The actions: caretaking, care work, assisting, ADL support, direct care, care management, care coordination, care navigation
The person providing support: carer, care partner, aide, personal care assistant, home health aide (HHA), care coordinator, care navigator, case manager, care custodian, foster parent, foster caregiver, guardian, one-to-one, homemaker, live-in, care manager, nurse aide, care planner, private duty nurse, nanny to a disabled child, elder nanny, care companion, special needs parent, disability mom, disability dad, domestic helper, domestic, housekeeper, mother’s helper, family caregiver, paid caregiver, designated caregiver, partner in care
The people providing support: care team, web of care, care web, concierge, care train
The person receiving support: care recipient, caree, loved one (LO), ill spouse (IS), ward, dependent, elder, homebound, patient, client
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The thing is, everyone is talking about caregiving. They just don’t use the term “caregiving.” They talk about cancer, dementia, MS, cerebral palsy, and the frailty that sometimes accompanies aging.
They talk about being overwhelmed, stressed out, burnt out, and pulled in a dozen directions at once.
Stereotypes around who provides care leaves young people, queer people, men and masculine people, polyamorous and non-traditional families, and many others feeling like they don’t count as caregivers and don’t qualify for support. People who provide care during flares or as respite, who help a primary caregiver, who coordinate care from a distance, who manage the paperwork without providing hands-on care, are often overlooked. Their stories get lost, especially since they rarely use the term “caregiver.”
There are so many different terms used to describe caregiving and caregiving is itself an umbrella term to describe many different things. Many people who provide care don’t identify what they do with a specific label, outside of their role as a partner, friend, or other relationship. All of this can make it difficult to know who counts as a “real” caregiver.
Outside of discussing support provided by one person to another, caregiving is a term used to refer to very different things by the cannabis industry, the fetish community, and property maintenance. In psychology, “caregiver” and “caretaker” are used to label different relationship dynamics.
All of this makes it incredibly difficult to find resources that are relevant to your situation and to connect with people who’ve experienced similar circumstances. That’s why this database exists.
We curate resources our community has found insightful, powerful, and helpful. These are categorized based on the situation they discuss, type of care provided, characteristics of author, and relationship between care provider and recipient. Stories are also tagged with terms, like the disease or condition, so you can easily locate articles that relate to your life.
If supporting someone else’s physical or mental health is a big part of your life,
we recognize you and we welcome you into our community.
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Thoughts on care work from Cori, our director, that hit your inbox each Monday morning (more-or-less).
This isn't a roundup of articles; this is what's on her mind after deep discussions with a wide array of care workers, participating in communities of mutual aid, reactions to mainstream and academic publications, and personal reflections—from the profound to the profane.
We go way beyond tips and tricks. We're imagining a different world, based on what care workers are already living.
There are no grand solutions, but there are countless little ways to make our lives better.
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This is a space for everyone who provides care, no matter who you are or where you are in your caregiving journey
