Family Caregiving

There are nearly 60 MILLION Americans who are unpaid caregivers today.Now think about that; these are people who likely have full time jobs working 40 hours a week and who are working another 26 hours a week on average looking after an aging loved one.It’s a tough picture and it’s made worse by the lack of any kind of support available in the United States.Certainly this long term healthcare crisis (and it is a crisis by any definition of that word) is not exclusive to America alone.There are aging populations all over the world and countless millions more caregivers but many other countries have been proactive in implementing policies designed to mitigate the pressure that unpaid caregivers experience.Debbie Howard, a professional market researcher, knows what it’s like to be a caregiver after spending some years caring for her cancer-stricken mother.As a result, Debbie has devoted nearly 20 years to agitating for caregivers in the U.S., forming Aging Matters International and thecaregivingjourney.com along the way.She is our guest this week on The Art 2 Aging. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theart2aging.substack.com/subscribe