Family Caregivers Importance is Growing
Mosaic has always talked about family members as partners in its call to love and serve others. As service models change, support is often now given in a home setting, and partnership with Mosaic sometimes takes on a new meaning. In some places, family members can contract with Mosaic as a paid caregiver, and no longer have to choose between making a living or caring for the person they love.
Some states served by Mosaic and Living Innovations, a service of Mosaic in New England, allow a family member—often a parent or sibling—to be the Shared Living Home Provider for a loved one who has a disability. Through Soreo, a service of Mosaic in Arizona, many family members provide the occasional in-home supports to loved ones who are aging or have a disability.
November is National Family Caregiver Month, and it recognizes the millions of people, whether paid or unpaid, who are providing care and assistance for someone they love. Family caregivers will be increasingly important moving forward as the number of Direct Care Professionals will not meet the demand for their work.
According to a May article by the Society for Human Resource Management, “The approximately 5 million direct care workers—predominantly women (especially women of color) and, increasingly, immigrants—will fall short of the demand represented by the nearly 9 million projected job openings in direct care through 2031, including the addition of over 1 million new jobs, more than any other occupation in the U.S.”
Whether by choice or by need, family members will step in to fill the gap for their loved ones. Here’s what a few family members had to say about why they do what they do for their loved one.
Laura Kelly is a Mosaic at Home Shared Living provider for her brother, Kyle Simonson. When she learned it was an option, she had one response. “I then knew in my heart this is the direction we should go, he could move into a home where people loved him, and he could be an integral part of his family.”
Shawn Zeller has been the Mosaic at Home Shared Living provider for his sister, Sabrina Gonzalez, for nearly 12 years. The family, long-term relationship makes a big difference, he said, because you start from a relationship of trust. “She believes me when I tell her, ‘It’s going to be OK.’ You’re blood, you’re family. You already have that history and that relationship. You know their triggers, their likes, their dislikes.”
Barb and Mike Doss care for their son, Dolan. Barb said at 23, Dolan purchased his own condo, but because he needed to have someone living with him, he had some bad experiences. About six years ago, he told his parents he didn’t want to do that anymore, so the couple welcomed him home and became his caregivers through Mosaic at Home.
“He wasn’t himself at all when he moved home,” Barb said. “It took several years to get back to his old self. We really like having him here. I don’t have to worry about intervening all the time and being told I shouldn’t. He is very very happy. He tells me almost every single day, ‘Thank you for bringing me home, Mom.’”
Family caregivers will continue to be a growing segment of the direct care workforce. Support for that segment is reflected in Mosaic’s advocacy work in two areas.
- Supporting Our Direct Care Workforce and Family Caregivers Act. That act would “award grants for the creation, recruitment, training and education, retention, and advancement of the direct care workforce and to award grants to support family caregivers.”
- Allowing family members to be host home providers in all states.
To help advocate, become a member of Mosaic Allied Voices and let your voice be heard to the changes needed to recognize and support this important caregiving group.