Letter: Give support to family caregivers

You may be a caregiver if you drive a friend to doctor's appointments or run errands; if you cook, clean or help a family member with billpaying; if you help a loved one with medication or medical equipment.

As former U.S. First Lady Rosalynn Carter often said, "There are only four types of people in the world - those who have been caregivers, those who are currently caregivers, those who will be caregivers and those who will need caregivers."

November is National Family Caregivers Month.

In Illinois, we see remarkable progress toward supporting informal caregivers with the Illinois Family Caregiver Coalition. Powered by Illinois Aging Services and Illinois Area Agencies on Aging, the 200-strong coalition includes caregivers, statewide associations and nonprofit organizations.

It focuses on the impact of unpaid caregivers. According to the 2022 AARP Illinois Survey on Family Caregiving, "There are nearly 1.5 million caregivers who provide more than 1.24 billion hours of unpaid care valued at over $17 billion each year."

We call on Gov. JB Pritzker to position Illinois as a national leader in supporting family caregivers and challenge the business community to up their game supporting current and future employees.

Amy Brennan, Executive Director

Illinois Family Caregiver Coalition