Funds for Respite Care Are Disappearing

No matter what the misfortune, whether it’s a natural disaster like a tsunami or a hurricane, humans don’t disappear; we take action. And this is what makes us human – we respond to suffering.

When illness hits a family, whether it is our parents, our spouses or our siblings, family caregivers appear and take action – they provide comfort and care out of love.

In New York State, 75 to 80 percent of all care is provided by family members, according to the New York State Family Caregiver Council 2009 report's executive summary. Estimates say they provide 25 billion dollars in free service.

Caregivers need support and the word for that is respite; it comes in many forms.

We are writing to express our frustration that this vital form of support is being eliminated in Governor Andrew Cuomo's newly proposed 2011-2012 budget. The people who are being hurt are our friends or the neighbors who we don’t see or hear from very often.  Many can’t go to the doctor for a needed appointment, they can’t go out to the store routinely, can’t get out to meetings to voice their opinions.  They work 24 hours a day, seven days a week — receive no pay, no recognition — because their lives are focused on trying to assist a loved one who is chronically ill with Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, stroke or any of the human catastrophes that effect so many of us.

In Nassau County, EAC’s Senior Respite Program has offered support for the past 25 years to over 150,000 residents.  This unique program provides a volunteer companion to a home-bound individual. That companion could be a neighbor, someone who is from the community.  The caregiver receives much needed time off and the adult in poor health makes a new friend. EAC’s Senior Respite Program is the only program of its kind in Nassau County. The program often forestalls the need for more expensive forms of care, delays the need for Medicaid and actually saves New York State money. 

Something is wrong with cutting a program that keeps families together and saves taxpayer dollars. Please join us in our fight to restore respite funding, family care needs to be encouraged and appreciated and supported.  Let our legislators know that this is not the place to cut funds. Kindness does matter; it saves money and people.

This article was written by the EAC Senior Respite Program families, volunteers and staff.