Crisis Conversations: Family Caregiving
Podcast
Photo by Georg Arthur Pflueger on Unsplash
Aug. 7, 2020
The coronavirus pandemic is completely upending the way we work, live, connect with one another and what we expect from our government, communities and each other. It’s all happening so fast that stress levels and anxiety are sky high. That’s why the Better Life Lab is hosting a weekly interactive conversation for people to come together, share stories and begin to make sense of what’s unfolding and what it could mean for the future of gender equity, health, how we work and how we live.
Crisis Conversations–Live from Better Life Lab is hosted by Brigid Schulte and produced by David Schulman.
One American in five takes care of another family member or loved one. That's more than 53 million family caregivers in America. Members of this vast, largely invisible workforce were already under pressure prior to the coronavirus pandemic. Many were forced to choose between inflexible or unsupportive work environments, and caring for loved ones who need care. These caregivers are not supported by public policy – the emergency paid family leave law Congress passed last spring actually excluded those caring for aging or chronically ill loved ones. And many people, including those in the so-called sandwich generation, never get a break to take care of themselves. As the pandemic rages, and with a coming aging crisis, how do we begin to care for our family caregivers?
To take on this question, Better Life Lab's Brigid Schulte is joined by:
- Debbi Simmons Harris, family caregiver in Minnesota who had to stop working to care for her son
- Jennifer Olsen, Executive Director, Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving
- Jessica Mills, family caregiver in Georgia who put off her college plans to care for her mother with dementia
- Karen Lindsey Marshall, Director, Advocacy & Engagement, National Alliance for Caregiving
To hear more of this episode including stories and questions from callers, click here. You can also find this episode wherever you listen to your podcasts. The video and transcript of the conversation are down below.