Family and friends of aging people with medical issues often play an important and underappreciated role in their care, according to Burnaby Seniors Outreach Services Society program coordinator Dorothy Leclair.
That’s why, she said, her organization will host a Family and Friend Caregivers Day next month to celebrate those devoted individuals and provide them with much-needed resources.
The inaugural event will run from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Oct. 27 at the society’s outreach centre at 2055 Rosser Ave.
Fortis will provide energy-efficient CPAP ventilators and Save-On-Food Pharmacy will provide free flu shots, she said.
A series of three expert speakers will provide information about dementia and will be available for free and private 15-minute consultations on a first come, first serve basis.
Leclair said informal caregivers are being increasingly relied upon as the population ages and some services fail to keep up.
“It’s a growing role,” she said “It’s in the hundreds of thousands of hours that family and friends provide.”
She said she hopes the event becomes the first of many that support caregivers, who often feel alone in their role caring for loved ones with dementia, mobility issues, heart disease, visual impairment or other medical issues.
“It can be an isolating experience when you are less in charge of your own timetable,” Leclair said.
She said the event will also aim to get a snapshot of the needs of caregivers and those they care for, so the Burnaby Seniors Outreach Services Society can better support them.
