Wednesday, October 8, 2008

What's Ahead: WISER Celebrates National Family Caregivers Month!

The Women’s Institute for a Secure Retirement, along with numerous national organizations, major corporations and community-based groups around the country, will celebrate National Family Caregivers Month (NFC Month) in November to thank and support our nation’s family caregivers.

According to the National Family Caregivers Association (NFCA), in any given year over 50 million people provide some level of caregiving services. Those services are valued at more than $306 billion dollars a year. Family caregivers provide more than 80% of all home care services. Of today’s family caregivers, 40% provide some level of nursing support. American businesses can lose as much as $34 billion each year due to employees’ need to care for loved ones 50 years of age or older.

WISER works to provide low and moderate income women (aged 18 to 65) with basic financial information aimed at helping them take financial control over their lives. Millions of women face difficult decisions every day while juggling jobs and caregiving responsibilities: 61% of family caregivers are women. WISER’s commitment to supporting family caregivers led to the publication of “Financial Steps for Caregivers: What You Need to Know About Money and Retirement,” a retirement and financial planning guide developed to specifically address the needs of family caregivers.

NFC Month is organized each year by the National Family Caregivers Association, a grass roots organization whose mission is to improve the overall quality of life of family caregivers and their loved ones. "This year we are encouraging people to speak up during NFC month." said Suzanne Mintz, NFCA president and co-founder. "One of the most important attributes on being an advocate for your loved one is the willingness and the ability to speak up and keep your eye on the ultimate goal: protecting not only the health and safety of your loved ones by for yourself as well."

To learn more about WISER or NFC Month, contact WISER at info@wiserwomen.org or visit our website at www.wiserwomen.org. Call NFCA at (800) 896-3650 or visit www.thefamilycaregiver.org.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Caregivers seldom get the notice they deserve. There can not be enough sites for these special people to get both help and support. As a nursing home administrator, I have forwarded this information to our social worker so that she can relay it to our family council.
Thank You

Claire said...

Thanks Andre, I hope this information is helpful for your family council. Come back and visit the WISER Women blog throughout the month of November for our special Caregiving blog series in honor of National Caregivers Month! You may also want to check out the newly redesigned www.strengthforcaring.com site.