The caregiving conundrum

When his best friend had a heart attack, Mark Malotte, 54, was shocked. The owner of a photography business, his work hours are flexible enough to allow him to help out, running errands for Jeremy and looking in on him while Jeremy’s wife works. He’s not new to the caregiving game. Malotte took a lot of time off work four years ago helping his mother when she broke a hip. Now he and his friends, mostly childless, are wondering, “who will look after us.” As Malotte’s discovering, the probable answer is, “we’re looking after each other.”

One in four adult Canadians provides some form of care to someone living at home, someone with a long-term physical or mental illness or who is frail or disabled, according to a 2000 Statistics Canada poll.

Increasing needs
It’s likely the need for caregivers providing unpaid support for a family member or friend will explode as our nation ages. Canada’s 65-plus population more than doubled between 1966 and 2001. The truth is people are living longer. That’s good news, but if you’re 51, 61 or 71, the chances of needing care or being a caregiver over the next 10 years are also very good.

&t;>The oldest group of boomers is in the 50-56 age range now and will bulk up that 65-plus group over the next 20 years. The situation will quickly become critical as they begin to need care. And that doesn’t even begin to account for the boomer’s aging parents to whom this group is probably already giving care. According to statistics, 90 per cent of the elderly live at home, often with family.

Where’s the support?
There isn’t a lot of help out there. Cost-cutting governments continue to shift health care from hospitals to community-based care and caregivers, who, it turns out, save public coffers $5 billion annually. In the meantime, caregiving affects employment, family finances and relationships with family and friends, not to mention the emotional, physical and financial health of the caregiver.

Look for future articles on 50Plus.com to explore the world of the caregiver.

Some resources for caregivers

Online
Caregiver Network Inc.:
http://www.caregiver.on.ca and http://www.howtocare.com

Canadian Home Care Association:
http://www.cdnhomecare.on.ca

Books
I’ll Take Care of You: A Practical Guide for Family Caregivers, by Joseph A. Illardo and Carole R. Rothman (New Harbinger Publications Inc., 1999)

Caring for Loved Ones at Home: An Illustrated, Easy-to-follow Guide to Short or Long-Term Care, by Harry van Bommel (Resources Supporting Family and Community Legacies Inc.) Available through home and hospice care groups .