Family Caregiver Support Program

Are you the caregiver for a family member or loved one?!

Do any of these activities sound familiar to you?

Providing unpaid assistance for someone with the following:

Have you found yourself missing a doctor appointment or no longer able to participate in hobbies/activities you once enjoyed? Are you a caregiver to a loved one and need of a short-term break?

Who is eligible to apply for services through the Family Caregiver Respite Program?

Adult family members or other informal caregivers age 18 and older providing care to individuals 60 years of age and older; or individuals of any age with Alzheimer’s disease and/or related disorders

Seniors Raising Children (not parents) 55 years of age and older providing care to children under the age of 18; or adults age 18-59 with disabilities. A grandparent, stepgrandparent, or other relative of a child by blood or marriage, and—lives with the child; is the primary caregiver of the child because the biological or adoptive parents are unable or unwilling to serve as the primary caregiver of the child; and has a legal relationship to the child, such as legal custody or guardianship, or is raising the child informally. Seniors Raising Children respite is very important, allowing the senior to have a short break in their caregiving duties while someone else provides care. Respite comes in several forms and can include after school programs, camps and tutoring.

How to apply for Caregiver Respite Care Services. Call our office at 843-554-2275.

Call and speak to a Family Caregiver Advocate. They will discuss your respite needs and schedule an over the phone assessment.

During your over the phone assessment the Family Caregiver Advocate will discuss the options for short-term respite.

The caregiver would then choose the type of respite they need in order for them to get a short break in their care giving duties.

Once the caregiver has chosen their respite provider and has discussed this with the Family Caregiver Advocate, an in home visit will be scheduled to authorize services.  What is respite?

Supplemental Services, on a limited basis. What are supplemental services?

Through the Family Caregiver Support Program, Trident Area Agency on Aging may provide family caregivers with the following services:

Information to caregivers about available resources

Assistance to families in locating services, to both private and volunteer agencies.

Caregiver training, peer support, and counseling to help families cope with the emotional and physical stresses associated with caring for a loved one.

Short-term Respite vs Home Care Services

Click here for more caregiver information and resources.

Caregiver’s Bill of Rights

By: Jo Horne
Author of Caregiving: Helping an Aging Loved One

I have the right:
To take care of myself. This is not an act of selfishness. It will enable me to take better care of my loved one.

I have the right:
To seek help from others even though my loved one may object. I recognize the limits of my own endurance and strength.

I have the right:
To maintain facets of my own life that do not include the person I care for, just as I would if he or she were healthy. I know that I do everything that I reasonably can for this person, and I have the right to do some things for myself.

I have the right:
To get angry, be depressed and express other difficult emotions occasionally.

I have the right:
To reject any attempt by my loved one (either conscious or unconscious) to manipulate me through guilt, anger or depression.

I have the right:
To receive consideration, affection, forgiveness and acceptance from my loved one for as long as I offer these qualities in return.

I have the right:
To take pride in what I am accomplishing and to applaud the courage it sometimes takes to meet the needs of my loved one.

I have the right:
To protect my individuality and my right to make a life for myself that will sustain me when my loved one no longer needs my full-time help.

I have the right:
To expect and demand that as new strides are made in finding resources to aid physically and mentally impaired persons in our country, similar strides will be made toward aiding and supporting caregivers.