Introduction
God put the idea of this seminar on the hearts of a group
of FBC women over a year ago. Several FBC women are currently
participating in a Women's Ministry certification course through
the Northern California Baptist Conference. One of the assignments
was to obtain information about our community and our church
to identify and address specific needs. Based on county demographic
records and personal surveys done by our Women's Ministry
team, there was an obvious need for information about balancing
the demands of the "Sandwich Generation
The "Sandwich Generation"
- They are "caregivers" sandwiched between two
generations.
- 41% of caregivers are apart of the Sandwich Generation.
- 22.4 million households
- (1 in 4 of households) care for relative over 50
- While 80% of caregivers are women, usually in their 40s
and 50s, this category also includes men.
- Not all caregivers are of the Sandwich Generation. Many
are older caregivers caring for a spouse or disabled adult
child.
The Concerns of Caregiving
- Caregiver hours per week: 17.9hours.
- Caregiving is often a full time job.
- How do we balance a job, our children's needs with those
of the elders and our own needs?
- According to the US Labor Dept., 24 million people
utilized the Family and Medical Leave Act between 1999
and 2000. More took leave to care for elderly relatives
rather than to care for children, to deal with personal
health issues or to care for ill spouses.
The Challenges of Caregivings
- What do we do if our loved ones need constant health care?
- What if the elder is unable to shop, pay the bills, and
live independently?
- Do we become the caregiver, or do we find someone else
to share or take this responsibility?
- Balancing a regular job and caregiving is difficult and
stressful.
- Caregiving needs are greater during the hours normally reserved
for work.
- Caregiving is a major threat to paid jobs outside the home.
- Women are the most likely to rearrange, reduce work hours
to manage elder care.
- Lost productivity and use of time dealing with caregiving
issues by employees costs US employers $29 billion a year.
Caregiver Burnout
- Alll caregivers are at risk for caregiving burnout.
- The Sandwich Generation is at greater risk as they
are buried under multiple layers of responsibilities.
- These caregivers have a high risk of chronic fatigue,
depression, physical and mental breakdown.
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