As a caregiver, you may be faced with numerous challenges and questions, including how you might get some support. Support is available to you from a variety of sources. Caregiver support groups and educational workshops may be offered in your community. These groups are usually conducted through a social service agency and are run by professional service coordinators or other staff. These sessions offer caregivers emotional support, camaraderie in the journey, and numerous helpful tips on dealing with the many issues caregivers face.

A service called respite care can give you a break from on-going caregiver duties. In-home respite care provides temporary care or supervision of a senior so primary caregivers can take some personal time off. Out-of-home respite care, for longer periods of relief, may be offered by a hospital, nursing care facility, or other community organization. Adult day services provide recreational programs, hot meals, and social activities for seniors. Some facilities provide health care or health monitoring, medication administration, or specialized care for people with memory loss.

There also are services that can help make things more manageable by relieving you of some caregiving duties or other household tasks. Some in-home services to consider include:

Homemaking Services: Light housekeeping, meal preparation, laundry, and shopping can be provided through a social service agency or private cleaning company.

Transportation: Check for door-to-door public and private transportation systems serving the senior’s area. Escort services are sometimes available to accompany older adults. Some hospitals, clinics, or health care providers offer transportation to their sites. Senior centers may also have transportation available. Fees and procedures will vary.

Meals: Home-delivered meal programs, often called Meals on Wheels, provide hot nourishing meals to people unable to cook for themselves. In many cities, seniors also gather at community centers, senior centers, or senior housing complexes for nutritious, low-cost meals in a group setting.

Home Health Care: Home health aides can help with dressing, bathing, toileting, and other personal care tasks. A registered nurse supervises the aides. Home nursing care can include monitoring of health situations, wound care, or help with administering medications.

Chore Services: Social service agencies and commercial businesses offer help with routine outdoor chores such as lawn mowing and snow shoveling. Neighborhood teens may also be available for this kind of work.

Other Services: Parish nurse programs, a combination of ministry and nursing, provide health education and referral to promote wellness of body, mind, and spirit. Bill-paying help is available through some social service agencies, banks, or other money-management services. Seniors can get help with medical forms and paperwork, insurance appeals, and other issues. through some social service agencies. Legal aid projects offer low-cost legal advice to eligible individuals and referrals to attorneys who specialize in senior legal issues. Ombudsman services can provide advocacy for seniors when disputes with service providers occur.

Service Coordination or Care Management: This service, usually provided by social workers or nurses, helps seniors and their families identify and obtain appropriate services to meet their needs.

DARTS, the host of this caregiverMN site, provides many of these services to Dakota County, Minnesota, seniors and their families. In other parts of Minnesota, call the Senior Linkage Line at 1-800-333-2433 to find providers near you or your parent. To find assistance elsewhere in the United States, visit the Eldercare Locator, a service of the Administration on Aging and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, or call 1-800-677-1116.

This Care Page is modified from A Key to Choice for Seniors, Open the Door to Services, available in full on the Minnesota Health and Housing Alliance web site.