Do you provide unpaid care to a family member, friend, or neighbor who has an illness, disability, memory loss, or injury?
If you answered yes, you are a caregiver! Are you feeling overwhelmed, constantly worried, tired, sad, easily irritated, and/or extremely stressed? You are not alone and there is support available. If you would like to learn more about resources, tools, and supports available for caregivers, please answer the following questions to get connected to the right starting place.
Are you over the age of 18 and caring for an older adult (age 60+)?
Are you over the age of 18 caring for an individual (any age) with Alzheimer’s disease or a related disorder (e.g., dementia, traumatic brain injury, mild cognitive impairment, chronic traumatic encephalopathy)?
Are you over the age of 55 and living with and caring for a child (not biological) under the age of 18?
Are you over the age of 55 and living with and caring for an adult (can be a biological child) aged 18-59 with a disability?
If you answered yes to any of the questions above, you are eligible for the National Family Caregiver Support Program (NFCSP). The goal of the NFCSP is to support family caregivers so they may continue to carry out their caregiving roles and responsibilities. The program can provide services such as caregiver counseling, information and assistance, caregiver training, respite care (a break from caregiving), and much more. If you would like to learn more about how this program can assist you, please contact the Office for the Aging at ofa@dutchessny.gov or 845-486-2555.
If you answered no to all the questions above, or you are not interested in learning about the resources available through the NFCSP, there is still help available to you through the Any Care Counts - New York (ACC-NY) Campaign which recognizes and supports the millions of unpaid caregivers across the state! Through ACC-NY you can discover your caregiver intensity score by taking the ARCHANGELS Caregiver Intensity Index (CII) survey. It takes just 2 minutes to complete. You will find out whether you are “in the "red," "yellow" or "green," and be connected to trusted resources.
Do you prefer to search resources on your own? Visit Dutchess County NY Connects. NY Connects links individuals of all ages and their caregivers to long term services and supports and provides one stop access to free, objective, comprehensive information and assistance.
• Trualta
The Dutchess County Office for the Aging, with support from the New York State Office for the Aging and the Association on Aging in New York (AgingNY), have partnered with Trualta to offer Trualta’s web-based caregiver education and support platform at no cost to any unpaid caregiver in New York State. Click here to start.
