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Caregiver Support
Caregivers Resource Center (CRC)
The Cortland County Area Agency on Aging's CRC assists family caregivers by providing information, education, support and respite services. Services offered to caregivers of any age who provide care to an individual 60 years of age or older include:- Caregiving Counseling - is 1-on-1 counseling and support to caregivers.
- Caregiver Resource Library - provides books and videos available for loan.
- Caregiver Seminars - are educational programs offered in the community on all aspects of caregiving.
- Caregiver Support Group - is a monthly facilitated meeting that provide caregivers with peer and professional support. This support group is generally scheduled for the fourth Thursday of each month. This time may change around the holidays. Call for more information on this group.
- Caregiver Respite Program - provides limited respite for family caregivers through the services of a home care aide. Funding is limited for this program.
- Personal Emergency Response Systems (PERS) - are electronic emergency response units that signal a responder in case of an emergency.
- Grab ‘N Go Information Notebooks - a tool contains valuable information that may be useful during doctor visits or a trip to the hospital.
- Caregivers Resource Center - feature in The Senior News are articles about issues of interest to caregivers and links to local resources appear in every issue of the Area Agency on Aging's bimonthly newsletter.
There are an estimated 4.1 million caregivers in New York State. Yet more than half don’t even self-identify as caregivers. If you routinely provide help to a friend or family member, then you are a caregiver. This can include many activities: household tasks, transportation help, assisting with medical or self-care needs, and more.
A Caregiver's Guide
The Cortland County Area Agency on Aging now offers TCARE!
Do you provide unpaid care to a family member, friend, or neighbor who has an illness, disability, memory loss, injury, or special need? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you are a caregiver! Are you feeling overwhelmed, constantly worried, tired, sad, easily irritated, and/or extremely stressed? You are not alone and there is support available. If you would like to learn more about resources, tools, and supports available for caregivers, please answer the following questions to get connected to the right starting place.
- Are you over the age of 18 and caring for an older adult (age 60+)?
- Are you over the age of 18 caring for an individual (any age) with Alzheimer’s disease or a related disorder (e.g., dementia, traumatic brain injury, mild cognitive impairment, chronic traumatic encephalopathy)?
- Are you over the age of 55 and living with and caring for a child (not biological) under the age of 18?
- Are you over the age of 55 and living with and caring for an adult (can be a biological child) aged 18-59 with a disability?
If you answered yes to any of the questions above, you are eligible for the National Family Caregiver Support Program (NFCSP). If you would like to learn more about how this program can assist you, please take this short screen for an initial assessment of your wellbeing, and a Program Specialist will reach out to discuss the results. The evidence-based screener asks you to reflect on your experiences and respond to a series of statements based on identified rating scales in each section. This screener is used to help you and the Program Specialist better understand your situation and define an individualized plan to meet your unique caregiving needs.
If you answered no to all the questions above, or you are not interested in taking the evidence-based screen, there is still help available to you through the Any Care Counts - New York (ACC-NY) Campaign which recognizes and supports the millions of unpaid caregivers across the state! Through ACC-NY you can discover your caregiver intensity score by taking the ARCHANGELS Caregiver Intensity Index (CII). It takes just 2 minutes to complete. You will find out whether you are “in the red," "yellow" or "green," and be connected to trusted resources.
Do you prefer to search resources on your own? Visit the NY Connects Resource Directory. NY Connects links individuals of all ages and their caregivers to long term services and supports and provides one stop access to free, objective, comprehensive information and assistance.