The job of being a caregiver can be quite rewarding but it also can be stressful. The Family Caregiver Alliance recognizes the unique needs of caregivers and provides caregiver support in the form of support groups on the Internet. The Family Caregiver Alliance is focused on the needs of people who are providing care for family members.
The Caregiver Online Group is a caregiver support group sponsored by the Family Caregiver Alliance. This Internet group is unmoderated. In this caregiver support group, family caregivers can discuss their stress and frustrations as well as the positives of being a caregiver for a family member.
There is also a support group for people caring for people diagnosed with Huntingdon’s disease. People who have been diagnosed with Huntingdon’s and their friends, family, and professionals working with people with Huntingdon’s disease are welcome to participate in this online support group.
People suffering from Parkinson’s disease or other movement disorders as well as those assisting or treating those individuals are also invited to participate in the Huntingdon’s disease support group. This group is called the Huntingdon’s Disease and Movement Disorders Online Group and is moderated by a registered nurse who is experienced with Huntingdon’s disease.
This caregiver organization also has an online support group for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered caregivers who are caring for relatives with chronic health problems. This online caregiver support group is called the LGBT Caring Community Online Support Group.
There is also an online support group specifically for clients of California’s Caregiver Resource Centers called Link2Care Support Group. This and the other online caregiver support groups mentioned here are accessible through the organization’s website.
Their website includes other valuable resources such as fact sheets on caregiver topics, information about being a family caregiver, and personal stories. Teleconference audio clips are available for listening. The fact sheets are about health conditions, legal issues, statistics and demographics, and caregiving issues and strategies.
Many of the resources are available in other languages in addition to English. Fact sheets are available in Spanish and Chinese. The website includes a map of the United States that can be clicked to show the government and nonprofit resources for caregivers that are available in that state.
Besides providing information and caregiver support, this organization runs the National Center on Caregiving. The National Center on Caregiving provides research and analyses of legislation and social trends affecting caregivers in the United States.
The National Center on Caregiving also publishes free newsletters and reports about caregiving. The newsletters are called The Newsletter of the Technical Assistance Centers, Caregiving Policy Digest, Connections, and Newslink. People are able to subscribe to the newsletters on the website. Newslink is a newsletter for Link2Care members.
More information about caregiving in the press and public policy is available on the website’s press room page including statistics and helpful information about juggling caregiving and a career. Workshops and classes are offered by this organization for caregivers. This organization dedicated to helping family caregivers accepts donations through its website.