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I can remember moving my mom into my house when she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's back in 2000. I believed her income would help pay for all her needs, but I was wrong. The resources and information 20 years ago was very limited. The internet has become one of the best ways for family members and caregivers to research for help no matter if your loved one is young or elderly, somehow they have become unable to care for themselves any more.


I realized that people with Dementia and Alzheimer's weren't the only ones who needed help. I also realized the financial burden it caused me, the guilt of not having time for my two kids who I always had time for prior, unable to find reliable and trustworthy caregivers because most of them had stolen from me, never getting a good night's sleep anymore, becoming depressed because your whole life is going to work 40 or 50 hours a week then having to come straight home to take care of my mother and kids. Having no time for myself to do anything, then becoming physically, mentally, and emotionally drained besides frustrated on the financial burden it has caused me. My youngest son asked me one day " why do you take so many showers". It was the only place I could cry.


No one wants to put their loved ones into some type of facility, and everyone who becomes a family caregiver faces the same issues.


I got my mom into an adult day care program three days a week, just because it was safe, I didn't have to worry about someone not being there on time, stealing from me, or just not showing up at all, they kept her from sleeping all day so I could try and get a good night's sleep and keep my mom out of everything that wasn't hers, they feed her breakfast and lunch, but they are not cheap. The other two days I paid a caregiver.


My mom had to start wearing diapers, so you also need pads, wipes, and bedding liners. That can add a lot more money to your monthly budget.


Medical equipment such as walkers, toilet seats, shower chair, hospital beds, and any other types of equipment depending on their needs or disabilities can take a chunk out of your monthly budget expecally when you don't expect it. Sometimes they are covered by Medicare, Medicaid, or private insurance, but you can wait maybe 2 or 3 months for an approval.


Boost and Ensure are not cheap either, but they need their daily dose of nutrition.


I am retired now and help the 24/7 family caregiver out by donating 8 hours a week of my time. People volunteer to feed the homeless once a day. People donate all kinds of stuff to the salvation army, drug programs, women's shelters, and other types of shelters and organizations.


I started going to several churches to get help with any type of donation they could offer, but mainly looking for individuals who could donate their time to help a family caregiver get time for themselves. Even if it's only 1 hour a week. Every 1 or 2 hours a week of time donated can really help a lot. I have gotten so far 83 hours donated from all the local churches combined. I went to the senior citizens center, and got some of them to donate their time by helping elderly individuals with their company, playing cards, a game of checkers, even help with exercising. I got 15 hours donated from seniors who are lonely themselves. I went to hospitals and was able to post donations no money, just an hour of your time to help family caregivers get break. I have gotten 3 individuals to sign up. When my mom passed away, I threw everything in the garbage, not her clothes, just diapers, bed liners, baby wipes, her walker, shower chair, and wheel chair.


I donate up to 10 hours a week myself, I started this almost two months ago and feel pretty good getting over a 100 hours donated. I also have started receiving calls wanting to donate their medical equipment. I don't have anywhere to put just yet. Any suggestions or ideas where I might get other volunteers to donate their time?

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Contact your local area's Agency on Aging to see if there are volunteer orgs already in existence, or one similar to your concept, and see if you can join or compliment it. Talk to local area centers of faith. Talk to social services in your county and see where you can plug in. Put an appeal out on Nextdoor.com for your area. Search "volunteering platforms+U.S." and several websites will come up. But unless you're an actual organization (501c3), you may not be able to get your cause on it. I've served on boards of non-profit organizations that rely on volunteers. Although many people are willing to contribute their time, not many are willing to do it on a regular basis. You will find yourself spending most of your time finding people to do the work, scheduling, finding subs, training, dealing with complaints, etc. There are inherent challenges in bringing about what you are seeking. If you don't have an "entity" i.e. a legally formed organization, you open yourself up to problems if you send out a volunteer who has passion but is not good with people or doesn't know anything about dementia and causes a problem. Who is going to vet these people? Then if you have an org you need a board for guidance, a website, and insurance -- at the very least. Caregiving is not "sexy"...you're not cleaning up an abandoned lot and transforming it into a playground. Or planting trees. Or delivering food to the homeless. Working with the elderly and disabled requires a minimum amount of knowledge and skill that YOU must make sure they have before you can send them into someone's home in good conscience. I suggest you plug into an existing charitable organization that already has a large community presence and then you can bring your idea to their board and let them be the vehicle by which you launch your caregiving help. For example, in my community there's a very well-established non-profit that helps the homeless, teaches English, develops job skills, has a food shelf and is a volunteer-finding machine (and magnet because they're so well known). If someone made the case to them for the need for caregiver relief, and then they believed is was do-able, they'd have all the hard stuff already in place to bring it about. But there is a reason there aren't many -- or any -- of the types of caregiving volunteer orgs you are seeking to create. It is more complicated and fraught with many potential practical, legal (and even criminal) pitfalls. Don't reinvent the wheel...find a great place and invest your passion there. God bless you!
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