We’re driven to work within our community to find solutions to evolving challenges impacting Alaskans. Our efforts allow us to collaborate with public, private and nonprofit leaders—and we’re always grateful for their insights. Kevin Sullivan, our Community Impact Manager, meets with these people to further our collaboration.
Through research and conversations with community leaders, Kevin learned that caregivers in Alaska lacked access to support. However, Alaska 211 could partner with AARP to offer them much-needed referrals through the Caregiver Program. United Way Worldwide and AARP support it financially, offering subject-matter expertise and caregiver-specific resources. Am I a caregiver?
“It was an exciting lead because it would allow us to leverage existing resources and increase access to supports for people that need it,” Kevin says. He’d been compiling recommendations to inform strategies to shape our ongoing impact in Alaska. “We’d identified gaps in access and supports for caregivers, but some gaps were just that people didn’t know where to go to ask for available help.” What are care recipients’ needs?
Alaska 211 community resource specialists field calls from Alaskans who need connections. “When the specialists can, they refer the callers to organizations that provide the assistance they’re looking for,” says Kevin. Before we partnered with AARP on the Caregiver Program, we had fewer places to connect caregivers.
With the partnership, Alaska 211 has updated our database to make sure caregiver resources and services are entered and flagged. We don’t offer direct resources. We make sure Alaskan caregivers know how to reach organizations that offer support. What are caregivers’ needs?
Community resource specialists have received calls from family, friends and even Alaskans who say, “I’ve been buying groceries for my neighbor, and they’re running out of money.” They ask how to get them food stamps. Thanks to the Caregiver Program, Alaska 211 has answers for many caregivers’ requests for help.
FIND SUPPORT THRU AARP CAREGIVER PROGRAM
AM I CAREGIVER?
An unpaid person who’s caring for someone 18 years or older or has children with special needs may be a caregiver. Regardless of your age and, for Alaska 211’s purposes, you simply need to identify as “a caregiver.” These activities are often performed by caregivers:
Administer medications.
Assist with bathing, hygiene and moving.
Do housework.
Dress the care recipient.
Help with incontinence and toileting.
Manage finances.
Oversee appointments and services.
Provide and feed meals.
Run errands and shop.
Transport care recipient.
What are common care recipients’ needs?
Care recipients who require help from caregivers share similarities. These care recipients’ needs are often performed by caregivers:
Community resources and services
Fall prevention
Financial security
Health care management
Hearing loss
Home health care
Hospice and palliative care
Incontinence and urinary tract infections
Medicaid, Medicare and health insurance benefits
Medical equipment
Nutrition assistance
Public assistance and Social Security benefits
Veterans and military personnel benefits
Vision loss
What are common caregivers’ needs?
Caregivers who assist care recipients also share similarities. These caregivers’ needs are often overlooked or hard to meet without support:
Community resources and services
Difficult conversations
Emotional, mental and physical wellbeing
Family relationships
Financial security
Flexible employment
Grief navigation
Guidance on benefit navigation
Personal health care
Scam and fraud awareness
Rest, self-care and sleep
Transportation assistance
