The Fountain Hills Caregivers Support Group is open to all caregivers, regardless of age, affliction, or place of residence. The Group offers a responsive environment where caregivers may discover they are neither unique in their situation nor alone in their feelings and experiences.
Our meetings allow caregivers to exchange ideas and information and find solutions to similar problems. Caregivers can also suggest and discuss topics for future meetings. We provide an opportunity for individual caregivers to develop informal networks and peer groups for extended support.
Several school administrators and community members including Bill Whittaker, a member of the Fountain Hills Caregivers Support Group for adults, have joined to create the Teen-Caregivers Support Group, for young people who are caring for a family member. Click here for more information. Article posted 9/11/2011.
Tools for Teen Caregivers
It’s tough enough being a teenager – dealing with the personal struggles of growing into a mature adult – let alone taking care of another person at the same time. While caring for an infirm family member is daunting at any age, care giving can be an overwhelming task for a teenager or a pre-teen. Incredibly, there are more than a million such youthful caregivers in this country today.
To help meet the special needs of these school-age caregivers, a group of concerned individuals have come together to develop materials aimed specifically at the teen and pre-teen caregiver. This group consists of a school district superintendent, a high school principal, a high school social worker, coordinators of a caregiver support group, a coordinator of a Parkinson’s disease support group, a Rehabilitation Liaison from HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital, and the Director and a Social Worker from the Muhammad Ali Parkinson’s Center.
The group’s goal is to gather a body of knowledge that encompasses not only how to be a caregiver, but also to provide resources for care giving, tips about the caregiver taking care of him/her self, and balancing the responsibilities of care giving with those of being a teenager growing into adulthood.
These tools for teenage caregivers will be made available in print as well as in electronic formats to take advantage of computer access and applications for smart phones and iPads.
The group expects to have this material available for the start of the new school year in August of 2011. A special caregivers support group for teens and pre-teens is also envisioned.
Ellen was 14, in the eighth grade, in a Florida middle school, when she took a short questionnaire at school that asked about caring for ill, injured or disabled parents, siblings or grandparents. She was surprised when shortly after that she was taken out of class to meet with someone from an organization that she would come to cherish, who asked her, "Was it true?" referring to her responses about her responsibilities caring for her parents. Read full article. Posted 8/30/11.
New Caregiver Program for Veterans, Families
Starting in the summer of 2011, the Veterans Administration will offer a new program to provide support services to qualifying caregivers of veterans.
The program includes:
· Training and education for improved care giving
· Counseling and mental-health services
· Respite care for family and other caregivers
· Health care and a monthly stipend for caregivers
For more information about this program, eligibility, criteria and registration, please go online to www.caregiver.va.gov, or call 602-277-5551, ext. 7777. The toll-free phone number is 877-222-8387.
2012 Meeting Schedule
The Fountain Hills Caregivers Support Group meets on the first Monday of each month from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Meetings are held at the Senior Activity Center located in the Fountain Hills Community Center. The meeting schedule shown below is subject to change for special meetings or conflicts with holidays.
March 5
April 2
May 7
June 4
NOTE: The information listed on this page is intended as a resource only. It is not a substitute for professional care.
Community Information & Referral (CIR)
Help Hotline
The CIR Help Hotline is a confidential service providing information, answers, and referrals to human services and health programs. An absolutely free service, the CIR Help Hotline is available 24-hours a day, seven days a week, including holidays.
602-263-8856