Caregiver Support

• Respite Care

  Respite care volunteers offer quality companionship to a person with memory impairment or a disabling condition so that the primary family caregiver (or other informal caregiver) can enjoy a few hours off to attend to their needs. This has several benefits as it gives the primary family caregiver time:

  • To enjoy other activities like lunch with a friend or a walk around the lake;
  • To run errands or make appointments without feeling rushed;
  • To spend time with other family members.
  • Respite care providers typically provide respite for 2-4 hours weekly or every other week to their assigned family.

• Powerful Tools for Caregivers class

  The evidence-based Powerful Tools for Caregivers class is offered several times a year at locations throughout Wake County. This 6-week class offers self-care tools and strategies for caregivers in any situation. Check the calendar for upcoming classes.

• Matching Process

  The Center for Volunteer Caregiving takes great care to match a volunteer and family. The Volunteer should feel comfortable handling the Care Receiver’s level of functioning. The Care Receiver should feel comfortable and respected by his/her new Volunteer companion.

In-Home Connections

• Friendly Visit

  Friendly visiting Volunteers provide friendship and companionship for older adults and adults with disabilities who may be lonely and socially isolated. Typically, friendly visiting Volunteers are matched with Care Receivers who live alone or who are alone during the day. Every effort is made to match Volunteers with Care Receivers according to interests, availability, geographic location, or by similarities between the Care Receiver and the Volunteer.
  
  

• TeleCare

  Some Care Receivers request support or socialization via the telephone. There are two different types of TeleCare calls:
  
  

  1. Telephone Support/Reassurance is designed to be a five-minute (or less) phone call placed every day (or every weekday) at a given time to check on senior adults or adults with disabilities who live alone in order to reassure them and ensure their safety.
  2. Friendly Telephone Visits are usually longer telephone calls that take place once or twice a week and are intended to reduce social isolation by connecting the senior adult or adult with disabilities to another person in the community. These may begin as short calls and then become longer as the Volunteer and the Care Receiver get better acquainted, sometimes stretching to 20 minutes or more.

• Friendly Visit with a Helping Hand

  The Center recognizes that older adults sometimes need a helping hand with household chores. The focus of our volunteer visits is companionship but our volunteers can provide “helping hand” activities for no more than 25% of each visit. Helping hand activities are established by The Center’s staff at the time of the in-home assessment and can include taking out the trash, washing dishes, vacuuming 1 or 2 rooms, and changing bedding. The Center’s volunteers do not provide housekeeping or maid services and cannot help with moving furniture or heavy lifting.

• Light Yard Work

  This is a seasonal service typically provided by volunteer groups like school civic clubs and Rotary clubs. These services focus on essential yard maintenance and safety. Yard work services are coordinated through The Center or one of its partners. These services are usually seasonal and often provided on an “as needed” basis.

• Shopping

  Whenever possible, The Center strongly encourages Volunteers to transport and shop “with” rather than “for” Care Receivers so that they can participate actively in their own shopping and errand-running. We also recognizes that there are Care Receivers who are not able to be out of their homes, either temporarily or on a more permanent basis, or who cannot be transported by Center Volunteers. These Care Receivers need others to run errands and shop for them. Many Volunteers provide this service as they do their own shopping and errands. Care Receivers are aware that they need to pay for their own purchases.

• Paperwork

  The Center’s Volunteers provide assistance for Care Receivers who need help with handling, sorting and organizing their mail and other paperwork. Typically Volunteers will offer this service once or twice per month on an ongoing basis, although there are also requests for short-term or occasional assistance.

• Matching Process

  The Center for Volunteer Caregiving takes great care to match a volunteer and family. The Volunteer should feel comfortable handling the Care Receiver’s level of functioning. The Care Receiver should feel comfortable and respected by his/her new Volunteer companion.

Transportation

• Transportation to medical or dental appointments

  • 7-day advance notice, except in some emergency situations.
  • One ride per week.
  • Must be able to transfer self in/out of vehicle. (Volunteer cannot transport wheelchair.)
  • Must be able to demonstrate challenges using public transportation.
  • Medicaid recipients are not eligible, since Medicaid benefits include this service

• Transportation for ongoing needs such as grocery shopping, pharmacy, or bank

  • 1-2 times per month.
  • Must be able to transfer self in/out of vehicle. (Volunteer cannot transport wheelchair.)
  • Must be able to demonstrate challenges using public transportation.
  • Medicaid recipients are eligible.