
THE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM
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THE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM is a blog dedicated to supporting family caregivers. Discover articles on self-care, caregiver resources, stress management, and navigating the challenges of caregiving. THE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM provides a space for caregivers to find comfort, advice, and a sense of community.
THE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM
1w ago
This is a wonderful opinion piece from Ottawa (Canada) caregiver and writer, Lise Cloutier-Steele. It's a call to action to reform long term care everywhere for the good of those we love and for ourselves, as we age. Thank you, Lise!
Photo by Dominik Lange on Unsplash
The next Ontario government must stop repeating the current mistake of funding new long-term care homes built by companies with bad records.
Lise Cloutier-Steele
I believe December 2024 took the prize for the most demoralizing reports of neglect, abuse and reprisal in the Ontario long-term care sector. All made me ..read more
THE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM
3w ago
Driving home in a snowstorm today, the song Fast Car came on the radio. I can sing every word because I've loved it since Tracy Chapman first released it in 1988. But maybe I had never listened carefully to the words before. This is a song about craving escape from a prison of caregiving and poverty. It's also about feeling helpless and invisible. And yet there is hope in the words, too.
You got a fast car
And I want a ticket to anywhere
Maybe we make a deal
Maybe together we can get somewhere
Any place is better
Starting from zero, got nothing to lose
Maybe we'll make something
Me, mys ..read more
THE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM
5M ago
One of the privileges of writing a blog for caregivers is that occasionally, someone sends me a book to review. (This makes me very happy.) Today I want to tell you about a wonderful new memoir I received called True Confessions of an Ambivalent Caregiver by Cindy Eastman. Eastman is an award-winning author whose first book, Flip-Flops After 50: And Other Thoughts On Aging I Remembered To Write Down, was published in 2014. She has essays in several other anthologies and in online magazines and writes a weekly essay called Silver Linings. Cindy lives with her husband, Angelo, i ..read more
THE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM
8M ago
Did you know that more than 3.5 million workers in Canada are also family caregivers? And over half of those are women who provide more than 20 hours per week in unpaid care at home. That's like having a whole second job!
This year, I had the pleasure of co-developing a McMaster Continuing Education free online course for employers titled Creating Caregiver-Friendly Workplaces. The course is primarily for human resources managers who seek to attract and retain valued employees who may otherwise have to leave employment due to their care responsibilities. But working caregivers are welcom ..read more
THE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM
10M ago
I am delighted to host this guest post by Ottawa caregiver and author, Lise Cloutier-Steele. Lise is the author of There’s No Place Like Home: A guide to help caregivers manage the long-term care experience and her website can be found at www.ottawacaregiver.com.
I am 71 years old, and like many seniors in my age group, I sometimes wonder what my exit from life will look like. Despite my daily efforts to eat well, exercise and maintain an active lifestyle, anything could happen. After all, illness does not discriminate.
Recently, I watched a beautiful movie starring Jame ..read more
THE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM
11M ago
Trying to balance work while caregiving for a family member or friend can feel frantic and impossible. It's exhausting to prop up a fiction that we "should" be able to manage everything, all at once, by ourselves. But now, there is hope that workplaces everywhere will embed caregiver support that will draw and retain talented employees who also have care responsibilities. Both the evidence and the employer training are here!
Over the past year or so, I have been working with a team at McMaster University to develop a new, free online course for employers who seek to attract and retain ..read more
THE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM
1y ago
February 14th is of course Valentine's Day and this year, I am planning a very special Caregiving Essentials webinar with... my husband! Jim and I have been married for 47 years and for most of those, we have been caregivers. As a couple, we've cared for our mothers, my step-father and of course our son Nicholas. I've been reflecting lately on what it takes to give care and maintain a loving, spousal relationship. There is no denying, it's a challenge.
There's something about caregiving that takes the "red" out of "hot" in the marital bed. Maybe it's the fact that we are constantly watchi ..read more
THE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM
1y ago
My New Year's resolution is to work hard at the Canadian Centre for Caregiving Excellence to get a national strategy for caregivers - ALL caregivers, patients and families.
The third day of the November Canadian Caregiving Summit was all about how we can achieve real change here and worldwide for you, me and the millions of caregivers who need help now. We wanted to know what had been achieved in other countries and how they did it.
First off, we heard from Allison Barkoff, acting Assistant Secretary for Aging and Principal Deputy Administrator, Administration for Community L ..read more
THE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM
1y ago
I haven't forgotten to write up Day 3 of the Canadian Centre for Caregiving Excellence Conference - I WILL get to it (all my notes are made and I can't wait to tell you what happened!). But, it's coming up to Christmas and I want to share something that is holiday-related.
A few days ago, I was browsing a facebook group for parents of children with disabilities. One mother asked for ideas on how to have fun at Christmas when extended family was unable to join and everyone felt blue that "nothing special" was going to happen over the holidays. Being homebound with loved ones who are mobil ..read more
THE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM
1y ago
November 7th was Day 2 of the Canadian Caregiving Summit and it was just as exciting as Day 1!
The theme of Day 2 was "Defining the need for a national caregiving strategy." The Canadian Centre for Caregiving Excellence told us that Canada (like many other countries) has reached a tipping point: many caregivers feel like they cannot go on, care providers are leaving the sector and people accessing care are struggling. The second day of the Summit focused on defining the need for a national caregiving strategy and its potential to transform the care economy for a brighter future of care ..read more