Did the headline and title of this update give you an idea of the excitement I’m feeling about the progress we’ve made since launching Keeping It REAL Caregiving?
All of you who have become members of this growing tribe should be proud to know our willingness to help each other is paying off. Our collective voices have just gotten a bit louder!
I’m happy to share that in just a little over two years since launching the KIRC website, and a bit shy of two years from launching this newsletter, Keeping It REAL Caregiving is now officially part of a larger, California-wide advocacy effort!
The California Coalition on Family Caregiving (CaCFC) is a statewide coalition of family caregivers and support organizations convened by USC Family Caregiver Support Center/LACRC, Family Caregiver Alliance, and Los Angeles Alliance for Community Health and Aging, with funding from Community Catalyst and Archstone Foundation.Â
Our mission is to advocate for California policies and services that support diverse unpaid family caregivers and their care recipient(s).
Our vision is a robust caregiver support system that ensures caregiver wellbeing.
CaCFC amplifies the voices of family caregivers in California policymaking and furthers the goals of the CA Master Plan for Aging and the recommendations of the CA Taskforce on Family Caregiving.
The role of Keeping It REAL Caregiving
What does this new involvement mean for all of us? The roadmap is still being charted, but here’s how KIRC and all of you can play a role in having a say in advancing caregiving policy:
KIRC (me) has been named as a Regional Advocate for CaCFC, focusing on the Northern California Region. That means as part of this group, I will work in partnership with other advocates from around the state. During regular meetings, we will be briefed on evolving legislation, then step in when advocacy voices are needed.
That also means I will share updates with all of you. For those of you who do not live in California, don’t worry. There is still a powerful role for you as well!
The issues we see in caregiving stretch across the country. When you get involved in this advocacy platform, you can learn what is (or is not) working in different states, then customize your efforts to fit your local communities. It is a win-win for all of us.
KIRC now also has the support of a larger advocacy platform to coordinate informational meetings and events.
Some may be live and in-person in the Northern California region, others will be virtual, so KIRC can reach you wherever you may be.
There may be times when KIRC will ask you to add your name to specific advocacy letters which CaCFC crafts, to be delivered to our lawmakers.
We should continue sharing our stories and challenges. When we work together we can help one another identify local resources, find DIY solutions for our daily caregiving needs, and sometimes just vent.
Julia & Nellie Yarbough/Northern California
I’m super excited about this development! As you know, Keeping It REAL Caregiving evolved out of my personal experiences of caring for my now deceased mother, Nellie Yarbough. There is not a day that passes that I don’t miss my mom.
I reflect on the positive memories, of the challenges, hurdles and societal inequities she faced as a young woman of color growing up in the 30’s and 40’s. Sadly, many of those health-related inequities are still a factor for many communities of color and rural populations.
When I think about the last five years of Miss Nellie’s life and the effort it took to navigate care as she aged and her health declined, I realize how much I learned about how our aging, health, and support systems work and in many cases, fail. I am blessed to have purchased long term care insurance for my mother early, so I was fortunate to be able to pay for additional help. But what about the millions of other caregivers, who are going it alone?
Courtesy: REAL Caregiver comment
None of us should move through this caregiving journey without help. Join us?
Sign up to become a member of the KIRC family and you become part of the larger California Coalition on Family Caregiving. Let’s work together to change this landscape.
After all, what care-futures do we want for ourselves?
