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| With love to Mom and Dad |
As we find ourselves sandwiched in between providing time, attention for our children and our parents, it may seem overwhelming to know how to provide the best care possible. Luckily, there are many places to go to for help. I've chosen "Older Adults" as my research project for my Peer Support Worker Class and I'm glad to be able to share what I've learned.
One of the best places to start looking for information to advocate for older adults is the telephone resource known as "211". An operator answers the line and you are able to pinpoint the area of your search instead of speaking to a machine and choosing from the prompts. I have used this system and discovered there are many more services available than I would have imagined. Also, simply typing "advocacy for seniors" in your Google search bar will bring up many more options such as are listed below:
- CCAC aka Community Care Access Centre http://www.ccac-ont.ca/ This is a good first stop on your road to advocacy because it is so simple and user friendly. It offers help for seniors according to their needs and the information is very easy to find.
- Visiting Angels can be found at www.visitingangels.ca They provide affordable relief for caregivers/family as well as care for the older adult. The Visiting Angels are reasonably priced and they offer quite a variety of services from household tasks like cleaning and cooking, even shopping and that makes them well worth looking into.
- Advocacy for the Elderly has a great website: www.advocacycentreelderly.org They offer legal assistance funded by Legal Aid Ontario and is the first of its kind in Canada funded just for seniors. ACE (for short) offers help with Advance Care Planning, Consent, Consumer Protection, Wills, Elder Abuse, Long Term Homes to name just a few.
The most important factor in being able to help your clients or your own family is your dedication to them and finding the very best assistance for them is no less than they deserve. Having said that, it is important to note that it can be challenging at times to remember to treat our aging adults with the dignity and courtesy they deserve. They are also facing changes with unknown outcomes and it can be an unsettling time for both the caregiver and client. Consistent, open and honest communication can help alleviate many misunderstandings and create a greater bond of trust that will facilitate the most satisfactory result for both parties. A sense of humor goes a long way in smoothing over rough patches and is a great stress buster, too! As a wise old man once told me, "Be nice to your children, they'll be choosing your nursing home."
