​HCCN Caregiver Conference

 

Someone to talk to

Helpful phone lines (the wording in quotes is from each agency's website)

 

Alzheimer's Association 24/7 helpline 1-800-272-3900.
“Through this free service, specialists and master’s-level clinicians offer confidential support and information to people living with dementia, caregivers, families and the public.” https://www.alz.org/help-support/resources/helpline

 

AARP caregiver support 1-877-333-5885, Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. HST “Sometimes, it’s easier to just ask. That’s why AARP has a dedicated, toll-free family caregiving line for people taking care of a loved one.”
https://www.aarp.org/caregiving/basics/info-2018/support-line.html

 

211 7 days a week, 7 a.m. - 10 p.m.
"Aloha United Way 211 is Hawaii's only comprehensive statewide community information and referral service. Free and confidential. 211 specialists help you find food, shelter, financial assistance, child care, parenting support, elderly care, disability services, job training and much more.”
https://www.auw211.org/

 

Hawaii County Office of Aging
West Hawaii Office: 1-808-323-4390.
This agency includes the Aging and Disability Resource center and should be your first contact when you need support for an aging and/or disabled family member. We’re listing the number for our local Kona office. If you’re in a different region, search for “Area Agency on Aging” with the name of your town.
https://www.hcoahawaii.org

 

HCCN Facebook Page
An online forum for caregivers to interact, share tips and offer mutual support.

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Support groups

See the Classes & Groups page

 

Useful websites

 

We all know that even the best website can’t replace personal contact. But websites have gotten very creative over the past few years. Maybe one of the following will help you, but there are, of course, many others you can find by searching online for “family caregiver support.”

 

Active Daily Living
This website says, “Helping seniors and family caregivers with free, personalized advice to enhance health, independence, and aging-in-place.” We learned about it from the Maui County Office of Aging.
https://www.activedailyliving.com
Check out this video for an overview:

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Alzheimer’s Association
This national website is a trove of useful information for caregivers, not just those dealing with dementia. The caregiver support section is especially worthwhile.
https://www.alz.org/help-support/caregiving.

 

AARP national website
A great big website covering a wide variety of topics on family caregiving, legal issues, life balance and self-care. It has lots of links to resources and other valuable support.
https://www.aarp.org/caregiving/

 

State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP)
1-888-875-9229
Certified senior volunteers assist Medicare beneficiaries by phone with enrollment, coverage questions, and complex issues. The website offers detailed information on how to protect yourself from fraud and scams.
https://www.smphawaii.org

 

Family Caregiver Alliance 1-800-445-8106

“The Family Caregiver Alliance (FCA) is a national non-profit organization founded in 1977 to assist families and caregivers of adults with disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, brain injury, stroke, Parkinson's, ALS or other chronic health problems.” The Caregiver Resources section in the link above has a long menu of caregiving topics, including videos on various skills such as daily care (transfers, bathing, diet, etc).
https://www.caregiver.org/caregiver-resources/caring-for-another/

 

Advance Care Planning

“Kōkua Mau is Hawaii's trusted resource for accurate information on advance care planning (ACP) including Advance Directives and POLST, palliative care, which provides relief from the symptoms and stress of illness, and hospice care, which provides the best care possible at the end of life. (Kōkua Mau means ‘Continuous Care‘ in Hawaiian.)”
kokuamau.org

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Informative Brochures

 

Memory Care Roadmap for Family Caregivers

A 16-page booklet containing a treasure trove of flow charts, screening tools, resources, and guidance for family caregivers. If memory care is part of your life, this brochure could be very helpful to you!

https://www.hawaiiship.org/blog/memory-care-roadmap-for-family-caregivers/

 

Take Care of Yourself

This six-page brochure from the Alzheimer's Association covers stress, finding help, accepting change, legal planning, and more.

http://alz.org/help-support/caregiving/caregiver-health

 

AARP Prepare to Care, a Planning Guide for Families

This very thorough 35-page brochure covers many topics: Start the Conversation; Form your Team; Find Support; Care for Yourself; and more.

https://learn.aarp.org/prepare-to-care-guide

Free caregiver apps

which you may find useful

 

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Caring Bridge (caringbridge.org)

Allows multiple people to communicate with one another about a care receiver [iOS and Android].

 

Caring Village (caringvillage.com)

Coordinates care between multiple people and stores key information about the care recipient using calendar, messaging and care plan [iOS and Android].

 

Lotsa Helping Hands (lotsahelpinghands.com)

An interactive calendar app to help multiple people assist older adults in need [iOS and Android].

 

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Author, poet and caregiver Frances Kakugawa at HCCN caregiver conference.