Who We Are - Letter to Caregivers
Letter to Caregivers

 

Dear Caregivers,

Over the years, grandparents have talked with me about how isolated they feel as relative caregivers. Many of their friends don’t understand the challenges and problems they face as they raise their grandchildren and often fade away. Family members are sometimes critical and distance themselves. The caregiver may have left a job to assume care of their grandchildren and then lose their work support networks. Not until they join a caregiver support group do they feel understood and connected with others experiencing many similar feelings and issues. One grandmother said of her support group, “These ladies are my life line. When I need to cry, they’re there and when I need to celebrate and laugh, we do it together. I was always left out growing up and here I feel totally accepted. This group is my safety net.”

 

 

Through the agencies that run the support groups, caregivers participate in the Brooklyn Grandparents’ Coalition programs and events, such as those featured on this web site. Suddenly, they’re part of a much larger network that has taken them from their neighborhood support group to involvement in a boro-wide coalition. Caregivers have told us how important it has been to see so many other kinship families from all walks of life sharing and participating in the BGC forums, holiday parties, and baseball games. They realize how raising relative children extends across so many backgrounds, ethnicities, and cultures, and they feel so much a part of this, decreasing feelings of loneliness.

 

 

Not only does Brooklyn have a Coalition, (actually the first), but thanks to the DFTA Grandparent Resource Center , most of the other boroughs have coalitions as well. Did you know that NYC has a Kincare Task Force that focuses on policies and has created a cross-systems exchange among the child agencies and the aging programs in our city. They brought you the Juvenile Justice Summit last year. Now AARP has modeled their New York State Task Force after the NY City Task Force. Grandparents have traveled to Albany to tell their stories and demand greater attention to their situations so policies and programs can be implemented to address these critical issues. Caregivers have found their collective voices and understand how strength in numbers really makes important things happen.

 

 

For example, on the Federal level, an important change occurred in the Older Americans Act this last. Many grandparents have let us know how discriminated they feel by their age. Most of the entitlements and benefits for senior relative caregivers are not available for those under 65 years old due to federal and state funding streams. So, although the average age of a relative caregiver is 56, many caregivers aren’t entitled to financial benefits to support their families because they’re too young. Caregivers bombarded their legislators with calls and visits to demand a change. National organizations also represented relative caregivers. This year when the Older Americans Act was passed, the age limit was lowered from 65 to 60. It may not have solved everything, but it’s definitely a step in the right direction.

 

 

So the point of this letter is to remind us that from one person and one voice to a boro-wide group to a city, then state and then federal level, you have a great deal of power and ability to make your voices be heard. Even if things move more slowly than we’d like, it does make a difference. Each battle won paves the way for the next challenge - much like how older siblings pave the way for their younger siblings by taking on the struggles and finding solutions. 

 

 

So know that you are not alone, especially as part of support groups, Coalitions and Task Forces. We are here to help and are eager to hear from you.

With my great respect

Deborah Langosch, ACSW
Chairperson
Brooklyn Grandparents' Coalition




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