Taking on the care of a loved one can be incredibly rewarding — it can also be stressful, logistically daunting and emotionally fraught.
While there is some support, our society isn’t set up to make it easy on anyone, even though 21.3% of U.S. adults (or 53 million people) served as caregivers at some point in the past 12 months, according to Caregiving in the U.S. 2020, a report from the National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP. And the number is only growing, up over 20% since 2015.
Even experts in providing support struggle. “I’ve worked in this field for 35 years, but when my own parents began to deteriorate, I was at a complete loss,” admits Greg Link, director of the Offce of Supportive and Caregiver Services at the Administration for Community Living. “One of the most important things we can do for families and caregivers is provide education, counseling services and support groups to help them understand what they need to do, how to cope with what they’re doing and what their
