The latest care work stories
My father had dementia and I was his caregiver. Here’s what I wish I had known
In 2007, I was suddenly plunged into the role of caregiver for my then 75-year-old father, who had vascular dementia. His short-term memory was severely impaired, as were his judgment and reasoning skills. At the outset, I knew very little about dementia and next to...
Oral Health And Memory Disorders: A Guide For Caregivers
Taking care of someone with a memory disorder is challenging. There is a lot to keep track of — from doctor visits to medications — and a lot to help out with day by day. With all of this in mind, dental care may fall by the wayside in comparison to other health...
Moving Is a Monumental Task for Many Older Americans. These Organizers Can Help.
“It’s not just packing and unpacking,” Ms. Buysse said. “It’s working with the clients and the family for weeks or months, going through a lifetime of possessions. You need to be a good listener.” ... My sister and I hired a senior move manager for our father, who was...
Scientists Warn of A “Friendship Recession” — I’m Part of It
I’m thirsty for friends. It’s embarrassing. I’m far too old to be courting acquaintances like some middle school girl at Claire’s, harassing strangers for their opinion on $5 earrings. But here we are. ... Personally, I didn’t have a lot of friends to start with,...
The question of a funeral
Our social worker and child life specialists speak to the patients and parents, informing them of Kristen’s death and offering support. No one thinks to ask the nurses what we might need. They invent an exercise for us a few days later. Using the bulletin board at the...
With Flowers
I’ve tried to tell this story before. Let me try again. This time with flowers. My mother died on Mother’s Day. It’s nearly impossible for me to comprehend, because she was my mother. Every store window was crowded with flowers and mother-daughter bullshit, and my...
Your Suffering (Probably) Comes From This False Belief
I was trying to influence a situation outside my control by staying awake. I could not prevent my wife’s heart from suddenly stopping in the night. That was outside my control, and laying awake trying to regulate something I couldn’t wasn’t doing my wife or myself any...
A Field Guide to the Abeyance of Loss
Claudia cannot choose the path her life is taking. Neuromyelitis optica directs her, making life smaller, confined to her hospital bed until someone pumps the hydraulic ram of a Hoyer Lift to raise her up and into a wheelchair. Still, every morning I wake up expecting...
Reshaping Canada’s caregiving system
If every caregiver took one week off, our care systems would collapse before noon on the very first day. Maybe even earlier. The sustainability of our health care and social systems relies on caregivers and care providers, but they have reached a breaking point. Make...
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.
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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
