Lompoc caregivers will start receiving more resources to help them assist their senior loved ones with household tasks and personal care, thanks to the Lompoc Valley Community Healthcare Organization (LVCHO).
LVCHO is aiming to assist caregivers through an awareness campaign called Caring Together Lompoc, a caregiver resources hub, and targeted education and outreach programs.
These efforts stem from last year’s results of a caregiver needs assessment survey, which found that one in six Lompoc residents are responsible for the care of a senior. Most of these caregivers spend on average 66 weekly hours providing transportation and assistance with cooking, shopping, laundry, or chores for a senior parent or spouse.
That said, many caregivers are seniors themselves—their average age according to the survey is 68.
LVCHO Executive Director Ashley Costa told the Sun many caregivers have trouble seeing themselves as such—she said she hears a lot of people claim, “I’m not a caregiver, I’m a spouse.”
But a caregiver can be anyone, regardless of friend or familial status, who’s responsible for the care of a senior or someone with severe disability.
“Being a caregiver isn’t mutually exclusive from them giving services elsewhere or having another role,” Costa said. “When you actually break down those things—that shame, the guilt, the misunderstanding—and actually start having a conversation, you learn that it’s very easy to help someone get from a place of saying, ‘I’m not a caregiver,’ to saying, ‘I am a caregiver, and I’m proud of that.’”
To help ease the process, the Lompoc Valley Medical Center’s (LVMC) Family Caregiver Support Network plans to open a permanent hub for local caregiver resources by the end of August. Costa said it will be an office with a full-time employee where caregivers can walk in, email, or call with questions and concerns.
Those with questions can visit Caring Together Lompoc’s website at caringtogetherlompoc.org.
This article appears in Jul 14-21, 2016.