How can building a circle of care around yourself help you continue to deliver the best care? Even the most devoted and capable caregiver needs support in their role. From weekends away to help around the house, letting another caregiver take some of the demands off your plate keeps you well enough, in body and mind, to continue your important work.

Greer Rosequist has plenty of experience being a caregiver, from her former career as a nurse in long-term and palliative communities to offering respite to her sisters, who provide daily care for their mother. This experience led her to a different kind of network—a circle of care—full of friends who serve as consistent supports to those in the group and beyond. What began as a gathering of four has become a coffee collective of a dozen. They step in to assist in whatever capacity they can, from visiting house-bound friends to pitching in on yardwork to staying overnight so a primary caregiver can take some time for themselves.

Though Greer has a background in healthcare, she encourages everyone to help out in whatever capacity they can. Anyone can call up a friend with a simple offer of a cup of coffee. You don’t need nursing skills, Greer says. “You just have to be there.”

Discover the impact of reaching out, as both a caregiver and a friend:

• How to balance care for others and care for yourself;
• Recognize and respect the boundaries inherent in being a secondary caregiver;
• Why it is helpful to appoint a spokesperson within your circle of care;
• The societal importance of enabling people to live in their homes as long as possible.

Resources:

• Episode 2: Speak Out With Courageous Conversations in Caregiving - https://www.familycaregiversbc.ca/podcast/episode2-communication/
• Episode 4: How to Make Time to Care for Yourself with Self Care and Boundaries - https://www.familycaregiversbc.ca/podcast/episode4-selfcare/
• Asking and Receiving Help with Caregiving - https://www.familycaregiversbc.ca/caregiver-learning-center/read-resources/when-asking-for-help-is-hard
• The Embrace of a Caring Circle - https://www.familycaregiversbc.ca/archives/20996
• Family Caregivers of BC Caregiver Support Line - 1-877-520-3267 (Monday through Friday 8:30am to 4pm PT)

Connect With Us!

To read a full transcript of each episode, visit the Family Caregivers of BC website https://www.familycaregiversbc.ca/podcast

Visit us at our office:
#6 – 3318 Oak Street,
Victoria, BC
V8X 1R1
Hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 am to 4:00 pm

Telephone: (250) 384-0408
Toll-Free Line Within BC: 1-877-520-3267
Fax: (250) 361-2660
Email: info@familycaregiversbc.ca

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/FamilyCaregiversBC/

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/familycaregiversofbc/

LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/18122187

Twitter https://twitter.com/caringbc

Thank you!

BC Ministry of Health - Patients as Partners Initiative - https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/health/about-bc-s-health-care-system/partners/patients

Organized Sound Productions - https://www.organizedsound.ca/

How do you navigate the transition from child to caregiver of a parent while supporting both their dignity and your own wellness? Caring for an aging or ill parent comes with countless responsibilities, from prepping meals and scheduling medication to attending appointments and much more. While this shift to caregiver is, in some ways, a natural progression, it also requires you to navigate into a new relationship with your parent. As such, you need to learn how to balance respect and consent for their desires with your own health and happiness.

Roma Palmer is a registered clinical counsellor who not only helps parental caregivers but also fills this role herself, first with her mother years ago and now with her father. Today, she shares what she’s discovered through her work and firsthand experience juggling family, career, and caregiving.

Learn from Roma’s thoughtful and proactive approach that keeps respect and love in focus throughout this shifting relationship:

• The importance of involving your parent and family members in the caregiving decision process
• Tools for fending off isolation and scheduling breaks to take care of yourself
  How to ensure the division of caregiving labour is distributed openly and fairly
  Practices that prioritize the care recipient’s continued sense of identity at this tumultuous time

Resources:

• “Building Your Personal Resilience” flipbook - https://www.familycaregiversbc.ca/caregiver-learning-center/read-resources/building-your-personal-resilience
• Guilt and Making Decisions: Role of Adult Children in Assisting Parents - https://www.familycaregiversbc.ca/caregiver-learning-center/read-resources/guilt-and-making-decisions-role-of-adult-children-in-assisting-parents-2
• Connect with Roma Palmer - https://www.romapalmer.com/
• Family Caregivers of BC Caregiver Support Line - 1-877-520-3267 (Monday through Friday 8:30am to 4pm PT)

Connect With Us!

To read a full transcript of each episode, visit the Family Caregivers of BC website https://www.familycaregiversbc.ca/podcast

Visit us at our office:
#6 – 3318 Oak Street,
Victoria, BC
V8X 1R1
Hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 am to 4:00 pm

Telephone: (250) 384-0408
Toll-Free Line Within BC: 1-877-520-3267
Fax: (250) 361-2660
Email: info@familycaregiversbc.ca

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/FamilyCaregiversBC/

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/familycaregiversofbc/

LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/18122187

Twitter https://twitter.com/caringbc

Thank you!

BC Ministry of Health - Patients as Partners Initiative - https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/health/about-bc-s-health-care-system/partners/patients

Organized Sound Productions - https://www.organizedsound.ca/

How do you maintain an intimate relationship when you become a caregiver for your spouse or partner? Sharing life as a couple means facing and overcoming countless challenges. For so many, the ultimate challenge begins when an illness is uncovered, and one of you must become a caregiver to the other. Rene faced this transition when her husband of 20 years was diagnosed with Parkinsons in his mid-40s. In the two decades since his diagnosis, the couple has navigated a dramatic shift in household and relationship responsibilities and must constantly work at alternative ways to maintain intimacy and joy in an often difficult day-to-day.

In this episode, Rene Smyth details the ups and downs of how their relationship has changed, and Dr. Linda Franchi, a community counsellor with the Parkinson Wellness Projects, delves into the many facets of intimacy and the adjustments and adaptations spousal caregivers must embrace.

Find harmony between the caregiver and romantic partner relationships:

• The numerous kinds of intimacy beyond the physical;
• New ways to lean into each other, even in the face of painful and unprecedented change;
• Practical ways to incorporate self-care into your caregiving duties;
• The importance of reimagining the bond that holds your relationship together.

Resources:

• Find exercise classes, counselling, support groups, and education with Parkinson Wellness Projects - https://parkinsonwellness.ca/
• Learn more about Parkinson Society BC - https://www.youtube.com/@ParkinsonSocietyBC
• Alzheimer Society of Canada, “How your intimate relationships can change” - https://alzheimer.ca/en/help-support/im-living-dementia/managing-changes-your-abilities/how-your-intimate-relationships-can
• “The Value of Peer Support” - https://www.familycaregiversbc.ca/emotions-of-caregiving/the-value-of-peer-support/
• “Parallel Paths: The Changes Experienced in the Caregiving Relationship” - https://www.familycaregiversbc.ca/caregiver-learning-center/read-resources/parallel-paths-the-changes-experienced-in-the-caregiving-relationship

Family Caregivers of BC Caregiver Support Line - 1-877-520-3267 (Monday through Friday 8:30am to 4pm PT)

Connect With Us!

To read a full transcript of each episode, visit the Family Caregivers of BC website https://www.familycaregiversbc.ca/podcast

Visit us at our office:
#6 – 3318 Oak Street,
Victoria, BC
V8X 1R1
Hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 am to 4:00 pm

Telephone: (250) 384-0408
Toll-Free Line Within BC: 1-877-520-3267
Fax: (250) 361-2660
Email: info@familycaregiversbc.ca

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/FamilyCaregiversBC/

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/familycaregiversofbc/

LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/18122187

Twitter https://twitter.com/caringbc

Thank you!

BC Ministry of Health - Patients as Partners Initiative - https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/health/about-bc-s-health-care-system/partners/patients

Organized Sound Productions - https://www.organizedsound.ca/