Caregiver Support Initiative Reconvening
Resident engagement is crucial for Community Foundation initiatives to be effective. This Wednesday, June 20, we are hosting a reconvening of the Caregiver Support Initiative and are inviting our community to evaluate current work and identify what we should do next to help caregivers.
The Community Foundation of Western Nevada leads initiatives as a neutral convener. Most importantly, we engage those who are directly impacted by the issue. When we began our Caregiver Support Initiative, we knew it was critical to listen and learn from caregivers in our community.
During fall 2016, the Community Foundation hosted two public convenings in which caregivers shared their greatest areas of need. Through the convening process, we learned that caregivers had difficulty finding resources and quality information. Numerous attendees explained how they would spend hours looking for assistance, digging through brochures and search engines to find a program that would help their family. Others told stories of entering caregiving unexpectedly and not knowing how to get started.
At the end of the convenings, we asked participants to identify what the Community Foundation should do next. The most popular answer was consolidating resources, and the second most popular answer stressed the importance of action and follow-through. There was hesitation among some attendees that information would be collected, but there would be no tangible action. Upon hearing this feedback, our action was the creation of washoecaregivers.org, and the Washoe Caregivers Guidebook, to help caregivers find resources and learn the basics of beginning care.
Additionally, the Community Foundation engaged caregivers during the development of the Washoe Caregivers resource website and guidebook. Some caregivers attended a beta testing session with our web developer and provided suggestions on the design and format of the website. Caregivers also shared the topics they felt were most important to include in the guidebook and provided personal tips they gleaned from their experiences.
Now that the Washoe Caregivers resource website and guidebook are available, we are hosting a Caregiver Support Initiative reconvening to evaluate our work and identify next steps. The reconvening will be held on Wednesday, June 20, at 9:00 AM at Martin Hall at St. John’s Presbyterian Church. If you have suggestions on our current work, or ideas on how to further help caregivers, I encourage you to attend. You can learn more and register for the reconvening here. By listening and learning, we will connect people who care with causes that matter.