Action Alert: Family Caregiver’s Third job: Navigating the Maze of Systems

Today, Survival Coalition of disability organizations, Wisconsin Aging Advocacy Network, and the Wisconsin Family Caregiver Alliance are releasing the sixth short video focused on the daily challenges faced by Wisconsin’s family caregivers.

This week’s video exposes the struggle caregivers face with the systems that are supposed to help them.

Watch this four-minute video on
Caregiver’s Third Job: Navigating the Maze of Systems

In addition to the care they provide, family caregivers are constantly faced with figuring out complex administrative tasks and systems. The systems caregivers depend on often become a barrier to care when paperwork is hard, confusing, time consuming, and when many phone calls and follow up e-mails are needed.

Action steps you can take to help Wisconsin family caregivers be heard!

Suggested post language: “For many caregivers, interacting with systems is extremely time-consuming and frustrating. Too often, systems push the job of how to get the supports people need back on the caregiver. When systems aren’t oriented around addressing real caregiver problems in real time, it makes it harder on the people already working their hardest.”

  • Directly Tweet video to local reporters, , national aging and disability organizations, and influencers 

Suggested post language: “Caregiver’s Third Job: Navigating the Maze of Systems. Watch this four minute video to meet family caregivers across Wisconsin struggling with difficult, confusing, time consuming paperwork, endless phone calls and follow up e-mails, and other tasks systems push back onto caregivers in order to get the supports the people they are caring for need.
Directly Tweet and post video on your Legislator’s social media

Suggested post language: “For many caregivers, interacting with systems is extremely time-consuming and frustrating. When systems aren’t oriented around addressing real caregiver problems in real time, it makes it harder on the people already working their hardest. Three things you could do that would help people like me include 1) Broaden Family Medical Leave 2) Make sure all caregivers can get help at ADRCs 3) create a Caregiver Tax Credit. These are a few of many needed policy changes.

  • Share a message out to your grassroots or member networks with a link to the video and ask them to tell their caregiving story using this easy step by step take action link: https://p2a.co/cx0fstc

Important details legislators include where you live, your age, a little about the person(s) you care for, how many hours per day you spend caregiving, and how being a family caregiver affected your physical and mental health, and overall stress levels.